About Us

LASEN, Inc. was incorporated in 1989 for the purpose of designing and building Differential Absorption Lidar (DIAL) remote detection systems for the Department of Defense. In 2002 the Department of Transportation in conjunction with the U.S. Air Force supported the development of what is now known as the Airborne Lidar Pipeline Inspection System (ALPIS). This cutting edge technology became available to the U.S. pipeline industry January 2005 has grown successfully delivering more accurate results in a fraction of the time compared to traditional inspection methods. Survey results are delivered on a secure online database within 1 to 12 hours of inspection. As one of LASEN’s continued customers states, “Lost gas is not just an equipment integrity or environmental issue; it is also a financial issue. The more gas we process through our system and deliver to our customers the more profitable we are.”

Our Staff

Winston Johnson

Winston is the CEO of LASEN now, but he has worked in the pipeline industry since 1972. He retired after 34 years from El Paso Company as Senior Vice President and Chief Engineer over Engineering supporting more than 50,000 miles of regulated mainline operations. While he was at El Paso, he was heavily involved in the pipeline industry research and served as chairman of both the Pipeline Research Council International and the Gas Machinery Research Council. Upon graduating from New Mexico State University, he was an Army officer, pilot and maintenance officer.

Rusty Jennett

Rusty is the President of LaSen and has been involved in developing laser technologies for numerous applications over the last 20 years. He brings the marketing skills to LASEN with his understanding of the advantages of the laser technologies. He has managed many contracts with the Department of Defense, Department of Transportation, Air Force and Department of Energy concerning the application of lasers. Since 2003, he has managed the development of laser technology to meet the challenges of the pipeline industry. He quickly recognized the needs of the pipeline industry and how to apply the laser technology in the industry. He currently serves on the Transportation Committee of the Texas Gas Association.

Ralph Motto

Ralph is the Vice President of Technology at LASEN and has more than 30 years of experience in the aerospace and laser industries. He worked on airborne navigation systems in the Air Force; the Space Station, Titan missiles and smart bomb laser guidance systems at Martin Marietta; and the B-1 bomber and Space Shuttle at Rockwell. At LASEN over the last 11 years, he has built and developed the inspection systems currently utilized and is developing the next generation of inspection systems. He draws on the research and technical assistance from personnel at New Mexico State University with which LaSen has a technology agreement.

Michael Shemwell

Michael is the Manager of Field Operations and has been with LASEN for more than five years. Initially, he conducted the field inspections and assisted in the development and verification of the inspection systems. Michael now schedules the inspections to meet the customer requirements and manages the field technicians. Daily, he reviews and processes the field data received from the field technicians and validates the inspections results.

David Troutman

David is the Technical Support Lead and has been at LASEN since 2003. He served as a Nuclear Reactor Operator on a U.S. Navy submarine, participated in the cleanup of radioactive contamination at various sites for the Department of Energy and was the Lead Quality Assurance inspector for a major semi conductor equipment manufacturer. He has degrees in radiation protection and laser-optics. He conducts system integration and optical alignment, and pre-deployment system tests to ensure the laser inspection systems are performing appropriately.

Field Technicians

Joe Nichols and Edward Ingram are the field technicians that work closely with the customers in the field to insure the customer requirements and last minute details of the inspections are properly handled as part of their inspection duties. All the LASEN technicians are Operator Qualified (OQ).