Fundamentals for Technical Professionals

Steve Starrett is an Associate Professor of Water Engineering at Kansas State University where he has taught courses in engineering ethics for over ten years. He is a member (and past chair) of the Committee on Licensure and Ethics for the American Society of Civil Engineering (ASCE). Dr. Starrett served as a Technical Chair for the Environmental and Water Resources Institute 2009 Congress. Dr. Starrett is the principal and owner of Starrett Engineering, LLC and a licensed Professional Engineer in four states.

Dr. Matthew Ohland, is a Professor of Engineering Education at Purdue University. His research on the longitudinal study of engineering student development, team formation, peer evaluation, and extending the use of active and cooperative learning methods has been supported by the National Science Foundation and the Sloan Foundation. Dr. Ohland serves the IEEE Education Society and also serves ABET as a Program Evaluator for general engineering programs.

Dr. Matthew Ma has an extensive industrial experience having worked in the field of electrical and computer engineering with 3 published books, over 30 publications and 14 U.S. granted patents. He has also played several roles in the intellectual property field and is an IEEE senior member and also a patent agent admitted to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Matthew holds a B.S., M.S., and a Ph.D., all in electrical and computer engineering from Tsinghua University in Beijing, University and Northeastern Univ.

After many years of work in upper atmosphere research, development of process control systems, and as an entrepreneur, Gerard (Gus) Gaynor joined 3M where innovation is not a matter of choice but an expectation. After completing his tenure at 3M as a technology executive Gaynor organized G. H. Gaynor and Associates concentrating in managing technology and innovation from a systems perspective.

Dr. Laplante is Professor of Software Engineering at Penn State, where he teaches and conducts applied research in software and systems engineering. He has over 25 years of experience building, studying, and teaching about various kinds of software systems. Dr. Laplante has authored or edited 28 books and has published more than 200 scholarly papers. Dr. Laplante is a Fellow of the IEEE and SPIE. He is also currently leading the team that is writing the licensure exam for software engineers in the United States.

Anthony Fasano received B.S. and M.S. in Civil Engineering from Lafayette College and Columbia University. After becoming a partner at an engineering firm at the age of 27, he realized that his success was related largely to the development of his non-technical skills. Mr. Fasano decided to transition his career from designing to inspiring engineers to develop the nontechnical skills crucial to career success. Anthony has written a bestselling book entitled Engineer Your Own Success: 7 Key Elements to Creating an Extraordinary Engineering Career.

Alessandro Ferrero is a Professor of electrical and electronic measurements at the Dipartimento di Elettrotecnica of the Politecnico di Milano.