Corporate
Solid Edge ST4 Global Launch Event; Meet the SE Planning Team
If you are a Solid Edge customer, you may have received the email today from Senior Vice President and General Manager of Solid Edge and Velocity Series, Karsten Newbury (@Newbk), about the Soli...
If you are a Solid Edge customer, you may have received the email today from Senior Vice President and General Manager of Solid Edge and Velocity Series, Karsten Newbury (@Newbk), about the Solid Edge ST4 Global Launch Event. We’re calling this a launch event however with the large amount of interest from the “Edgers”, it’s turning out to be one heck of user event, in my opinion. And we just opened registration today! Space is limited so secure your spot and register now. Our early-bird discount ends on March 31st, 2011. (Note: We have registered a #hashtag for the event #ST4event for anyone that wants to follow the discussion on Twitter. )
Part of the draw to this event is the location, Rocket City. Yep, that’s right, Huntsville, AL. Why is HSV such a great location? Well, it just so happens to be the home to the Solid Edge Development team! At this event you’ll find plenty of representatives, including the “fathers of Solid Edge”, Dan Staples and Bill McClure, as well as Jeff Walker, the head of our Solid Edge planning group. If you attended the Productivity Summits this summer in the U.S. or some of the ones still happening around the world, you are very familiar with Dan, Bill and Jeff.
The team behind these three men are the unsung heroes that work diligently to make a very stable, robust, <insert synonym for awesome here>, bug-free 😉 CAD tool. I thought it would be nice to give you a little background on some of the technical experts that users will meet at the Solid Edge ST4 Global Launch Event. I asked Jeff Walker to provide me with some info on the planning team. Everyone on Jeff’s team will be at the event so if you have a particular area of the product that you would like to discuss, track these folks down. Oh, but you have to register for the event first!
Let’s meet the team!
(PS – Mark Burhop, fellow blogger, belonged to this team, but he recently got a new job. Congrats Mark!)
Jeff Walker – Manager, Solid Edge Product DesignJeff has a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Auburn University. Prior to his role in the Solid Edge Planning organization he was a stress analyst for the US Army Missile Command using FEA tools to conduct studies of missile systems and related equipment. Jeff has over 20 years of experience in the mechanical CAD and CAE software industry.
Ricky Black – Product Manager, Solid Edge DraftingRicky is product manager of the Solid Edge Draft and Translation software. He is nearing 30 years of experience in manufacturing and mechanical CAD. He has worked as a machinist and CNC programmer on flight hardware in the aerospace industry. He has also has worked as a CNC programmer in mold design. He worked as an instructor and applications engineer for Intergraph’s NC software. With his expertise in manufacturing he later moved into software development for the same NC software. Ricky was a member of the Solid Edge Draft software development team since the beginning of Solid Edge. He accepted the roll of the Solid Edge Draft Product Manager in the spring of 2002.
Christopher Dayton – Solid Edge Product Design
Chris holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Georgia Tech and a master’s degree in business administration from University of Alabama in Huntsville. He has been with the Solid Edge planning team for three years, but has long held memories of rendering X-29 experimental fighter jets on a dual screened Intergraph workstation as a young child. Since then, he’s had the opportunity to participate in a range of manufacturing, engineering and design environments, including: Stanley Bostitch, BellSouth and NASA.
Tamra L. Kite – Human-Computer Interaction DesignerTamra has a Master’s degree in Applied Cognitive Psychology from the Engineering Psychology program at New Mexico State University. Tamra has been a Human-Computer Interaction Designer for 26 years. Her experience includes CAD, NBC (Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical) Battlefield Intelligence for the US Army, Military Air Defense for Saudi Arabia, and Satellite Imagery Intelligence for the CIA.
Gan Kunda – Solid Edge Product DesignGan holds a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from BITS, India and is currently pursuing MBA at Vanderbilt University. After cutting his teeth on translators for about a year, he joined Solid Edge team in 1995 and has spent 15 years in Development in Part group implementing various functionalities and initiatives including Surfacing/Rapid Blue/Direct Modeling/Weldments and then laying down the architecture for Synchronous Technology. Gan also worked on Frames/Harnesses as part of Assembly Development. Gan has recently moved to Planning to concentrate efforts on improving Synchronous Technology.
Art Patrick – Product Manager, Solid Edge AssemblyArt is a senior member of the Solid Edge planning team located in Huntsville, Alabama. He joined the Solid Edge team prior to Solid Edge V1 and has completed projects across the entire Solid Edge application suite. As Assembly Product Manager he is now focused entirely on Solid Edge Assembly. Prior to Solid Edge, Art was as an end user responsible for designing and manufacturing parts for the Automotive and Aerospace industries. He holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Auburn University.
Jeff Prozan – Planning & User Interface Design & DevelopmentJeff has bachelor’s degrees in Communication Graphics and Computer Science from the University of Alabama in Huntsville. Jeff specifies product user interface, assists Planners with specifying user interface design and works with the Development organizations to implement the UI for the product release plan.Jeff also provides graphic design and icon design for Solid Edge. Jeff worked for a period as a programmer in the Solid Edge Part Development organization. Prior to joining Solid Edge, Jeff worked in the printing and electronic document publishing industries. Jeff has over 20 years experience in software development.
Dan Vinson – Product Manager, Solid Edge Part and Sheet Metal ModelingDan has a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Design from Auburn University. Before joining the Solid Edge team, Dan has applied CAD solutions in a variety of industries including control systems, consumer goods, and electronics. In addition, Dan has developed and applied CAD tools and simulation techniques in many diverse arenas including construction, product design, and filmmaking.
Steve Weatherwax – Solid Edge Product DesignSteve has been in the Mechanical CAD industry for over 25 years. Steve’s responsibilities include Modeling, Drafting, and the primary focus for 2D and 3D Data Translations. Prior to his role in the Solid Edge Planning organization, Steve worked 10 years as a machinist including numerical control programming.
