IEEE Region 5 Conference and
TechCon'98 Keynote Speakers
TechCon'98 Luncheon Keynote,
Noon-1:30pm, Friday, 17th.
A New-Age Perspective:
The Entrepreneurial Engineer
by
Michael R. Wilkinson
President and Founder,
Paragon Innovations Inc.
Abstract: Entrepreneuring, outsourcing, internal business
units. The concept of the "virtual organization" is already creating
new opportunities and defining new ways of doing business. After the year
2000, successful engineers may need to have much in common with successful
entrepreneurs. Optimistic about the future and about engineering, Michael
shares some of his secrets for New Age survival. With this knowledge, perhaps
we can avoid the harder lessons he learned along the way.
Founded in 1990, Paragon Innovations has become one of the fastest growing
providers of embedded systems development and technical services. Its customers
include such giants as Advanced Micro Devices, Hitachi America Ltd., and
Matsushita/Panasonic.
Biography: Wilkinson graduated from Texas A&M in
1986 with an electrical engineering technology degree and entered the job
market, working in research and development. Four years later, he vigorously
pursued a vision, founding Paragon Innovations. The rest is straight Horatio
Alger!
Wilkinson has been profiled or quoted in the Dallas Business Journal,
EE Times and Electronic Buyers News. Active in the American Electronics
Association (AEA), he serves as chairman of the North Texas CEO chapter.
He is a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers
(IEEE); the Dallas/Fort Worth UNIX User's Group; and the Richardson Chamber
of Commerce, where he co-chairs the Technology Business Council Software
Roundtable.
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Region 5 Conference Luncheon
Keynote, Noon-1:30pm, Saturday, 18th.
Egyptian Engineering
Ingenuity
by
Clair Russell Ossian,
Ph.D.
Abstract: By any standards, ancient Egyptians were very
successful in solving complex engineering problems. These highly innovative
people lacked iron and steel, had no huge earth-moving machinery, did not
operate lifting or cutting equipment using electric power, and performed
their work without that mainstay of modern engineering - the computer.
In spite of this, they built pyramids and temples that remain the marvel
of both ancient and modern worlds.
Engineering is almost always about solving difficult problems. It is
about innovative thinking in the use of resources. This overview surveys
some of the technical barriers that faced the ancient Egyptians and shows
how they built a complex society using alternative solutions.
Biography: With over 20 years of experience, Dr. Ossian has
led project teams in Gabon, Congo (West Africa), the eastern Java Sea (Indonesia),
China (P.R.C.), Eastern Canada, Alaska North Slope, Texas and Louisiana.
He has conducted seminars in China and published over 55 papers on geology,
botany, and Egyptology. He is currently writing a book on Egyptology.
Dr. Ossian is a member of the American Association for the Advancement
of Science and is a Fellow of Sigma Xi National Scientific Honors Society.
He is President, North Texas Chapter-American Research Center in Egypt
and a member of the Egyptian Exploration Society.
Current and former activities include consulting as President, The
OSSIAN Group; teaching as a Faculty Member, Tarrant County Junior College;
studies and projects as a Certified Principal Research Geologist for the
ATLANTIC RICHFIELD COMPANY. He is a member of the American Orchid and Paleontological
Societies.
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Region
5 Conference Banquet Keynote, 7:30-9:00pm, Saturday, 18th
Engineering - New
Perspectives for a New Millenium
by
Douglas R. Bowman, PhD,
P.E.
Director of Electronics
and Information Technology
Lockheed Martin Corporation
Abstract: A perspective for understanding the engineering
of today is carefully built upon a framework of historical accomplishments.
This presentation plunges us headlong into facing some of the hardest questions
of our times. What challenges await our brightest and best as we enter
the 21st century? What new products will be produced? Will new materials,
new methods, and new tools change the way we do engineering? What engineering
skills will be most valued? An exciting aural-visual excursion into the
future!
Biography: A graduate of the U.S. Military Academy and
Stanford University, Dr. Bowman has served as Officer-in-Charge of the
strategic communications facility supporting U.S. Army Europe, on the faculty
of the Department of Electrical Engineering at West Point, as Engineering
Manager for the GE Aerospace Defense Mapping Agency (now NIMA) programs,
and is currently Lockheed Martin's Corporate Director of Electronics and
Information Technology. In this current role, he is tasked with assessing
the scientific and engineering excellence of the Lockheed Martin Corporation
in electronics and information technology, placing particular emphasis
on the identification of emerging technologies and the processes necessary
for growth in the Corporation's lines of business.
A senior member of the IEEE and member of the AIAA, Dr. Bowman holds
two patents for optoelectronic device fabrication and has published papers
on high-speed optoelectronic sampling, computer networking, and engineering
education. He is a registered professional engineer and serves as an IEEE
ABET program evaluator, a member of the AIAA Systems Engineering Technical
Committee, on the Research Advisory Committee of the Institute for Systems
Research at the University of Maryland, the Advisory Board of the Johns
Hopkins University Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and
the National Society of Professional Engineers Industry Advisory Group.
He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Microelectronics and
Computer Technologies Corporation.
Dr. Bowman lives in northern Virginia with his wife, Trish, and two
children, Christopher and Jennifer. In his spare time he enjoys reading,
traveling, and working on his model railroad.
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