Appendix C Biographical Sketches of Committee Members
Alton D. Slay (chair) retired as a general from the U.S. Air Force. General Slay held a number of key positions in the Air Force, including commander, Air Force Flight Test Center, Edwards Air Force Base; director of operations requirements and development at Air Force Headquarters; deputy chief of staff for research and development; commander, Air Force Systems Command, Andrews Air Force Base; and assistant deputy chief of staff for plans and operations, U.S. Air Force in Europe. He has extensive experience in the development, deployment, and operation of weapons systems and is knowledgeable about the translation of system requirements into manufacturing capabilities.
Henry Alberts was professor of engineering management at the Defense Systems Management College and principal investigator for the college's support to the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee on Defense Acquisition Reform issues until his retirement in June 1988. He has held positions in both industry and government related to defense technology and manufacturing and has conducted studies on acquisition process design and modification, process re-engineering, dual-use technology, and the impact of world events on the defense industrial base. His experience includes systems engineering of weapons systems, defense acquisition processes, and strategic issues in defense manufacturing. He is a certified member of the Defense Acquisition Corps and principal investigator for the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee.
Robert F. Beseher retired as vice president, operations and manufacturing technology, at Pratt and Whitney's government engines and space propulsion unit.
Prior to that, he was vice president of manufacturing for Pratt and Whitney's operations unit, where he was responsible for the day-to-day operations of six jet engine manufacturing plants. He has extensive experience in both defense and commercial manufacturing operations. Mr. Bescher is on the Board of Directors of the National Center for Manufacturing Sciences and is the current chair of the Manufacturing Committee of the Aerospace Industries Association.
William Gibbs is manager of business systems and program manager for the Maritech Ship Project at Electric Boat Company of General Dynamics. In this capacity, he is responsible for developing manufacturing processes for a new attack submarine using state-of-the-art integrated product and process development methods. Previously, he was head of the Trident missile test program and director of integrated manufacturing systems.
Wesley L. Harris is professor of aeronautics and astronautics, director of the Lean Sustainment Initiative, and co-director of the Lean Aircraft Initiative at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. As co-director of the Lean Aircraft Initiative, he is responsible for research to improve productivity in aircraft design and manufacturing. Previously, he was associate administrator for aeronautics at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, where he was responsible for the strategy, planning, and direction of the aeronautics research programs. Dr. Harris is a member of the National Academy of Engineering. He has served on the U.S. Army Science Board and the National Research Council's Air Force Studies Board.
David Lando is vice president for engineering and environmental technologies at Lucent Technologies. As senior corporate manufacturing research and development executive, he is responsible for providing strategy and leadership for the corporation's manufacturing research and development technology centers of excellence. Previously, while serving as director of the Integrated Circuits Technology Laboratory and vice president for manufacturing, Asia, he was responsible for the development, deployment, and operation of worldwide integrated circuit engineering data systems. Dr. Lando's expertise includes microelectronics technology, design, and manufacturing, as well as commercial technologies and practices with the potential for improving defense manufacturing.
Aris Melissaratos is vice president of science, technology, and quality at Westinghouse Corporation, where he directs the science and technology center and the productivity and quality center. In addition, he chairs the board of the Agile Manufacturing Enterprise at Lehigh University and Science and Technology for Affordability, an industry advisory group to the U.S. Department of Defense. Previously, he held several positions in the defense electronics business at Westinghouse, including vice president and general manager of the manufacturing
operations division. His expertise includes management of manufacturing operations and productivity enhancement through the application of advanced technologies and practices.
Frederick J. Michel is a consultant specializing in factory operations, factory automation, and next generation manufacturing best practices. He served as assistant deputy for production for the U.S. Army Materiel Command and deputy chief of staff for manufacturing technology. His responsibilities included overseeing the Army's Manufacturing Technology Program. Mr. Michel is a fellow of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers and a member of the National Research Council's Board on Manufacturing and Engineering Design.
J. David Mitchell retired as vice president of manufacturing development at Rockwell International. Previously, he held the positions of vice president of strategic planning and computer-integrated manufacturing development for Rockwell Information Systems and corporate director of productivity and advanced manufacturing programs. Dr. Mitchell is chair of the Coalition for Intelligent Manufacturing Systems and a board director of Product Data Exchange Using STEP (standard for exchange of product-model data). In the past, he has served as president of the Precision Measurements Association, board director of the Robotics Institute of America, and chair of the joint Aerospace Industries Association/National Security Industrial Association Committee for Improved Army-wide Calibration Operations. His expertise includes new manufacturing processes and practices, manufacturing operations for defense products, information systems, and process automation. He is the author of more than 50 articles on advanced manufacturing technology and practices.
Deborah S. Nightingale is currently a consultant in the area of strategic planning and business development. Previously, she served as director, strategic planning and business development, for the engines division of AlliedSignal Corporation. In this capacity, she established the strategic objectives for five major business enterprises. She has also held positions in manufacturing operations at AlliedSignal and was responsible for systems technology, planning, tooling, quality, materials, and customer support. Her areas of expertise include strategic planning, manufacturing operations, information systems, computer-integrated manufacturing, and computer modeling. Dr. Nightingale is a member of the National Academy of Engineering.
Dean Rhoads is a senior consultant with Arthur Anderson Consulting, where he is leading an effort to improve the software development process in terms of predictability, reliability, and productivity. Prior to joining Anderson, Mr. Rhoads held software management positions at Fidelity Investments Systems Company, Northrop Grumman Corporation, Anser Corporation, Software Productivity
Consortium, and Sperry Corporation, where he developed software for a variety of applications and improved software development processes. Mr. Rhoads also served in a number of acquisition management positions. He has taught systems engineering management in the U.S. Air Force and has published a systems engineering management guide. He is currently president and a member of the Board of Directors of the Washington Area Chapter of the International Council on Systems Engineering. He has also chaired or been a member of a number of Electronics Industry Association subcommittees for the development of software standards.
Richard Seubert is factory manager for the chemical processing facility at the Boeing Defense and Space Group, where he is responsible for all chemical processing, paint, and penetrant inspection operations. He is also the coordinator for rapid prototyping implementation strategies for all airplane programs and factory locations. Previous positions at Boeing have included responsibility for the engineering laboratories and the interface to Boeing's Digitally Driven Enterprise Initiative, which focused on single sources of product data, automated numerical control, and real-time factory floor control. Mr. Seubert is a fellow of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Leaders for Manufacturing.