Judge

Affiliation

Biographical Statement

David Cashman

Ericsson Inc.

A Certified Project Management Professional (PMP), David has 14 years of overall project management experience with Ericsson Inc. and the United States Air Force. For seven of those years he has led RF and Transport UMTS/HSDPA, GSM, and TDMA projects at Ericsson Network, Technology, and Consulting.

Prana Kumar Singh

Tata Consultancy Services

“My association with this unique competition goes back to last year when I entered in the Safety and Security category. Innovation and unique ideas are the major field of my interest—the application of knowledge to practical applications is the force behind innovations.” A graduate of ISM Dhanbad India , one of Asia 's premier technical institutes, Prana works as a Java developer for TCS India.

Wendy Malloch

Freescale Semiconductor

A semiconductor industry professional for over 25 years, Wendy has worked in the U.K. , the U.S. and Japan . Currently, she is involved in the evaluation and productization of new, non-volatile embedded memories that are used in microcontrollers for the consumer, industrial and automotive markets.

Nils Jespersen

Aerospace Corp

With 30 years of experience as a communication systems engineering professional in the aerospace industry, Nils has been involved in communication system analysis, design and implementation of spacecraft and turnkey system applications—including monitoring progress on the Inmarsat-3 Communication Subsystem. He holds a Ph.D. in Electrophysics and Systems and is a member of the Institute for Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), the American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), Eta Kappa Nu Electrical Engineering Honor Society and Tau Beta Pi; Engineering Honor Society.

Riccardo Tarelli

Rete Ferroviaria Italiana SpA

Riccardo's experience in aerospace engineering has been far-reaching. He has participated in joint Italy/U.S. projects for the Italian firms Alenia and Agusta, developing ground and airborne defense, civil avionics, telecommunications, navigation, radar, traffic control and instrumentation systems. As a consultant of Ansaldo and then Fiat Ferroviaria Savigliano (Alstom), he helped put into operation of some of the today's conventional and high-speed on board and ground technological systems for railway lines, links and rolling stocks. Since 1996, his attention has been on Italy 's rail transport systems, working with TAV, the Italian high-speed rail company, and later Italferr , Italy 's government rail engineering company. Riccardo holds B. S. A. E. and M. S. A. E. degrees from Gordon University .

Mark Pettinato

Catholic University of America

Paula Pingree

Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)

Paula is a Senior Engineer in the Instruments and Science Data Systems Division at JPL. She has been involved in the design, integration, test and operation of many JPL flight projects, the most recent being the Deep Impact mission to a comet. She is presently the Electronics Lead for the Microwave Radiometer instrument on the Juno spacecraft, planned for a 2011 launch to Jupiter. She also enjoys research and technology development in the areas of accelerated on-board processing techniques and embedded FPGA co-design. Paula has a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Electrical Engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology and a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from California State University Northridge. She is a member of IEEE.

Dennis Coad

Boeing

Associate Technical Fellow for The Boeing Company, Dennis is the Lead Test Engineer for its Huntsville Laboratory and the corporate External Technical Affiliations Focal to ISA. He is responsible for conducting failure analysis for all Boeing programs in North Alabama .

Michael Norris

ATK Launch Systems

For 10 years at NASA, Michael worked on the ISS program in the Flight Control, Program Office and Engineering areas. He currently work as an avionics lead for advanced programs at ATK.

Peeush Kumar Bishnoi

GE India Technology Center

Holder of a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Cincinnati , Peeush has over 15 years of industry experience in energy and propulsion technologies. Currently Program Manager for aircraft engines at GE India, he has worked on heat transfer equipment design and design tools for aerospace applications.

Monterino Overson

Seagate

Monty has worked in Silicon Valley since 1980 and been directly involved with the progress of many technologies there in that time. A vacuum systems specialist, with emphasis in sputtering thin films, he is an avid inventor, with more than 30 patent applications pending. “I've designed and built hundreds of enhancements, improvements and brand new devices and I regularly lose 20 hours a week busily buried in new pursuits. The quest is always about one thing: ‘Why Not!?'”

Glen A. Mackie

Ford Motor Company

Glen has over 25 years of experience in new product engineering. He is presently a product development supervisor at Ford Motor Company and has had leadership positions in engineering and product development at Accenture, Chrysler, and National Semiconductor. He is a registered Professional Engineer and holds an M.B.A. from the University of Michigan , an M.S. from Wayne State University and a B.S.E.E. from the University of Cincinnati .

Brenda Tollett

Ashland Inc.

Brenda Tollett is currently the Director of Innovation for Ashland Inc., a diversified chemical company. Previously she was Vice President of Innovation for The Valvoline Company. She has been working in the area of innovation for approximately 6 years and is active in several organizations, including the Product Development and Management Association, International Research Institute, ILO [qq1] and the Berkeley Innovation Forum.

Ramesh N. Chaubey

U.S. Air Force

Currently an Engineering Manager for Systems Engineering and Infrared Military Satellites for the U.S. Air Force, Ramesh has over 35 years of experience in design and engineering of military satellites, jet aircraft, fossil, and nuclear power plants. He holds an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Brooklyn Polytechnic. Upon retirement, he plans to manufacture a hybrid eBike and/or eCar, and renewal energy products.

Thomas C Herms

Freescale Semiconductor

Thomas has worked on the leading edge of the electronics field since 1967 when he enlisted in the U.S. Navy. He served as a Navigation Electronics Technician aboard a nuclear submarine for seven years, and then served as an Avionics Technician in the Naval Reserve for another 15 years. A graduate of San Diego State University (B.S. in Engineering, specializing in computer system design), he joined Control Data Corp. to lead the test effort for the Cyber18 computer, and then helped develop the Single Card Processor (similar to PC) and computer system and terminals for the first state lotteries. At the Honeywell Solid State Products Center , he developed tests for special purpose aerospace components. At Cray Research, he helped develop the Cray3 and Cray4.

Youssef Kohanzadeh

The Boeing Company

A Quantum Electronics Ph.D. graduate of the University of California at Berkeley, Youssef has instructed at the UC Santa Barbara Electrical Engineering Department and worked at Borroughs Corp., Spectrolab, Hughes Aircraft, Rockwell and Boeing, where he is an Associate Technical Fellow. Experienced in high-energy laser programs and global communication and satellite systems, he is an expert in fiber optics, electro-optics, lasers and system engineering. He also works in cooperation with Bio-Medical Engineering at Cedars Sinai Health Organization.

Jim Hathaway

Northrop Grumman Space Technologies

Jim is currently a Program Manager at Northrop Grumman Space Technologies. He has over 20 years of experience in high-speed digital and RF electronics for military as well as commercial applications. Jim has written numerous papers and holds several patents in the field.

Mark Jaster

ASRC Aerospace at NASA GRC

A CASE Inventor with a love for good design and passion for improvement, Mark is currently an engineer at the NASA Glenn Research Center . He holds an Associates Degree in Manufacturing Technology and B.S. in Technology Management from BYU-Idaho, and is pursuing his M.B.A. with an emphasis in Innovation Technology.

Steve Schwarzbek

Northrop Grumman

Steve has been involved in the development of high-speed digital circuits in high-temperature superconductors (“Not a technology destined for commercial success—yet!” he says.). He has also supported RF design work, especially aligning design processes with software applications and developing the appropriate links between disciplines on the electronic design part of Northrup Grumman's products. For the last few years he has been developing strategy by which NG can support the full range of design engineering in a wide range of space technologies.

Reinhard Pahl

Hamamatsu Corp.

A former Feodor Lynen Fellow & Visiting Scientist at Cornell, Reinhard has also conducted research at the University of Chicago and Howard University . He received his PhD in Physics, from the University of Dortmund, Germany [qq2] .

Dr. Jim Maloney

Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co.

As Goodyear's Manager of North American Airship Operations, Jim oversees three of the corporation's famous airships and their crews. He holds FAA Commercial Pilot, Instrument and Lighter-Than-Air Airship Ratings and is a member of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, Quiet Birdmen and Institute of Electronic and Electrical Engineers. He received his B.S. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, his M.S. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from USC.

Gilbert L. Alegi, P.E.

Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems

Gil is a Senior Principal Mechanical Engineer at Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems in Portsmouth , RI . He received his B.S.M.E. from UMass-Dartmouth and M.S.M.E. from Georgia Tech. Over more than two decades, he has developed high-density electronic assemblies at Raytheon centers in Massachusetts and Rhode Island . He is currently the Mechanical Product Design section manager in the Undersea and Electronics Systems department of the Mechanical Engineering Directorate. There, he provides mechanical engineering leadership for cabinet and enclosure designs on a variety of naval programs. Previously, he was the Lead Mechanical Engineer for the Zumwalt Class Destroyer MK57 Vertical Launching System Engineering Development Model. He was also the Mechanical Engineer for the Data System Experiment that flew aboard Discovery STS-39 in 1991. Gil is a Registered Professional Engineer, holds a U.S. patent, has published technical papers and is a Raytheon Technical Honors award winner.

Jeff Newmeyer

Lockheed Martin ATC

Jeff has worked for 26 years at Lockheed Martin in system analysis and technology development relating primarily to missile and space systems. He has conducted foreign military technology development analysis for the US Government. He performed postdoctoral research in high-energy physics phenomenology in the theory group at SLAC and has worked in device design and performance analysis and simulation at Los Alamos . He holds a B.S. in Engineering Physics from University of California at Berkley , an M.S. in Physics from the University of Illinois and a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Virginia .

Jeffery J. Puschell

Raytheon

Jeff has more than 31 years of experience in developing advanced technology and bringing it to practice for a variety of commercial, government and research applications. His experience is broadly based and includes major contributions toward developing visible-infrared instruments for space-based operational environmental imaging; developing and field testing laser-based communication and remote sensing systems; and building and using RF, infrared, visible and ultraviolet wavelength systems for ground-based astronomy, communication, transportation and energy enterprises.

David Ferguson

Vistakon, Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc.

David is a Mechanical Engineer from Auburn University with more than 14 years of professional experience in designing and building equipment for a wide variety of industries (man-made fiber, automotive, electric motor, compact disc, process measurement). He currently develops equipment and processes to support the manufacturing of soft contact lenses. He volunteers at his children's schools to help with math and science education. He also leads he church youth group, sharing with middle and high school students his understandings of science and its use in the study of God's creation. This is his second year as a judge for the "Create the Future" contest.

David Zika

Boeing Integrated Defense Systems

David has worked for the Boeing Company (and previously McDonnell Douglas) for 22 years, and has been a principal investigator in the research and development of electrical and fiber optic components for aerospace applications. He was recently elected Division Chairman of the SAE Avionic Systems Division Technical Standards Board.

William Brosey

BWXT Y-12

With 25 years in manufacturing technology development, project management and business development, William today is a Section Manager for Characterization and Analysis Technology in the Applied Technologies Division of the Y-12 National Security Complex. He has been actively involved in environmentally conscious manufacturing efforts; safeguards and security planning and technology development; and material characterization and analysis technology development for a wide range of material process technologies.

Thomas Colangelo

Boeing

Thomas graduated from the University of Southern California with a Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering and has worked in design, integration and flight test on many vehicles including the B-2 Stealth Bomber, B-1 Bomber, International Space Station and other proprietary projects. He is currently leading a high-performance engineering team in the field of Navigation, Guidance and Control.

Craig N. Faller

Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc.

Craig graduated with Bachelors of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Cincinnati in 1998. He has 12 years of experience as a Design Engineer at Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc., a medical device firm.

Jim Wong

McMEM

With 27 years of engineering experience, Jim has been the aerothermal and thermal protection system Lead Engineer of Northrop Grumman Corporation for the NASA CEV (Crew Exploration Vehicle) project. He holds a B.S. from Caltech and an M.S. from the University of Delaware .

David L. Turnock

Lockheed Martin Aeronautics

David has more than 24 years of experience in the design, wind tunnel testing, ground testing and flight testing of aircraft at NASA, General Dynamics, and Lockheed Martin.

H. F. Tibbals

UT Southwestern Medical Center

Dr. H. F. Tibbals provides engineering and basic science support in analytical and physical technologies to the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, where he has served as Bioinstrumentation Director since 1997. Previously he was a Senior Systems Scientist for Rockwell, United Technologies and Biodigital Technologies. He has worked in electrochemistry, analytical chemistry, semiconductor devices, digital signal processing and medical devices and instrumentation in the U.S. , Japan and Europe . He holds a B.S. in Chemistry and Mathematics and a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from the University of Houston .

Cherie Topper

RT Associates

Cherie is Partner and CFO at RT Associates, an intellectual property registration and management firm in Santa Barbara , California . With a career spanning 27 years in science and engineering, she remains an enduring fan of new technology and the people who develop it.

Kiran Reddy

Kimberly Clark Corporation

Kiran is a Senior Research Scientist with 7 years of product development and project management experience, specializing in consumer product design and develpoment, zero waste processes, green technologies and medical devices. He holds three patents and has more than 20 patent applications pending.

Thomas J. Steinbrunner

NASIC/FCIM

A 1976 Graduate of the United States Military Academy , Thomas served 11 Years on Active Duty in the Army and 17 Years on with the Army Reserve. For more than two decades of his civilian life he has worked as a threat analyst for the Department of Defense.

Shrikant Joshi

Delphi Corporation

Currently a Product Line Director at Delphi , Shrikant has more than 28 years of experience in various aspects of business including engineering, manufacturing and marketing. He holds advanced degrees in engineering and management—as well as 25 patents for his inventions.

Aaron Perry

Alinghi

Aaron works as a design engineer for Team Alinghi, which recently won sailing's premier trophy, 32nd America 's Cup. He holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Northwestern University and has eight years of experience in sailboat design. The 2007 Cup campaign was his third; he previously worked for Seattle 's OneWorld Challenge and San Francisco 's America True. He looks forward to his fourth, continuing with the Swiss defenders of the trophy.

Jonathan L. Wasserman

Paul Reed Smith Guitars, Ltd.

An R&D Project Engineer for acclaimed Paul Reed Smith Guitars, Jonathan designs and engineers components, electronics, and pickups for electric, electric-acoustic, and electric bass guitars. He has also been a Mechanical Designer for a valve and coupling manufacturer for 8 years. (And he's been a SolidWorks devotee since the '97 version.)

Chris Weiss

The Knapheide Manufacturing Company

Vice President of Engineering for The Knapheide Manufacturing Company, a full-service commercial vehicle body manufacturer, Chris is responsible for all engineering design activities including current product engineering, custom engineering and new product development, as well as product support. His 11 years in truck body design and manufacturing include working in several vehicle divisions at Federal Signal Corporation. He has also spent four years in the space industry designing solid rockets on the Space Shuttle program. Chris holds a B. S. in Aeronautical Engineering from Purdue University , an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Utah and an M.B.A. from DePaul University .

Adam Smith

Product Creation Studio