Scientific Instruments is a privately-held Florida corporation which was founded in
1967 by Aerospace Engineer Mr. John P. Hoey and Physicist Mr. Gilbert
Halverson.It is currently operated by
Mr. Hoey's daughter, Leigh Ann Hoey, now President of the corporation.
The company's purpose is to provide the best in sensors and
instrumentation to the scientific and industrial communities with an emphasis
on customer satisfaction and support.
The products supplied by Scientific Instruments include:
Liquid
level, temperature and density tank gauging systems
Cryogenic
temperature sensors
Cryogenic
temperature indicators and controllers
Industrial
liquid level and temperature probes
Aerospace
liquid level and temperature probes and transducers
Fuel
management system for Delta II launch vehicles
Commercial
aircraft temperature probes
HISTORY
The initial products developed and manufactured by
Scientific Instruments were cryogenic temperature sensors including Germanium
Resistance thermometers and Silicon Diodes. These temperature sensing devices
created opportunities in the aerospace, industrial and laboratory research
industries. Of particular note is the fact that SII supplied a number of
Germanium Resistance thermometers that were installed into Helium and Hydrogen
systems on the Apollo space craft and at the end of the 1960's flew on lunar
landing missions.
The basis of many of the current products of SI is the
technology that was perfected through the development of cryogenic temperature
sensors. These temperature sensors are the largest commercial activity of SI and
include Silicon Diode, Gallium Arsenide Diode, Ruthenium Oxide, and Platinum
RTD sensors. The sensors are used in petrochemical, aerospace, laboratory and
research, high energy physics devices and industrial applications. Scientific
Instruments is the sole-source supplier of temperature probes and transducers
for the NASA Shuttle program. Sensors and probes have been supplied for the
Hubble Telescope, the Space Station, and numerous high energy particle beam
accelerators and provide critical temperature measurements in magnetic fields
on most Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) devices manufactured worldwide.
The company presently is active in the seven distinct
product areas listed above. Although separate, these products are "synergistic"
as they are technologically related to temperature and liquid level measurement
and control. With one exception, all product areas supported by Scientific
Instruments are related to cryogenic applications, meaning extremely low
temperatures, typically in range of 0.05K to 300K (-459F to +80F)
In 1975 Scientific Instruments invented and patented the
liquid level, temperature and density (LTD) tank gauging system for large LNG
storage tanks. The first system was installed at Atlanta Gas Light Riverdale
facility in Atlanta, Georgia. This system has been in
continuous operation since installation and has undergone two upgrades over this
period of time. During the history of supply of the LTD system several hundred
units have been shipped and installed at facilities located virtually around
the world.
In recent years Scientific Instruments has teamed with
manufacturers of servo and radar liquid level and temperature gauges to be able
to provide a complete instrumentation package for LNG storage tanks. SI also
offers a PC based Data Acquisition System for the collection of data from all of
the tank gauging instruments into a graphical user interface and transmission
to the host plant control system. This instrumentation is available in a number
of different configurations to meet specific customer requirements.
DEVELOPMENT
In addition to continued development in the product areas
mentioned above, Scientific Instruments is currently engaged in development of
a new product designed for analyzing the composition of LNG using Raman
spectroscopy.This technology does not
require re-gasification but instead allows an optical probe to be inserted at
the desired measuring point with the composition output via standard
communication protocols. A "beta" system has been in operation for more than
six months and has proven the viability of this approach in actual LNG plant
conditions.
Scientific Instruments Inc. is an ISO9001-2000 registered
company since 1995 and holds ATEX, NASA, TIIS (Japan) and FAA certifications for
manufacture of various products.
