About | Phased n Research, LLC

Why Teams Choose Us

Built for long, technical engagements

Our staff pair academic depth with real-world program experience, and our flat corporate structure keeps contracts easy to run and built to last.

Academic and real-world combined experience — our engineers move fluidly between published research and fielded systems.
Numerous technical papers and textbooks published — including foundational radar engineering references used industry-wide.
Onsite customer support — seamless integration of supporting personnel directly with your team.
Talented, versatile junior technical staff — mentored to become tomorrow's analysts, engineers, and researchers.
A flat corporate structure — built for the ease and longevity of long-running contracts.
DCAA-approved accounting system and DFARS IT compliance — ready for government contracting from day one.

CAGE Code84TZ7

DUNS#081289161

Our Commitment

What we promise, and to whom

To Our EmployeesPromote creative thinking and scientific problem-solving practices.

To Our CustomersProvide quality services and products governed by professional integrity.

To Our Industry PartnersCultivate relationships that better serve our shared customers.

To Our CommunityParticipate in community-based activities across North Alabama.

Leadership

Led by Mission Experience

Our leadership brings decades of experience supporting the Defense Intelligence community and critical national security missions.

Dr. Andrae Watson

President

Dr. Andrae Watson serves as President of Phased n Research, leading the company’s mission to advance radar technologies in support of its customers, employees, and industry partners. He oversees day-to-day operations and guides the company’s strategic growth, drawing on nearly two decades of leadership experience within the defense intelligence community.

A veteran of the U.S. Army Reserve, Dr. Watson has extensive experience leading programs, managing resources, and supporting critical national defense missions. He holds a Doctor of Strategic Leadership from Liberty University, a Master of Engineering Management, and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering Technology from Old Dominion University.

Technical Leadership

Led by radar practitioners

Our technical leadership combines academic depth with decades of real-world defense program experience. That experience drives practical solutions for complex radar, sensor, and mission-critical challenges.

Robert Balla

Executive vice president

Bob Balla serves as Executive Vice President of Phased n Research, bringing more than 45 years of experience in radar systems engineering, signal processing, electronic warfare, and missile defense. He leads PnR’s internal R&D and contract engineering activities and provides senior technical support for DoD efforts involving threat-representative emitters, advanced radar waveforms, electronic attack mitigation, and anechoic chamber development and calibration.

Bob is a recognized subject matter expert in phased-array radar, radar discrimination and tracking, digital beamforming, and threat analysis. He has authored or co-authored numerous technical publications and contributed the Electronic Warfare chapter to the Handbook of Radar Signal Analysis. He holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and master’s degrees in Radar Business Administration and Program Management.

Dr. Alejandro Chu

Vice President of Engineering

Dr. Alex Chu brings more than 40 years of experience developing, integrating, and fielding advanced microwave and radar systems. His technical expertise includes phased-array architectures, GaAs and GaN transmit-receive modules, MMIC technologies, radar modernization, and systems engineering.

Previously, Dr. Chu supported the Missile Defense Agency as a Principal Engineer at MITRE, contributing to globally deployed X-band radar sustainment, Next Generation Interceptor integration, and Counter-Unmanned Aerial Systems. He also pioneered multi-chip module and MMIC technologies at M/A-COM and advanced foundational GaAs technologies at MIT Lincoln Laboratory.

Dr. Chu holds advanced electrical engineering degrees from Stanford University and MIT.

Curtis H. Casteel, Jr.

Research Scientist & Radar Subject Matter Expert

Curtis H. Casteel, Jr. is a U.S. Air Force veteran, retired officer, Research Scientist, and radar engineer with more than 25 years of experience supporting defense radar and sensor programs. His expertise includes radar detection, tracking and discrimination, RCS, Doppler and micro-Doppler analysis, signal processing, electronic attack and protection, antenna characterization, and radar testing across UHF through Ka-band systems.

His career includes support for major Army and Missile Defense Agency platforms such as AN/TPY-2, LRDR, SBX, Cobra Dane, UEWR, Sentinel A3/A4, AN/TPQ-53, and LTAMDS. He also served as Chief Systems Engineer for the AN/TPY-2 radar.

Today, Curtis serves as a Radar Subject Matter Expert and Technical Advisor at Phased n Research, LLC, supporting advanced radar engineering, threat and UAS analysis, RF testing, and next-generation radar capability development for the warfighter.