David Layer is vice president, advanced engineering in NAB’s Technology department and in his 31st year at NAB. Educated as an Electrical Engineer at the University of Maryland and Purdue University in Indiana, David worked as a hardware designer for COMSAT Laboratories in the earlier part of his career, focusing on digital communications technologies for geosynchronous satellite systems.
David came to NAB in 1995 to apply his expertise to the testing and standardization of broadcast radio technologies. As an administrator of the National Radio Systems Committee, David participated in the evaluation of the HD Radio system which would be adopted by the FCC in 2002 as the digital radio standard for the US.
These days, David’s principal responsibilities include serving as a project manager for technology projects being conducted by PILOT (NAB’s innovation initiative), and as principal administrator of the NAB Radio Technology Committee, a group of technical executives from NAB member companies that advises NAB on technology development and technical regulatory matters. David also provides technical support to NAB’s efforts at the FCC and on Capitol Hill.
David was the recipient of the Association of Public Radio Engineer’s Engineering Achievement Award in 2023. He received Radio World’s 2015 Excellence in Engineering Award and was recognized by Radio Ink Magazine in November 2010 as among the top ten best engineers in radio. In 2014 David received the Consumer Electronics Association Technology Leadership Award. The IEEE BTS awarded David the Matti Siukola Memorial Award for the Best Paper of both the 2014 and 2018 IEEE Broadcast Symposia.