Salute to Alumni

David Parish, continued

A $15 million contract with the Department of Defense has Parish's company, Omnitech Robotics, supplying the equipment that is helping the U.S. Army clear land mines from the war-ravaged country. Among the fastest growing companies in Colorado, the Englewood-based firm has seen explosive growth in its mine sweeping business with other potential applications including firefighting operations, hazardous waste clean-up, and rescue activities.

Parish launched the company in 1984 as a manufacturer of servo-motion control boards after working as an engineer with Motorola, Lockheed Martin, and other companies. Omnitech's focus on unmanned ground vehicles began in 1992 with a research proposal to NASA and the U.S. Marine Corps. With $2.7 million in funding, "I could finally move out of my basement and garage," Parish says.

In addition to technical skills, which Parish learned in the mechanical engineering program at CU-Boulder, as well as at Arizona State University where he earned a master's degree in electrical engineering, Parish says a balance of people skills and communication skills are important. He also advises developing will power. "Some people expect others to do it for them, but it is important to have the will power to do it yourself," he says. "When I see young people with ambition and who are persistent enough to get through to me, I respect that."