The following authors have written for Gear Technology.
Luc Amar oversees the research and development of the mechanical power transmission business unit at CETIM. He is also an expert on the French standardization technical committee UNM05 and for the French delegation to the ISO technical committees TC60 Gears and TC4 Bearings.
John B. Amendola is an executive officer and chairman of the board and Chairman of the Board of Artec Machine Systems where he has been working for 50 years. Prior employment was with Western Gear, Texaco & Boeing Co. where he operated a full load four square locked torque test stand for helicopter gears. He is currently an active member of AGMA Helical Gear Rating & Lubrication Committees, active chairman of AGMA Enclosed High Speed Units Committee, a member of the US TAG to ISO TC60 and a member of the American Petroleum Institute 613-6 Standards Committee. John holds a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering from Villanova University and a Master of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from (NYU) Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute. Amendola is a recipient of the AGMA TDEC Award.
John B. Amendola III, is the president of Artec Machine Systems where he has been working for 29 years. Prior experiences include: 1 year at Maag Gear, Zurich Switzerland, with assembly, testing, field services group for high speed gear applications; and 2 years at SUNY Maritime College, Assistant Professor Engineering Department training of engineering undergrads in Marine/Mechanical operations. He is an active member AGMA Helical Gear Rating Committee and holds a Bachelor of Science in Marine Engineering from Maine Maritime and a Professional Engineering License for Mechanical Engineering. John III also maintains a USCG unlimited license as a senior Marine Engineering Officer and Commander Retired US Navy Reserve.
Emily Aneshansley is a former Graduate Research Associate of the Gear and Power Transmission Research Laboratory at The Ohio State University. Emily completed her M.S. in December 2021. Emily’s thesis entitled “Applied Statistical Microcontact Model for the Prediction of Gear Power Loss” focused on developing a stochastic-based model for estimating the friction coefficient in spur gears. She now works as a Mechanical Engineer at Design Collaborative in Fort Wayne, Ind.
Corporate Application Engineer, Norton | Saint-Gobain Abrasives
Claudio Autore earned his master’s degree in mechanical engineering in 2013, and a Ph.D. in 2016 at University of Rome Tor Vergata. He joined Ferrari GT in 2014 in the ICE Simulation Department. In 2017 he moved to Ferrari F1 as Team Leader ICE Dynamic Simulation Department. Since 2020 he has been ICE F1 Geartrain Technical Leader.
Denis Barday is the Volvo Group expert for bevel gears. He has been working in gear design for over 30 years, developing FE-based calculation tools for cylindrical and bevel gears.
Pro. Dr.-Ing. Thomas Bergs, in his capacity as a member of the board of directors of the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT, leads the Process Technology Division and is the Chair of Manufacturing Technology at the Laboratory for Machine Tools and Production Engineering WZL at the RWTH Aachen University. For the main part of his academic qualification, Thomas Bergs studied design engineering at the Rheinisch-Westfälische Technical University, Aachen. He graduated in 1995 having written his diploma thesis at the Engineering Research Center for Net Shape Manufacturing in Columbus, Ohio. In 2001 he went on to earn a doctorate in engineering at the RWTH Aachen University for which he was awarded the Borchers Plaque. He also graduated as an Executive Master of Business Administration in 2011. Thomas Bergs was a research associate in the Process Technology Section at the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT in Aachen from 1995 to 2000. In the year 2000, he was appointed Manager of the Laser Engineering Group and of the Business Unit Aachen Tool and Die Making. Since 2001 he has also held the position of Managing Director under Professor Fritz Klocke as institute head. Thomas Bergs has additionally founded the company Aixtooling in 2005, where he became Managing Director until 2018. Core area of the expertise at Aixtooling was tool making for precision glass molding as well as advanced glass optics manufacturing. In 2018 Thomas Bergs was appointed as Professor at the Chair of Manufacturing Technology at the Laboratory for Machine Tools and Production Engineering WZL of the RWTH Aachen University and as Director of the Process Technology Division at the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT. As the successor to Professor Fritz Klocke, he is also a member of the Board of Directors of both production engineering institutes. Main focus of his ongoing research activities comply the digital transformation of manufacturing technologies—so called networked adaptive production.
Swapnil Bhattacharya, Gear Design Engineer, Gleason Corporation
Eric Blickley is vice president, R&D and technology deployment, Fisher Barton.
Brady Blomquist holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from BYU-Idaho and has worked as an aerospace engineer for the U.S. Air Force for five years. His work focuses on secondary power systems, including auxiliary power units (APUs) and gearboxes. He served as the government contact TPOC for this project.
Courtney Carroll is Senior Manager, Technical Services, for the American Gear Manufacturers Association.
Dr. Borut Černe is a cofounder and Co-CEO at RD Motion. With more than 11 years of experience in the fields of solid mechanics, polymer testing, programming, engineering design, and power transmissions, he holds a pivotal role in R&D operations and test rig development at the company.
Huiming Cheng received the Ph.D. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Beijing University of Technology, Beijing, China, in 2024. He is currently a teacher at Beijing University of Technology, with research focused on robot joint testing technology.
Thomas L. Christiansen is a professor at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in the Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering. He is also the director of the Center for Heat Treating Excellence (CHTE), an industry-academia alliance that conducts research and development for the thermal processing industry.
James M. Clinton is Special Order and Technical Support Manager — The L.S. Starrett Company.
Liam Coen is a Senior Engineer at INNIO Waukesha Gas Engines. His 30-year career spanned across aviation, diesel-electric locomotives, and large industrial gas engines. He earned a BS in aeronautics from St. Louis University. He is an active member of the ASME Milwaukee Section and AGMA.
Ben Cook is a Technical Fellow working within The University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centres (AMRC) Machining Group. He is an experienced Chartered Engineer leading the group's research in the field of gear manufacturing. His current focus is on research and development for gear manufacturing, particularly gear and spline tooth machining using novel methods such as power skiving and reciprocating broaching units. He is also a Director of the British Gear Association.
Bethany Cousins is a Manufacturing Engineer working within The University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centres (AMRC) Machining Group. She is an experienced EngTech (MIMechE) Manufacturing Engineer focusing on developing novel gear cutting techniques with a demonstrated history of working alongside companies in the aerospace industry.
Marco Curina is International Industry Manager of Automotive Transmissions for Marposs.
Dr. David R. Curtis is the Research and Technology Manager for The University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centres (AMRC) Machining Group and Co-Director of the Industrial Doctorate Centre in Machining Science. He joined the AMRC in 2009 and has delivered both fundamental research and industrial impact in the subtractive process technology field supporting primarily the aerospace and defence sector. His research specialism is in abrasive processes but this extends into conventional and assisted hybrid subtractive processes. His technology development focus spans new materials, processing of near net components, digital / sustainable / productive subtractive, zero defect manufacturer as well as flexible subtractive platforms.
Dr.-Ing. Mareike Davidovic studied mechanical engineering with a focus on production technology at RWTH Aachen University. After leading the Gear Hard Machining Research Group since early 2019, she became Chief Engineer for Gear Manufacturing at WZL/MTI in November 2021. In 2022, she completed her Ph.D. on the topic of bevel gear grinding.
Patrícia de Oliveira Löhrer M.Sc. concluded her bachelor studies in Aeronautic Manufacturing in 2014, on the Faculty of Technology of São José dos Campos. Between 2015 and 2017, she conducted her master in the Aeronautics Technological Institute (ITA, Brazil). During this period, she was part of the Gear Innovation Research Group from the ITA University, where she was involved in research on the topic of gear surface integrity assessment. Since 2018, Mrs. de Oliveira Löhrer is a research assistant at the Laboratory for Ma-chine Tools and Production Engineering (WZL) of RWTH Aachen, in Germany, where she conducts research on the topic of simulation and surface integrity of gear grinding processes.
Dr. Christian Dietz is Project Manager, Research and Technology for Reishauer AG.
Dr. Saeed Ebrahimi has been the software developer at KISSsoft since 2019. He was previously an associate professor of mechanical engineering at Yazd University in Iran. He received his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Stuttgart University in Germany in 2007 and completed his post-doctoral fellowship at McGill University, in 2008.
Rainer Eckert is a forensic engineer and director of the metallurgical services department for Simon Forensic, LLC in Seattle. Eckert has assisted manufacturers in basic research, design improvement, quality control, and root cause failure analysis. He has authored technical papers for a variety associations including AGMA and STLE.
Aaron Fagan is a Senior Editor for AGMA Media's Gear Technology and Power Transmission Engineering magazines.
Josh Fairley is a Norton | Saint-Gobain Abrasives Product Manager with 11 years of experience in the manufacture, design, and application of bonded vitrified precision grinding wheels in major industries such as automotive, aerospace, and agriculture.
Michael Farmery is a Technical Lead working within the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centres (AMRC) Machining Group. He is an experienced Engineer and joined the AMRC in 2013 progressing to Aerofoils and Gear manufacture Project Engineer and is now technically leading the groups research in the field of gear manufacturing. His current focus is on research and development for gear manufacturing, particularly gear and spline tooth machining using novel methods such as power skiving and reciprocating broaching units primarily on multifunction CNC platforms. He is also on the Technical Research Management Committee for the British Gear Association (BGA).
Ing. Ruben Carranza Fernandez is developer and head of wind gearbox refurbishment business at Gamesa. He has worked in the quality, manufacturing and engineering departments of the gearbox unit over the last 20 years. Since 2008 he has also been manager of the Siemens Gamesa wind gearbox repair center in Spain.
Alfredo Fernández-Sisón is the leader of the wind gearbox engineering unit at Siemens Gamesa-Gearbox Division where he has been working for almost 20 years. Alfredo is a member of the IEC61400-4 international committee for wind turbine gearbox standards and holds degrees from the Universities of the Basque Country-Spain and Cranfield-UK.
Timothy Fout works at the Department of Energy Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management’s National
Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL).
Dipl.-Ing. Maximilian Fromberger is with the calculation and software development department of RENK, a Germany-based company manufacturing transmissions for the industrial, energy and marine sectors, among others. Before that, he was research associate at the Gear Research Center (FZG) of the Technical University Munich. FZG’s research focuses on experimental and analytical investigations of endurance, tribology, NVH, materials and fatigue life analysis on gears, transmission components and drive systems. FZG is also developing software that many German gear-related companies rely on. Some of these software products solve mechanical problems; others implement standardized (DIN / ISO) calculation rules. Fromberger was software team leader at FZG. His personal research activities aimed at gear condition monitoring.
Daniel Fuchs studied (2011–2016) at: Ostbayerische Technische Hochschule Regensburg (OTH Regensburg), Germany. Since 2016 he has served as a research associate at the Institute of Machine Elements — Gear Research Centre (FZG) of the Technical University of Munich. Fuchs’ expertise is in the influence of nonmetallic inclusions on the tooth root load carrying capacity of gears and the influence of coarse grain on the load carrying capacity of gears.
Dr.-Ing. Thomas Glaser studied mechanical engineering B.Eng. and product development and manufacturing M.Eng. at the University of Applied Sciences in Aalen. During his master's degree, he worked as a research assistant at the Institute of Drive Technology in Aalen, focusing on the series development of bevel gearboxes. He obtained his Ph.D. degree in mechanical engineering focusing on the 5-axis machining of bevel gears in cooperation between Aalen University and the Technical University of Dresden. Since 2018, he has worked for J.M. Voith SE & Co. KG | Group Division Turbo as an operating engineer with a focus on gear technology. In addition, he is a leading member of the CoC Gear Production of Voith Turbo.
Ing. Jarosław Górniak is the technical director at Oktoida. His main interests are gear manufacturing technology, including gear hobbing, shaping, milling, heat treatment and finishing, as well as gear tools, fixture and workholding design and manufacturing.
Vice President of Engineering, United Protective Technologies, LLC (UPT)
Eric Grol works at the Department of Energy Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management’s National
Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL).
Unai Gutierrez Santiago is the gearbox validation section leader at Siemens Gamesa where he has been involved with testing and validating wind gearboxes since 2006. He is a PhD candidate at the Delft University of Technology where he focuses on developing data-driven dynamic models of wind turbine gearboxes.
Joseph Hazelton is a contributing editor for Gear Technology.
Gerrit Hellenbrand received his master’s degree in mechanical engineering at RWTH Aachen University in 2020. After graduation, he worked as a research assistant and Ph.D. candidate at the Laboratory for Machine Tools and Production Engineering (WZL) of RWTH Aachen University in the Department of Gear Technology. His research is focused on the load capacity and operational behavior of spline joints, powder metal gears and high temperature alloys
Samuel Henry works at the Department of Energy Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management’s National
Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL).
Sally Homsy works at Department of Energy Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management’s National
Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL).
Isaac Hong is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at The Ohio State University. He received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Ohio State in 2019. Dr. Hong also serves as a faculty advisor within the Gear and Power Transmission Research Laboratory (GearLab) at OSU. His research focuses on novel methods to monitor and characterize the structural integrity of power transmission machine elements. This includes developing theoretical models and experimental methods to define fatigue, dynamic response, and tribological characteristics of gears and bearings.
Sydney Hughes works at the Department of Energy Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management’s National
Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL).
Prof. i.R. Dr.-Ing, Dr.h.c. Bernd-Robert Höhn retired in 2011 but remains a member of the Gear Research Center (FZG) at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), which he led from 1989 until 2011. Since 2019, he has worked as a gear consultant, developing patents to reduce losses in gears, transmission, and drivelines.
Steve Janke is President of Brelie Gear and chair of the AGMA Tradeshow Committee.
Christopher Janßen concluded his bachelor studies and his subsequent master studies in mechanical engineering at RWTH Aachen University. Since 2018, Mr. Christopher Janßen is a research assistant at the Laboratory for Machine Tools and Production Engineering (WZL) where he is responsible for software development and investigates the power skiving process.
Dalia Jbily is a specialist in the field of mechanical power transmission at the French Technical Center for Mechanical Industries (CETIM). Her work focuses on gear durability and performance. She is also a member of the French delegation to the ISO Technical Committee TC60 Gears.
Rok Kalister is a VP of technology and product R&D at RD Motion. Holding a master’s degree in Mechatronics Engineering at the University of Ljubljana, he has extensive knowledge in control systems design and product development, with a strong focus on polymer gear design and power transmission testing rig design.
Melina Kamratowski studied business administration and mechanical engineering at RWTH Aachen University. Since 2021, she has been a research assistant at the Laboratory for Machine Tools and Production Engineering (WZL) at RWTH Aachen University. Her field of research is the simulation and manufacturing of bevel and hypoid gears.
Noah Kantor is a Ph.D. candidate at Worcester Polytechnic Institute studying Materials Science and Engineering and a research assistant for the Center for Heat Treating Excellence
(CHTE), where his work pertains to quenching materials. He holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering and an M.S. in Materials Science and Engineering.
Jon Keller is the team leader for wind turbine drivetrain technology at NREL. Jon leads projects ranging from the development and verification of new drivetrains with improved performance, power density, and efficiency and to in-depth research investigations of failure modes and improvement in reliability of existing drivetrains often conducted in the dynamometers or field turbines. Prior to joining NREL, Jon worked for the US Army at Redstone Arsenal, AL, for 10 years, where he developed condition monitoring systems for Army rotorcraft to reduce the cost and maintenance burdens while increasing availability and safety. His Ph.D. is in aerospace engineering from Penn State University.
Dr. Ulrich Kissling was born in Zurich. He studied Machine Engineering at the Swiss Technical University (ETH). He continued his academic career with a doctorate. In 1981, he started his professional career as calculation engineer in a Gearbox Manufacturing Company in Zurich, continued then as Technical Manager and Managing Director.
As calculation engineer for gearbox design, he started to develop software for gear, bearing and shaft layout. In 1985, he named this software KISSsoft and started to market it. In 1986 the first license was sold. In 1998, he founded his own company, KISSsoft AG, to take care of the software activities. Since then, the staff of KISSsoft AG is growing constantly from three people in 1998 to over 40 in 2022. Today the software is the leading drive train design software, used by more than 3500 companies on all continents.
As a gear expert Dr. Kissling is actively participating in different Work Groups of ISO for the development of international standards.
Mr. Lukas Klee concluded his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering at the FH Aachen in 2016 with a focus on energy technology. In parallel, he completed an apprenticeship as an industrial mechanic, which he finished in 2015. Between 2016 and 2018, he successfully conducted his master's degree in the field of production technology at FH Aachen University of Applied Sciences. Since 2018, Mr. Klee is a research assistant at the Laboratory for Machine Tools and Production Engineering (WZL) of RWTH Aachen University in the gear department. There, he is team leader of the gear soft machining group and focuses on the additive manufacturing of gears.
Gottfried Klein is director of product development hobbing and chamfering/deburring with Gleason Corporation.
Jianyu Liang is a professor of Mechanical and Materials Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, where she also holds affiliated appointments in Civil and Environmental Engineering and Chemical Engineering. She served at the Army Research Laboratories from 2013–2014 and Brown University in 2023–2024.
Haris Ligata works as the Manager of Bevel Gear Technology in Gleason's R&D Department (Rochester, NY). He joined Gleason in 2017 as a Senior Gear Theoretician, working on the cutting blade inspection and bevel gear technology. Prior to Gleason, he worked in GE's Global Research Center (Schenectady, NY) on a wide range of projects related to the rotating machinery, and in American Axle & Manufacturing (Detroit, MI) on straight bevel and helical gear differential technology. He obtained his Ph.D. degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Gear Lab at The Ohio State University in 2007.
Zhang Longzhou (Lutz), senior mechanical engineer at Xiaomi EV (Beijing), holds a bachelor’s degree from Hubei Automotive Technology University. With 15 years’ experience in traditional and EV transmission components, he previously spent over a year in Germany at Getrag (now Magna Powertrain) developing dual-clutch transmission gears.
Xabier Lopez Fuentes is a versatile mechanical and aeronautical engineer with extensive experience in product development and structural analysis for leading players in the wind, aerospace, and railway industries. His expertise in conducting detailed structural analysis has contributed to achieving a deeper understanding and more accurate replication of component behavior.
Johannes Lövenich M. Sc. studied mechanical engineering B. Sc. and design and development M. Sc. at RWTH Aachen University. Since 2019 he is a scientific assistant at the Laboratory of Machine Tools and Production Engineering (WZL) of RWTH Aachen University, Chair of Machine Tools. His field of research is the gearbox power density, with focus on the investigation of very high cycle fatigue of the tooth root.
Greg Maisch, Engineering Manager, Starrett Metrology Systems Division
Oscar Malinowski, M.Sc. is currently a research associate at the Chair of Machine Tools at the Laboratory for Machine Tools and Production Engineering (WZL) of RWTH Aachen University in Germany. He started his scientific career with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, followed by a master’s degree in aerospace engineering from the RWTH Aachen University. He joined WZL as a research engineer in 2019. Since then, he focused on investigation and design of highspeed rolling bearings and spindle bearing systems. Furthermore, his research includes optimization methods for balancing of motor spindles to improve structural dynamic behavior of machine tools.
Dr. habil.-Ing. Adam Marciniec is an associate professor at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Aeronautics of Rzeszów University of Technology. His main interests are gear geometry calculation and computer-aided modeling, including cylindrical gears, spiral bevel gears, hypoid gears, and worm gears.
Sebastjan Matkovič? is the software developer at KISSsoft, with extensive knowledge of polymer gears and gear tribology. In addition, he is a researcher and Ph.D. student in the Laboratory for Tribology and Interface Nanotechnology—TINT, University of Ljubljana.
Sylvain Mayoux studied Mechanical Engineering at INSA de Lyon. He has been working for the Volvo Group since 2018 in the field of gear design and simulation.
Dr. Julia Mazak has been working for Dana Inc. as a Senior Gear Engineer since 2020. Dr. Mazak graduated from RWTH Aachen University in mechanical engineering and has published several papers on bevel gear design, bevel gear manufacturing simulation, and bevel gear production.
Daniel Meuris is responsible for the development of digital products at Klingelnberg. This includes controller software of the machine tools, calculation tools and Industry 4.0 solutions.
Dr.-Ing. Dieter Mevissen is Chief Engineer in the gear department at the Laboratory for Machine Tools and Production Engineering (WZL) of RWTH Aachen University since November 2021. He graduated from RWTH Aachen University with a master´s degree in mechanical engineering. His Ph.D. thesis focused on the prediction of geometric surface changes in rolling-sliding contacts.
Mark Michaud recently celebrated his 40th year with REM Surface Engineering. Mark is the inventor and pioneer of REM’s chemically accelerated finishing technology; currently serving as technical fellow. Mark Michaud is a leading scientist and technical mentor and continues to play a crucial role in the company’s future. Mark has authored numerous patents and technical papers and served a term on the AGMA board of directors. Mark continues to serve as vice-chair of the AGMA Aerospace Committee, as a member of the AGMA Wind Turbine Committee, and as a shadow delegate to ISO 614-4 Wind Turbine Committee. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Reed College and an MBA from the University of Hartford.
Andrew Milburn is currently president of Milburn Engineering, Inc., a consulting firm located near Tacoma, Washington and has 45 years’ experience in the design and analysis of gears and gearboxes. As a consultant he has investigated numerous gear and bearing failures, and helped clients improve their gear products.
Daniel Müller is a Research Associate at the Gear Research Center (FZG) at the Technical University of Munich. He is specialized in the field of load carrying capacity of gears and the influence of residual stresses on gear failure modes, especially tooth flank fracture.
Dipl.-Ing. Stephan Neus, born in 1984, studied mechanical engineering at RWTH Aachen University before working as a research associate at the Laboratory for Machine Tools and Production Engineering (WZL) of RWTH Aachen University in the Machine Technology Department between 2014 and 2019. Since 2019, Mr. Neus has continued his work at the WZL as chief engineer of the Machine Technology Department.
Thomas Oetjens has over 40 years of experience in CAD/CAM /CAE experience in building computer-aided applications and implementing start-up technologies. Oetjens is the senior dimensional engineer-gear specialist at DCS.
Robin Olson is the director of application engineering in the Engineered Gear group of Regal Rexnord’s Motion Control Solutions division. She started her career in gear engineering with the Falk Corporation in 1995 and has held previous roles in engineering software and analysis, sustaining engineering, warranty, test lab, and technical services. She has bachelor’s and master’s degrees, both in Physics. She has participated in various AGMA Technical Committees since 1995 and is currently a member of the Helical Gear Rating Committee. She has the honor of representing the United States on Working Group 6 of ISO TC 60, covering the topic of Gears.
Director Product Management, Workholding and Services, Gleason Corporation
Geert Poelman is a theoretical biologist with a passion for geometry, computer modeling -- and gearing.
Henk Polinder received a PhD degree in electrical engineering from the Delft University of Technology where he is an Assistant/Associate Professor working in the field of electrical machines and drives. He has authored or co-authored more than 250 publications. His main research interests include electric drive and energy systems for maritime applications and offshore renewables.
Lisa Ryan is the Chief Appreciation Strategist and Founder of Grategy, where she specializes in workplace culture transformation through the strategic application of gratitude.
Dr. habil.-Ing. Tadeusz Sałaciński is an associate professor at Warsaw University of Technology’s Institute of Manufacturing Technologies. His main interests are cylindrical gears, spiral bevel gears, non-circular gears, metrology, statistical process control, production engineering, cutting tool design and manufacturing technology.
Jochen Sapparth has accumulated 37 years of experience as a mechanical engineer within the Sandvik Group, specializing in cutting tools across various sectors. Over the past 13 years, he has served as a project engineer concentrated on Sandvik Coromant gear-cutting tools and strategies with a primary focus on power skiving.
Bevel Workholding Lead Engineer, Gleason Workholding Products
Dr. Peter L. Schmidt, P.E., is the Lead Research Engineer at United Protective Technologies, LLC, based at the UNCC PORTAL office. He holds Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctoral degrees in Mechanical Engineering. With over 35 years of professional experience, Dr. Schmidt has worked in various sectors, including the Department of Defense, commercial manufacturing, consulting, and academia. He has held academic appointments at two universities, achieving the rank of full professor before joining his current firm. Additionally, he is a licensed professional engineer in two states.
NIcholas Schneider works at the Department of Energy Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management’s National
Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL).
Greg Schulte is Chairman of the Board of the American Gear Manufacturers Association, and President of Bonfiglioli USA.
Dr.-Ing. Stefan Schumann studied mechanical engineering at TU Dresden from 2005 to 2011. He then began working as a research assistant at the Chair of Machine Elements (Prof. Schlecht) with a focus on bevel gears. He obtained his Ph.D. degree in mechanical engineering focusing on asymmetric bevel gears at TU Dresden in 2015. In 2017, he became a senior engineer at the Chair of Mechanical Elements with the main field of work being load-bearing capacity.
Stefan Sendlbeck, M.Sc. is currently a Research Associate at the Institute of Machine Elements, the Gear Research Center (FZG) at the Technical University of Munich in Germany. He started his scientific career with a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Technical University of Munich including a study abroad at the University of Waterloo in Canada. He joined FZG as a researcher in 2018. Since then, he focused on gear design and calculation methods, gear condition monitoring and prognostics, and the use of machine learning methods in gear technology.
Zhaoyao Shi earned his Ph.D. in precision instrument and machinery from Hefei University of Technology in 2001. He is a Professor at Beijing University of Technology and an active member of ISO/TC60/WG2. His research focuses on gear inspection technology, instrumentation, and precision transmission theory and technology.
André Simonneau studied mechanical engineering at the University of Poitiers and was awarded a Ph.D. in materials science from the University of Limoges in 1989. From 2008–2024, he worked at Texelis, focusing on the design and durability of gears for light rail systems and heavy-duty trucks.
Dr.-Ing. Mareike Solf studied mechanical engineer-ing with a focus on production technology at RWTH Aachen University. Having worked as a student research assistant in the department of Gear Technology of the Laboratory for Machine Tools (WZL) for more than three years, she became a research assistant in 2016. Her research focused on grinding and 5-axis-milling of bevel and cylindrical gears. After leading the Gear Hard Machining Research Group since early 2019, she became Chief Engineer for Gear Manufacturing in November 2021. In 2022 she completed her Ph.D. on the topic of bevel gear grinding.
Dr. Paul St George is an artist and writer, who strives to bring the inherent beauty of mathematics, science, and gears to a wider audience. His research into technical innovations from the late nineteenth century and his exploration of the aesthetics of mathematically defined shapes and objects, including noncircular gears, developed into a project titled Travelling Curves.
of the Gear Research Center (FZG) at the Technical University Munich. FZG research focuses on experimental and analytical investigations of endurance, tribology, NVH, materials and fatigue life analysis on gears, transmission components and drive systems. Prof. Stahl is board member of several scientific associations, convener of DIN and ISO working groups, editor of several scientific journals, author of several hundred publications, and president of the International Conference on Gears.
Steven Staley is a Manufacturing Engineer working within The University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centres (AMRC) Machining Group. He is an experienced Engineer and has worked across multiple technology focus areas within the AMRC. He has undertaken significant projects in developing and understanding of the power skiving process working alongside the aerospace supply chain and CNC machine manufacturers.
Randy Stott, Associate Publisher & Managing Editor, has a Bachelor's degree in journalism and an MBA in marketing. His background includes a wide variety of technical writing and editing in the automotive, software and manufacturing industries. He was instrumental in the launching of geartechnology.com in 1996, powertransmission. com in 1997 and Power Transmission Engineering in 2007. He joined Gear Technology in 1994 and became managing editor in 1998. He became Publisher & Editor-in-Chief in 2020.
Kerstin Stumpf-Trautmann is head of marketing for DVS Technology Group.
Dr. Chao Sun was a Technical Lead working within The University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centres (AMRC) Machining Group. He is an experienced post doctoral researcher and has been working at the AMRC for 5 years. Before he joined the AMRC, he did his postdoctoral research on machining dynamics at the University of British Columbia in Canada. He joined the AMRC as a Project Engineer working on robotic machining dynamics. Later, he worked as a Technical Lead in machining dynamics. He and his colleague developed the power skiving force simulation model and helped to optimise the power skiving process.
David Talbot is an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at The Ohio State University. His research focuses on multidisciplinary power transmission problems within the aerospace, transportation, wind energy, and industrial gearbox industries. His specific research investigations include load distribution modeling of power transmission components, gear, bearing and power transmission system efficiency modeling and measurement, gear dynamics and vibrations, gear manufacturing process simulation, and failure modes of power transmission components. Dr. Talbot is an associate editor for Mechanism and Machine Theory, the chair of the ASME Power Transmission and Gearing Committee, and the chair of the upcoming ASME Power Transmission and Gearing Conference 2023 as part of ASME IDETC.
Thomas Tallerico is a Research Mechanical Engineer at NASA Glenn Research Center, Cleveland Ohio. He conducts fundamental research on advanced drivetrains for aerospace applications including research on mechanical gears, magnetic gears, and electric motors.
Asst. Prof. Dr. Eng. Nikolaos Tapoglou is assistant professor in the department of Industrial Engineering and Management department of the International Hellenic University, Greece. Prior to joining IHU, he led the emerging machining technology team in the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) of The University of Sheffield as a Technical Fellow. He has developed substantial research in the field of simulation technologies for gear manufacturing processes. His current research focuses on the simulation of gear manufacturing processes, emerging machining technologies, sustainable lubri-cooling techniques for metalworking, additive manufacturing, optimization of advanced manufacturing processes, manufacturing simulation focusing on the calculation of in-process characteristics and manufacturing informatics. He is a member of several international organizations including the ASME, IMechE and the HEA. He has coauthored over 40 journal and conference publications and has worked on more than 20 research projects.
James Thomas is General Manager of American Stress Technologies.
Moritz Trippe is a research assistant in the Gear Department of the Laboratory of Machine Tools and Production Engineering (WZL) of RWTH Aachen University and the group leader of the gear power density group. His research focus is the load carrying capacity of the tooth root and the influence of dynamics on the gear load capacity. Trippe studied mechanical engineering at RWTH Aachen University and has a master´s degree in automotive engineering and transport.
Ellen Troyanosky is a Ph.D. candidate in the Center for Heat Treating Excellence at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. They started at WPI after receiving their B.S. in Materials
Science and Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh in 2022. Their research focuses on the heat treatment and processing of steel.
Stylianos Tsakiris works as a research assistant in the gear department at RWTH Aachen University's WZL. He previously worked there as a student assistant for over 4.5 years. He graduated with a master's in mechanical engineering, specializing in production technologies, focusing his thesis on manufacturability of topographies for gear skiving.
Max Turci is a consultant in gears and cam mechanisms design. He received his master’s degree in mechanical engineering at University of Bologna in 1996. He began as a CAD manager and he developed X-Camme, a software for the design of cam mechanisms. In 2004, he started working on gears as an application engineer for KISSsoft: now he is the team leader of the Italian technical staff of KISSsoft. His professional experience is primarily in the development of computational models for industrial gearboxes and vehicle transmissions. He is a member of the AGMA worm gear committee and some ISO WG for gears. As a mechanical engineer, he is an expert witness for the civil court.
Jan-Willem van Wingerden received his B.S. and Ph.D. degrees in mechanical engineering and in control engineering respectively from Delft University of Technology where he is currently a professor. His current research is mainly centered around the development of data-driven controllers for wind turbines and wind farms.
Thomas Weber is Head of Marketing for Liebherr-Verzahntechnik GmbH.
Ross Wegryn-Jones, Director of Sales & Marketing, Machine Tool Builders, Inc.
Christian Westphal has been the leader of the Gearbox NVH Group at the Laboratory for Machine Tools and Production Engineering (WZL) of RWTH Aachen University since April 2022. His research focuses on the design and the dynamic operational behavior of planetary gearboxes. Westphal graduated from RWTH Aachen University with a master’s degree in industrial engineering and management with a major in automotive engineering and corporate development.
Mrs. Mariana Mendes Wilfinger concluded her studies in Mechanical Engineering at the University Senai Cimatec in 2023. Since then, she has been a research assistant in the Department of Gear Technology of the Laboratory for Machine Tools (WZL/MTI) working in the gear manufacturing group, focused on hard finishing processes, in particular generating gear grinding.
Dr.-Ing. Igor Zarębski is the director at Oktoida. His main interests are gear calculation methods, including cylindrical gears, straight and spiral bevel gears, hypoid gears, worm gears, non-circular gears, skew-axis and face gears, as well as gear tools - hobs, shaper cutters and milling cutters.
Qianchen Zeng is a Ph.D. student in the manufacturing program at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in the Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering working on additive manufacturing and microstructure optimization of steel alloys powders.
Dr.-Ing. Yingying Zhang is CEO of Höhn GmbH and a graduate of the Technical University of Munich.
Sara Zimmerman, Vice President, CX and Product, Sumitomo Machinery Corporation, Chair, Motion + Power Manufacturers Alliance
Alexander Zoelle works at the Department of Energy Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management’s National
Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL).
Dr. Damijan Zorko is a Co-CEO at RD Motion. He studied Mechanical Engineering at the University of Ljubljana and received his Ph.D. in 2019. Having 15 years of experience in gear transmissions, he was deeply involved in developing RD Motion’s modern test benches and testing methods for experimental research on gears.
