Forty Under 40: David M. Nelms
by January 1, 1999 12:00 am 173 views
As president and primary stockholder of Arkansas MicroElectronics Development Corp. of Fayetteville, David Nelms is overseeing the development of super-thin electronic components for NASA and the U.S. Department of Defense’s Ballistics Missile Defense Organization.
Nelms, 28, was instrumental this spring in MicroElectronics receiving a rare third Small Business Innovative Research grant. It’s the first Arkansas company to receive an SBIR grant from NASA in 14 years.
“The practical applications of small electronic components are usually cell phones, pagers and laptop computers,” says Nelms, a native of Batesville. “But NASA and the DOD are looking to put the components we make into their satellites and missile defense systems.”
Nelms received a doctorate in chemical engineering from the University of Arkansas where he was a research professor and a chemical engineer before joining MicroElectronics. The company is a client of the University of Arkansas’ Genesis Technology Incubator.
Nelms says he enjoys working in the advanced technology field and being involved with the day-to-day aspects of MicroElectronics, which employs three part-time employees. The company has been in existence for about a year and a half.
Nelms is in discussions with several local companies about helping them develop new technologies.