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DDECAGONDEVICES

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Decagon’s first product wasimprovised in 1963 by Dr.Gaylon Campbell, thenworking as anundergraduate in a SoilPhysics lab.

A Frustrating ChallengeTired of painstakingly calibrating fragilethermocouples with a series of salt solutions onlyto break them before he could measure a singlesoil sample, Campbell wondered, “Why can’t I keepthe thermocouple fixed and bring the salt solutions

to the thermocouple instead of the otherway around?”

A Visionary SolutionSuddenly inspired, he saw therevolving cylinder of a six-shooter in his mind, with eachsolution-filled chamber rotating

under the thermocouple to beread. After rummaging around in

the lab, he found an old brass

permeameter, repurposed it, and the thermocouplepsychrometer sample changer was born.

Water Potential DefinedA thermocouple psychrometer is a sensor built tomeasure water potential. Water potential is one ofthe most fundamental measurements in the studyof soil. Like voltage measures energy in electricity,water potential measures the energy of water.

More than just GravityWater in soil is acted on by many forces. Obviously,gravity is one of these forces. But if gravity were theonly force acting on water, all soil above the watertable would be dry.

Powerful Forces of NatureWater in soil is also moved and held in gravity-defying ways by powerful adhesive and cohesiveforces. Water potential quantifies these forces.

A Virtually Impossible MeasurementWater potential measurements are not justimportant to soil scientists. They are also important

X Decagon team stand in the atrium of the new Hopkins Court building.

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to plant and animal scientists. But until the 1950s,most researchers thought it was virtuallyimpossible to measure water potential outside avery wet zone.

A Virtually Impossible SolutionWater activity was first accurately measured using athermocouple psychrometer by D.C. Spanner in1951. Although Spanner proved it could be done,his method was so difficult—he made his own wireout of bismuth antimony—that others struggled torepeat it.

Better...But Still DifficultEventually, researchers found viable, commerciallyavailable wire. This made the measurementspossible, but still amazingly difficult. It took up to aweek to equilibrate the samples, andthermocouples were easily contaminated orbroken.

The Secret of SuccessThen came Dr. Campbell and his “six shooter” idea.With his prototype sample changer, measurementsthat had been almost impossible to make becamesuddenly trivial.

Publication and PropagationDr. Campbell published details of the improvedthermocouple psychrometer in 1966. By 1979, hehad developed a useful thermocouplepsychrometer sample changer and had several ofthem built.

Birth of a BusinessDecagon was actually founded by Dr. Campbell’shigh school aged daughters as a way of earningmoney for college. They turned selling samplechangers into an after school business thateventually grew from its 120 square foot basementspace to the current 33,000 square foot buildingwith attached soccer field and in-house slot car track.

Discovering Human PotentialStarting with the Campbell sisters, Decagon hasalways had improbable employees. It is a companywilling to hire a person of ability regardless of

X Though Decagon was started by high schoolaged sisters, the foundations of the companywere actually laid by soil scientist Dr. GaylonCampbell (pictured with wife Judy) and firstPresident and CEO Joseph Harris.

resume. Like many small companies, it has beenblessed by nepotism and has been fortunate in thecontributions of its friends.

Investing in People Makes the DifferenceDecagon today makes sensors that measure manyattributes of the world—from transpiration in leavesto thermal conductivity of drilling mud, from thesafety of shelf-stable cookies to the permeability ofraincoats. But we exist not so much in the qualityand breadth of our sensors and instruments as inthe ingenuity, determination, creativity, and skill ofour past and present employees. They make usbelieve that this may not be the last time we’llhave to move. �

Water Potential, Human PotentialA growing company built byuncommon people.

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On August 4, 2007, the Phoenix MarsLander blasted off from Kennedy SpaceCenter. Next May, Phoenix will—hopefully—set its feet down firmly onthe northern polar region of Mars. Soon

after that, Phoenix’s robotic arm will push fourshort, fat probes into the Martian regolith and, if allgoes well, find quantitative answers to some of ouroldest questions about Mars.Those four probes and theinstrument that runs them weredesigned and built by Decagon’sengineering team.

But we're Earth ScientistsDecagon never planned to getinvolved in planetary science.Over the years, earth science hasproved enough of a challenge.But when a mothballed MarsLander was revived, phoenix-style, and given another shot atthe Red Planet, NASA’s JetPropulsion Laboratory (JPL)decided to replace one of theinstruments on the lander’srobotic arm. After seeingDecagon’s KD-2 ThermalConductivity Probe, JPL asked ifDecagon had ever thought ofputting a thermal needle on aspacecraft.

Tools, Skills, and Curiosity“We were pretty reluctant,” says Dr. Colin Campbell,a Decagon Research Scientist. “We’ve alwaysavoided government contracts in favor of doing ourown product development, but the guys at JPLinsisted that we were just the group of people theywere looking for—a company that combined aknowledge of fundamental soils measurementswith the ability to design and buildinstrumentation.”

Undaunted by ComplexityIn the end Decagon accepted the challengeand hired Dr. Douglas Cobos to head theThermal and Electrical ConductivityProbe (TECP) design project. Figuringout the complex science of makingthermal conductivity measurementson Mars turned out to be the easiestpart of the project. The toughest

challenges camefrom having to fit inwith JPL’sspecifications. Becausethe TECP replacedanother instrument,Decagon engineers soondiscovered that everything aboutthe TECP’s design—from locationand orientation tocommunications protocol—hadbeen inconveniently predefinedby the location and protocols ofthe previous instrument.

Tough AngleThe TECP’s orientation on therobotic arm meant that its probeneedles would be pushed intoMartian soil at an angle.Decagon’s KD-2 ThermalConductivity probes are long,

X NASA’s Phoenix Mars Landerlaunched successfully Saturdaymorning August 4, 2007 at5:26 AM EDT from CapeCanaveral Air force Station,Florida

With the Mars Lander, our whois done, how things

Knowledge from a dif

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thin needles. If they are pushed at an angle, theysnap. The needles had to be redesigned—madeshort, fat, and conical—but that meant acomplicated change in the mathematicalalgorithms that translate electronic measurementsto thermal conductivity data. That challenge initiallyseemed insurmountable.

Compatibility ClashesThen there was the challenge of using a 12 bitdigital to analog converter. The KD-2 used a 24 bit

converter. The 12 bit converter reduced resolutionby orders of magnitude and was another

major hurdle. Then the add-ons started.Originally, the TECP was only intended tomeasure the thermal conductivity of soilon Mars. But as development progressed,the queries started.

Feature CreepCould you measure electrical properties?

How about electrical conductivity?Humidity? Wind speed? In the end, the

little instrument that could became a SwissArmy knife of sensors. And when Phoenix left

for Mars, all those sensors were working.

Deeper than MarsScientists, at Decagon and elsewhere, are excitedabout what TECP will tell us about Mars. But hereat Decagon, it’s interesting to discover what TECPhas told us about ourselves.

Freedom to Stretch Ourselves“It’s kind of like when I started running,” Campbellsays. “I had a set route in town. I would make itlonger, run farther, but I kind of had a boundary.One day I went running with a friend anddiscovered that he was covering a lot moreground—going outside town, running out on rural

X Dr. Doug Cobos tests an ECH2Osensor which measures soil moisture,temperature, and electricalconductivity. Improvements to the TECPmathematical model ultimatelyincreased the accuracy and capabilitiesof Decagon's commercial instruments.

our whole perspective on how scienceow things can be put together, changed.

m a different planet … Mars.

roads. I never thought you could run that far. Then Irealized you’re free to go as far as you’d like.

Expanding Horizons“With the Mars Lander, our whole perspective onhow science is done, how things can be puttogether, changed. It made me realize that if there’sa project we want to do, we have the people andthe skills and the know-how. We can accomplishalmost anything we want to do if we decide to do it.”�

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Most big—and small—companies measure wateractivity to assure the safetyand quality of theirproducts. In fact, the

biggest and most respected food companies inthe world check water activity to comply withUSDA and FDA safety standards. And nearly all ofthem use Decagon’s AquaLab water activitymeters.

AquaLab Gives Fast ResultsAquaLab was a revolution—it read water activityin five minutes, and with five times greateraccuracy. It was affordable. It could be run—easily—by a lab technician.

Too Good to be True?In fact, initially one of our competitors’ mostpersuasive arguments against AquaLab was thatits speed and accuracy were simply too good tobe true. A prominent researcher admitted, “Ididn’t believe you until I actually did the testmyself. I didn’t believe that you could do it.”

Proving We're SeriousSeveral leading scientists published peer-reviewed papers verifying that AquaLab did do it.Decagon used to send those papers out regularlyto the doubters. For a while, Decagon also useda phone demo. We’d ship the customer aninstrument and teach them to use it over thephone. Once a company got the instrument intheir hands, they rarely sent it back.

UnbelievableAquaLab

X Decagon customers also use water activity specsto monitor quality,making sure for example thatdog food stays moist, plastic doesn’tlook streaky,and the icing doesn’t slide off cakes as theydefrost.

� A CONSUMER bites intohis Raisin Bran. The

flakes are not quite ascrunchy as he hoped

they would be. The raisinis like a rock. It breaks

his tooth.

If the raisin branmanufacturer had matchedthe water activity of theflakes and the raisins, theflakes would have stayedcrunchy and the raisins softand chewy.

� A FARMER driesharvested nuts

until they containonly 4% water,just like he has

for years. Heships the nuts.

When they arrivein stores, they’re

all moldy.

If the pecanproducer hadmeasured wateractivity instead ofwater content, hispecans wouldhave stayed freshand his customerswould have stayedhappy.

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You may not have heard of water activity, but you should beglad most branded foods in your pantry are tested for it.

Unknown Becomes de Facto StandardNow phone demos are a thing of the past, and thepapers mostly sit in a pile on the literature rack.There aren’t many doubters left. AquaLab is theindustry standard water activity meter. Competitorsstill can’t come close to matching its speed andaccuracy.

We're Ready for TomorrowBut Decagon’s scientists and engineers have neverreally watched the competition. We’re mainly

competing for bettersolutions to still-existingproblems in food qualityand safety.

Success Repeats ItselfDecagon’s new VaporSorption Analyzer is set torevolutionizeisothermtesting. Until now,isotherms have takenweeks of painstaking workbyhand. The VSAgenerates dynamicisotherm curves within

about 48 hourswithout any hands-on work. Newcapabilities will also offerresearchers the ability tohold a sample at one specific relativehumidity forkinetic testing. �

� A WOMAN opensa package of beef

jerky and eats apiece. Hours later

she is rushed tothe hospital,

violently ill. Thejerky was taintedwith salmonella.

If the jerkyproducer hadmeasured wateractivity, the jerkywould have beensafe and thewoman wouldhave been aconsumer insteadof a plaintiff.

X Decagon's customer service team gets ravereviews:

“ I was very surprised to see our unit returnedto us the very next day after my request toexpedite the maintenance and calibration …dealing with outside vendors for calibration andservices can often be a headache … Dealingwith Decagon has been a pleasure. ”

“ We rely on AquaLab to work when we do! Andit has not disappointed us! ”

[ Every company has it’s passion. Oneof Decagon's is a high-tech machineshop. The shop was originally built tomachine prototypes, but when Decagonfound itself reworking supplier-madeparts to meet quality standards, theshop grew into a full productionfacility. Most of Decagon's precisionparts are produced here.

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DDECAGONDEVICES

2365 NE Hopkins CourtPullman, Washington 99163

800-755-2751fax 509-332-5158

www.decagon.com1-509-332-2756

“ We exist not so much in thequality and breadth of our sensorsand instruments as in theingenuity, determination, creativity,and skill of our past and presentemployees. ”

A t age 14, Scott Campbell started his career at Decagon. He

was a janitor. His initial attempts to climb the career ladder were not successful. (He asked his boss what he could do to get araise; the answer: “Actually, I’ve been thinking of firing you.”)

Scott made a better marketer than janitor. By the time he finished college (BSChemistry, 2000), he was working as Decagon’s first International RepCoordinator. Our reps loved him, and he did a great job.

He didn’t stick around long, though. I was so impressed by the fact that heknew where he wanted to go and he knew how he was going to get there. Hestudied, got the scores and grades he needed, and went to one of the bestbusiness schools in the nation.

When he graduated with an MBA from Wharton in 2004, he went to work forPPG, a Fortune 500 company, but I had already started thinking about how toget him to come back. He did some consulting work for us, and it wasobvious that he had the super-skills we wanted. He had a plan for thecompany and a way to get there aggressively.

Scott will become our new President and CEO on January 1, 2012. He has astrategic vision for Decagon’s future and an assertive, no-holds-barredapproach to attacking problems. Our reps who knew him as an undergrad areexcited to know he’s back, but they can’t be more excited than I am.

I look forward to going where he plans to take us and give him my fullsupport.

Sincerely,

Tamsin JolleyPresident & CEO

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