Beers with Engineers

Charles Gillis, P.E.: Engineering and Art

#50 – Charles Gillis, P.E.: Engineering and art
Merchandise - www.beerswithengineers.shop 
Drinking a Start Line IPA in honor of his hometown, Hopkinton, where the Boston Marathon starts.
His mom knew he would be an engineer long before he did.
Has an interest in art, but isn’t an artist
Artist and engineers both combine existing things in new and interesting ways.
Worked controllable pitch propellors
First job at Gillette.
Everything is fascinating if you look at it close enough
Bert gets corrected - Nypro was assembling Gillette, not Bic shavers.
The mystery of razor blade profit margin.
Has engineered several pieces of kinetic art around Boston.
To be a PE or not to be a PE.
Teaches GD&T – there is a big need for it – and related courses.
Was able to wean off of Gillette before going fully into training
Sometimes you should make your own datum.
Likes to write in his spare time.
Charles' Company www. dynamicdesignconsulting.com  
Charles blog www.thebasicdimension.com/
Bert’s Company – www.dexterityeng.com
Hat tip to Joseph McDade for free use of his music "Mirrors".

Scott Bruneau: A traditional non-traditional engineer

#49 – Scott Bruneau: A traditional non-traditional engineer
Merchandise - www.beerswithengineers.shop 
 an engineer is somebody who makes precise guesswork based on unreliable data provided by people with questionable knowledge.
Studied nuclear engineering in high school. Yes, high school.
Buuuut, got his engineering degree late in life.
An early position was in quality – to get to know the parts – because that group knows them best.
Worked on drill rigs – building and using.
Buying Delaware metals was a legacy decision, not a financial one.
AeroGrowth has helped his business grow.
Ownership will give you humility.
Quoting production jobs was a big learning curve
They are very transparent about prices and costs
Also wants to partner with other shops. Demand is high.
He’s working a lot of hours: his systems are good but not all the right people yet.
Needs good machinists, not just operators.
Interdependent, not co-dependent
Likes the mental discipline of golf
Not a fan of Nicholas Cage
Books:
“Good to Great” Jim Collins
“The Goal” Eli Goldratt
“12 Rules for Life” Jordan Peterson
“Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” Steven Covey
Scott’s Company – www.delewaremetals.com
AeroGrowth – www.aerogrowthllc.com
Bert’s Company – www.dexterityeng.com
Hat tip to Joseph McDade for free use of his music "Mirrors".

Bob Bouthillier: Innovation Requires Disobedience

#48– Bob Bouthillier: Innovation Requires Disobedience
Merchandise - www.beerswithengineers.shop 
Like father, like son. His father was an electrical engineer.
But started college as a pharmacist
Did quality inspection of guns – including a Howizter cannon.
He can assemble guns fast – not quite as fast as Forrest Gump.
Inspecting ball bearings – stains vs pits.
His podcast summarizes books on innovation.
Just as generals are well prepared for the last war, CEOs operate in a similar way.
You don’t get real innovation without disobedience.
Treat AI like an intern.
Gell-Mann amnesia Effect – be careful trusting AI.
His AI prompts are longer than the output.
Pro2Health – inspiratory muscle trainer
The Houston Rockets tested it.
Plays the piano – had played professionally in bands.
Neuro transformation therapy – cures PTSD
Recommendations for engineers
Learn python
Learn agile techniques
Learn to use large language model
Learn to build agents with LLM.
All the books:
“Apple in China” by Patrick McGee
“Blink” by Malcolm Gladwell
“The Happiness Hypothesis” and “The Righteous Mind” by Jonathan Haidt
“Switch” by Chip and Dan Heath
“A Higher Call” by Adam Makos
“Loon Shots” by Safi Bahcall
AI Human Fusion” by Leanne Shelton
Bob’s Podcast - “Innoguide”
Bert’s Company – www.dexterityeng.com
Hat tip to Joseph McDade for free use of his music "Mirrors".

Jordan Poots:He’s good at maths.

#47 – Jordan Poots: He’s good at maths.
Beers with Engineers merchandise - www.beerswithengineers.shop
Mechanical engineer from Northern Ireland
Who quickly went into software.
Maths or math? Well, it is mathematicS.
UK still has a mix of English and metric
He was into AI before it was cool.
Studied vehicle on-ramp merging
Can change the car from altruistic to individualistic behavior
Still interested in mechanical engineering, such as FEA.
One use of AI for engineers is as a chatbot for help with software.
AI makes arithmetic mistakes – it is know to struggle with it
Evolutionary algorithms are a type of AI.
Computers beat humans in chess and go. Poker is next.
Jordan loves solving hard problems
By his own accord, he is determined (or is it stubborn).
He is a coffee nerd and won’t admit how much he paid for his coffee maker.
Jordan sleeps like a baby – in the good way.
Young engineers need to take risks. Try and find out.
Bert’s Company – www.dexterityeng.com
Hat tip to Joseph McDade for free use of his music "Mirrors".

Noel LaFlamme: Hammer and Forge Metallurgist

#46 – Noel LaFlamme: Hammer and Forge Metallurgist
Beers with Engineers merchandise - www.beerswithengineers.shop
Always interested in how things work and making it better.
Which led to blacksmithing - by way of archery
Made arrowheads out of rebar.
Which (of course) led to a sword.
Rules of thumb for temperature of steel.
Blacksmithing is a hobby that makes a few bucks.
Specialty is chef’s knives
Good knives are tapered from spine to edge and from bast to tip.
YouTube videos on knife making are a mixed-bag.
1st job out of college was at a venture capital firm.
Left to be more involved in the actual creation.
Three most important factors for a startup – the team, the team, and the team.
Good innovation often comes from startup pivots.
“Getting around” patents
Really enjoys flyfishing – and makes his equipment
Did fly fishing make Ted Williams a great hitter or vice versa.
Craft food for the movie filming of Moonrise Kingdom was in his front yard.
Apolo Anton Ohno is often confused for … Apolo Anton Ohno.
 
Reach Noel at www.Laflammeforge.com
Bert’s Company – www.dexterityeng.com
Hat tip to Joseph McDade for free use of his music "Mirrors".

Dan Schreiber: Beer Flavored Ice Cream

#45 – Dan Schreiber: Beer Flavored Ice Cream
Beers with Engineers merchandise - www.beerswithengineers.shop
Dan is an architect in Green Bay but had always wanted to be a farmer.
Stroh’s was the local macro-brewery when Dan and Bert went to college.
They made ice cream, then and still do today.
Do corn farmers put feed corn around the perimeter of their field?
Bert and Dan rode a mechanical bull in Kentucky
Felt like an architect on his second job.
Dan thinks architects adopted CAD at about the same rate as engineers
If he was born ten years later, he probably would have gone into IT.
Early CAD was tough to use.
To call yourself an architect, you need to be licensed. Not so for engineers.
Licensing exam – 9 sections. The last one was 12 hours long.
Are “no scale” and “not to scale” different?
Antoine Davis (who?) and Pete Maravich.
Throwing Hershey bars onto the basketball court.
It is awesome going through a building you designed.
Go to Marquette, MI to see his work.
The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge, by David McCullough
Using a tree as the center column of your building.
Not a farmer today, but enjoys gardening.
You can tap butternut trees. Makes a smooth, buttery syrup.
In high school, Dan went into the engine compartment to work on the engine.
T-shirts at www.beerswithengineers.shop.
Use “podcast” for 15% off.
Bert’s Company – www.dexterityeng.com
Hat tip to Joseph McDade for free use of his music "Mirrors".

Caitlin Vaillancourt - How to avoid breaking chips. The edible ones.

#44 – Caitlin Vaillincourt: How to avoid braking chip. The edible ones.
Beers with Engineers merchandise - www.beerswithengineers.shop
Pros and cons of longer or shorter college terms
Played basketball in college and traveled abroad
Part of global leadership development program at Avery Dennison and loved the experience.
Interned at Frito-Lay reducing potato chip breakage.
For now, she is happy with project management but misses working with customers.
The 8D quality approach is eight disciplines, not eight things that start with D. https://asq.org/quality-resources/eight-disciplines-8d
It seems easy to make a cable tie but many things can go wrong.
Bert dares sci-fi writers to write a chapter on how a self-replicating probe replicates itself.
She has her PMP – project management professional – certification.
Project managers have to influence without authority.
Started a new job just as Covid hit. Not easy
In the early Covid days, our company sent masks to our colleagues in China.
The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt is well worth reading about phones and kids.
Duo Lingo – some good and some bad.
The Anxious Generation  by Jonathan Haidt  
Bert’s Company – www.dexterityeng.com
Bert’s email - bert.uschold@outlook.com
Hat tip to Joseph McDade for free use of his music "Mirrors".

Josh Tarbutton: Accidentally Awesome

#43 – Josh Tarbutton: Accidentally Awesome
Beers with Engineers merchandise - www.beerswithengineers.shop
Likes Sugar Creek Brewery in Charlotte, NC.
They have a master cicerone (you’ll have to listen to find out)
Started working at age 12.
Got GED and went to Georgia Tech.
PhD dissertation was on CNC machining software
In the Army reserve in Iraq, he was a fuel specialist who actually knew about fuel.
Bravo team name is partially from the SEAL team and partially from Italian Bravo!
You do and learn a lot at product development firms.
B-players in an A-system yields success.
Engineers are driven to do their best.
It is easy to mess up simple.
Professors need to bring in money and publish
Engineers paint the laws of the universe on the canvas of the world.
Learning engineering is like learning cooking.
College professors need some education classes.
There’s no sympathy for professors and billionaires
Being a professor is like running a startup.
Inc 500 two years in a row (maybe 3?)
Reach Josh:
Joshua@bravoteam.tech
www.bravoteam.tech
Bravo Walk Dog Collar - https://bravowalk.com/
Bert’s Company – www.dexterityeng.com
Hat tip to Joseph McDade for free use of his music "Mirrors".

Gretchen Gagel: Leaving the world a better place.

#42 – Gretchen Gagel: Leaving the world a better place.
Beers with Engineers merchandise - www.beerswithengineers.shop
Likes beer from Boulevard Brewing in Kansas City
In Australia, the living room is the lounge room.
Went to SMU and saw Eric Dickerson play.
Dad sold construction equipment and she played with Tonka trucks.
Built Baltimore Ravens Stadium and many other things.
Very little manufacturing in Australia, therefore most construction is infrastructure.
Most construction job in Australia are 6 days a week. No wonder it is tough to hire.
Some evidence shows same output in 4 days as in 5.
Get the right people in the right seats on the bus.
Culture and performance are key to team success.
The Savannah Bananas have a great culture.
Leaders need to be agile. Don’t be like Blockbuster or Kodak.
Leadership training needs to start early
Edgar Shine: Leadership is “Seeing things that need to be done differently and convincing people to do it.”
Personal Mission Statement “Leave the world a better place than I found it.”
Gretchen’s book: “Building Women Leaders: A Blueprint for Women Thriving in Construction.”
The other books we mentioned
“Apple in China” by Patrick McGee
“Good to Great” and “Built to Last” by Jim Collins
“Leadership” by James McGregor Burns
“Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen Covey.
Gretchen’s website - https://greatnessconsulting.com/about-gretchen/
Bert’s Sister’s quilts - www.ArtQuiltsBySuzanne.com
Bert’s Company – www.dexterityeng.com
Hat tip to Joseph McDade for free use of his music "Mirrors".
 

Wes Schwie - Porsches, patents, problems, and pigs.

#41 – Wes Schwie: Porsches, patents, problems, and pigs.
Beers with Engineers merchandise - www.beerswithengineers.shop
Became an engineer to be like his brother.
Became a patent attorney because his friend’s uncle drove a nice Porsche.
He learned writing patents and claims as mostly on the job training.
First job as an inside sales engineer – wasn’t that good at it.
Firm’s name of Gallium Law was proposed by a friend.
Gallium (the element, not the law firm) has anti-bacterial properties.
Favorite accomplishment is starting Gallium Law.
Worked for Innovelis that makes mounts for various electronics gadgets.
Patents aren’t as expensive as you might think (although they can be)
Telling your friend about your product idea is not generally public disclosure.
Also working with a company called Drivent, who is working on technology for self-driving cars.
Home much credit does the person who identified the problem have vs. the person who invented the solution?
There is no cross examination in a deposition.
Different rummy card games.
Monopoly Deal is a card game version of Monopoly.
Wes can empty his mind – with the help of Yoga.
Breath by James Nestor.
Wes Schwie's Company - Gallium Law  www.GalliumLaw.com
Bert’s Company – www.dexterityeng.com
Hat tip to Joseph McDade for free use of his music "Mirrors".