Beers with Engineers

Matt De Remer - Every Product is Important

#22 - Matt De Remer: Every Product is Important
Matt has his own engineering consulting firm, engineered. (Updated since released)
In high school, bought an RC car instead of a real car.
He chose engineering over art.
UMass Amherst had a program to help choose which branch of engineering.
Mechanical engineering degrees can go into a wide variety of fields.
In college, engineers need to problem solve and then keep learning.
Small development firms – some formal training but lots of on-the-job training.
Specialization vs generalization.
Entrepreneurism is in our families.
Matt learned from his father’s example.
Virtual networking has it pros and cons.
Matt is a Solidworks Certified Professional – speed is a key aspect of the test.
Take the EIT sooner rather than later.
PE exam did not have something that fit his field.
Looks back fondly on his entire career.
Saw a firefighting tool he worked on and saw it at Smokey the Bear’s birthday party.
Worked on lung transport tool that keeps them “breathing.”
95% of the use cases are easy. The edge cases are what challenge you.
Likes gravel biking.
Solving wedding problems.
 
Reach Matt –  Matt@engineeredpd.com
Reach Bert - www.dexterityeng.com 
 

BONUS 2: Kevin Kildea - Cooking with Geeks

BONUS #2 - Kevin Kildea: Cooking with Geeks
Kevin teaches high school math in the Detroit area.
Math major, teaching certificate, minor in radio and production
Likes a beer called “Final Absolution”
Joke about mathematicians and sheep
Bert blew up Michael Jackson in college.
Editing vs. splicing. Tape vs film. Audio vs. video.
Math homework is easier to grade than history or English.
“Don’t teach your students what they can look up on Google.”
Teach students how to think, how to find answers, and how to problem solve.
Fighting AI doing homework.
The student body has changed – they already know so much.
Be a teacher, not a teller. Don’t solve the problem for them.
MIT sent him a letter thanking him for being an influence on a student’s life.
The greatest roofing story.
Bribing Kevin with chicken wings.
Kevin and Bert make desserts for the potluck, we don’t buy them.
Kevin makes awesome French onion soup. Bert makes great wings – and shares a secret.
Working together for a common goal applies throughout life
www.dexterityeng.com 
 

Chris King - Engineering Songs (verb, not adjective)

#21 – Chris King: Engineering Songs (verb, not adjective)
Chris is Program Engineer at Church & Dwight
Chris was drinking a Sedlec 12° from Human robot brewery in Philadelphia.
His house had a slate roof. You could see light through it but it didn’t leak.
On drinking 151 rum – after burning off the alcohol.
Loves the creative problem solving of engineering.
3D printers are great to have but it is tough to make money on them.
Re-built an MG Midget. Restoration vs re-build.
Enjoyed creating a product lifecycle management system and the training part of the rollout.
Microphones and guitars as security blankets.
Writing and releasing his own music. Go to http://www.Anybodysking.com
Engineers and musicians are remarkably a like – both have areas of creativity and areas of constraint.
His music writing process.
Both of us have remodeled our kitchens.
Senior engineers should do more mentoring.
Carl Sagan and Cosmos made Chris want to be an astronomer.
Mechanical Engineering has a bright future.
 
Bert’s Stuff
Critical Dimensions article
Plastic Design Tips
dexterityeng.com

Dave Guertin - The Nuts of Software

#19 - Dave Guertin: The Nuts of Software
Dave is a Senior Programmer Director at Meditech.
Not a Beer drinker – Sangria or Bailey’s
Software engineers have a sense of humor, too.
His high school had AutoCAD in 1985(ish).
He learned it and sort of taught the class.
Software engineering hasn’t changed, yet it is completely different.
Programming has been commoditized –
But it depends how you define it.
Does everyone need to know how to code?
No but, they all need to learn to use a computer.
Both mechanical engineers and software engineers use many off the shelf items when designing news things.
Dave creates those of the shelf things
Dates are surprisingly complicated
Software engineers get a lot of instant gratification. Mechanical engineers don’t
Software quality control is testing the software in a plethora of situations.
It’s similar to environmental changes for physical products

Danielle YoungSmith - From Outer Space to Inner Space

#20 - Danielle YoungSmith: From Outer Space to Inner Space
Danielle is an astrobiologist turned software engineer turned Purpose Clarity Coach. 
Homebrewing is safe and delicious, but occasionally messy.
She wanted to be an astronaut
She is a full stack engineer – she can do the back and front end of your software product.
Astrobiology – more than studying aliens
More people would take organic chemistry if they talked about aliens.
She went to Mars (OK, it was really Utah) Mars Desert Research Station
How do plants grow in space? In circles.
AI – a little overhyped, but depends on the field
Be careful about ethics and using it for weapons
AI won’t take your job, but someone who can use it might.
Use your wetware
Protein folding and knot theory The Insane Math Of Knot Theory (youtube.com)
Now she helps people deal with grief.
Part of that is restoring death to a sacred place
Her podcast – Is Inner Space. The movie is also good.
Camping is fun – start kids young, >1 year is OK.
Outdoor cooking ideas
Backcountry snow boarding/ splitboarding
Making a cake on your head.
Find Danielle at www.DanielleYS.com
Live Bold Playlist
Rusted Root - Drum Trip
www.dexterityeng.com 

BONUS 1: Jen Uschold - She can engineer your pain away

BONUS #1 - Jen Uschold: She can engineer your pain away
Jen is my sister and an awesome physical therapist
Jen is a physical therapist – let’s call it a body engineer.
She is an “engineer” because she fixes problems you didn’t know you had using methods you don’t understand.
Psychotic pain and being sedimentary?
Jen knows a lot about pain science.
It is very complex
Some is mechanical, some is “software”
It is 1/3 biology. 1/3 psychology, and 1/3 sociology
Pain is normal and sometimes good.
You need to understand it to treat it.
Jen and I overanalyze what happens on a six-mile run
Your brain makes morphine!
Exercise is great for pain relief
Brain processes 11 million pieces of information per second
If you have a good relationship with your health care provider, you will get better faster.
Place-bos are crazy!
Climb rating system - https://www.14ers.com/difficultyratings.php
She loved my wedding gift.
Reach Jen at
180therapyandwellness.com
iriseforme.com
www.dexterityeng.com

Dave Honan - Engineers are dogs, designers are cats.

#18 - Dave Honan: Engineers are dogs, designers are cats
Dave is an industrial designer for Technimark, LLC
Like the title says, engineers are like dogs and designers are like cats
Dave was very detailed in the models he made as a kid. He still is.
IDSA is Industrial Designers Society of America.
Have the rookies design your next product
Many design firms are under molders instead of being independent.
Making the customer and the manufacturing guys happy
Highs and lows of product development
Avoid the “not invented here syndrome”, be open to new things
Don’t take design negotiations personal
Everyone has a customer
Book idea “Design-asty”
Have an inexperienced person in your brainstorm.
Story telling is a big part of presentations and sales.
Show your best design second to last.
Ideas are easy. Picking and executing the good ones is tough.
“This Old House” – gold for d.i.y. remodelers.
Horsehair plaster is old time, composite, home construction
AI won’t take your job: people who know how to use it will.
Bert is owner of Dexterity Engineering, www.dexterityeng.com

Heidi Mehrzad - Human Factors is Applied Psychology

#17 - Heidi Mehrzad
Fun with hashtags
Her favorite beer is Bitburger, from her hometown in Bitburg, Germany.
The thing about German lightbulbs...
Heidi is autistic and ADHD.
Her work uses her creative and analytical side
Investment banker to software engineering to pilot to aeronautical engineer to human factors scientist (with a stint as an EMT)
Redesigning a cockpit layout a lot of fun.
Human factors is not just about design, it is applied psychology.
To develop something new, you must define what is wrong with the old.
Heidi’s company - HFUX Research. Same services as other companies but with more experience and better
Visiting Scotland. (It wasn’t Drumnadrochit)
Heidi can really be herself with strangers
Making friends in Europe.
Chicken nuggets and toast as comfort foods.
Look for Vernor’s ginger ale
 
How to reach Heidi:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/manijehmehrzad/
https://www.hfuxresearch.com/
https://www.safeeffectivepodcast.com/
Link to her workshop will be added when available
 
How to reach Bert www.dexterityeng.com
 

Mike Warznie - When in Germany, Be Like Mike

#16 - Mike Warznie: When in Germany, Be Like Mike
Mike is an engineer for Nissan outside of Detroit. 
Mike is right 95% of the time
He became an engineer to be cool.
Decided he liked engineering only three years ago.
Fatigue failures – find your own k factor and are tough to solve
Don’t trust your memory – write everything down.
Evaluating silicone seals can be unexpected.
Doing lab reports in college is actually a useful skill
Physics doesn’t lie
Working in the shop is great experience
Rockets, salts, and airbags – all at one company
Everything is more complex and harder than it seems.
Applying FEA to playground equipment.
Engineering is a 24/7 job.
If a Japanese engineer says it may be difficult, it is probably impossible.
How to out German the Germans.
It is good to do no-thing.
Fictional engineering characters – How many can you name?
Bert's Company www.dexterityeng.com
 

Tom Kenney - He makes jet engines cool. Literally.

#15 - Tom Kenney - He makes jet engines cool. Literally.
Tom is an engineer at GE Aerospace
Vocational schools aren't what they used to be.
From Porsche 911 dreams to Miata reality to Bughatti dreams. Or maybe just an MG.
Jet engineer or rocket scientist? You decide.
Jet engines are hot, Tom makes them cool.
Material science and better cooling have made jets are way more efficient than they used to be.
Solving problems is AWESOME!
If you are a young engineer, don’t be afraid to open your mouth and make a suggestion. It might not be a dumb idea.
Just being an engineer is good for Tom (and Bert)
A temporary move out of aviation was a good move.
Keeping your eyes open and being opportunistic is more important than career planning.
GEs practice of moving new engineers around is a good thing.
Why Bert liked Busch Stadium.
RVing and the 2024 eclipse.
If he wasn’t an engineer, he’d be a pilot. It’s not too late…
You got to make your own path and happiness in your job. 
More about Bert and for your alt-code card, go to www.Dexterityeng.com.