Presenter Information
Stan VanderWerf
president
Advanced Capitol Consulting LLC
Presenting Session 1: "So You are a Small Business and Want to be a Federal Contractor?"
Stan VanderWerf is president of Advanced Capitol Consulting LLC, based out of Colorado Springs, CO. He retired from the Air Force as a Colonel in May 2011 and subsequently started his own consulting firm providing services to companies engaged in DoD activities. He has landed several consulting contracts and just completed the process to register his company for government contracts. Stan is an industrial engineering graduate from Purdue University and distinguished Purdue ROTC graduate. He also has a master's degree in international relations from the University of Dayton and a master's degree in national resource strategy from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces. In the Air Force, he was a certified acquisition professional, acquisition corps member, scientist, program manager, commander, engineer, and contracting officer in both space and aviation industry sectors. He specialized in sensors, radars, electronic warfare, communications, procurement, R&D, and sustainment. He deployed to Iraq in 2010 and earned a Bronze Star for his work re-building the Iraqi Air Force under combat conditions.
Phillip Sanger
director
Center for Rapid Product Realization
Presenting Session 2: A Public-Private Partnership Model
Phillip Sanger is an associate professor in the Engineering and Technology Department of Western Carolina University. He received his master's and doctoral degrees in nuclear engineering from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Phillip's 30-year career in industry and academia focused on developing new technologies and commercializing them. Many of these technologies are now taken for granted: superconducting magnets for Magnetic Resonance Imaging systems, high performance accelerator magnets for the Superconducting Super Collider, low-cost power electronics for electric automobiles, high temperature power conditioning for the next generation Army tank, high power SiC switches for power utility energy management and energy efficient glass fiber drawing technology.
Mark Van Fleet
executive director
Purdue's Global Business Engagement initiative
Presenting Session 3: Potential and Challenges of Pursuing China Business Opportunities
Mark Van Fleet is the founder and executive director of Purdue's Global Business Engagement initiative. This effort will leverage University assets-- including students, alumni, technology, faculty, research parks, business services, connections with foreign universities--to attract foreign investment and grow exports for Indiana, while supporting Purdue's learning and discovery missions. First year focus: building commercial ties with China. An international business professional with twenty-five years of accomplishments in the creation, marketing and management of successful trade development, export, investment promotion, and trade policy advocacy programs, Mark served 20 years in senior positions at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the world's largest business federation, including as vice president for Asia, and director of international business development. While at the Chamber, he served as CEO of the ASEAN-U.S. Business Council, director of export, and designed and managed business partnering initiatives with Thailand and Singapore, generating millions of dollars in new investment and trade. He holds degrees from Princeton University and the University of Virginia, where he also completed course work for his doctorate. A former U.S. Diplomat, Mark served on the staff of the U.S. Embassy in Thailand before joining the Chamber. He left the Chamber to begin his own international consulting business in 2004, and moved to West Lafayette in 2008. He has been an advisor on international business to several Purdue colleges, centers and faculty, and is also senior fellow with the Meridian Institute in Indianapolis.
Nathan Hartman
associate professor
Department of Computer Graphics Technology at Purdue University
Presenting Session 4: Technology Infrastructure to Support the Product Lifecycle for SMEs
Nathan Hartman is director of the Purdue University PLM Center of Excellence and director of the strategic research area in PLM in the College of Technology. His current research work includes examining the use of constraint-based CAD tools in the design process, the process and methodology for model-based definition and the model-based enterprise, geometry automation, and data interoperability and re-use. He teaches courses in 3D modeling, virtual collaboration, 3D data interoperability, and engineering design graphics standards and documentation. Nathan also leads a team of faculty, graduate students and industry personnel in the development and delivery of the Purdue PLM Certificate Program and in the operation of the Integrated Product and Process Realization Laboratory. He has worked for a variety of companies in using and integrating PLM tools in the engineering design process through the development of custom training applications and materials. He started working for Fairfield Manufacturing Company in the tooling design group working in support of the manufacturing function and conducting legacy data conversions. Nathan then moved to Caterpillar Incorporated where he worked in support of the product engineering function by creating 3D solid models and technical drawings to document engine component and package groups. He then moved to Rand Technologies as a senior technical training engineer. In that role, Nathan created training curriculum materials and conducted training courses in the installation, configuration, and use of 3D modeling and product data management systems. In that role, he also worked in post-sales support and integration of PLM technologies in companies across North America. Nathan holds a bachelor's degree in technical graphics and a master's degree in technology, both from Purdue University, and a doctorate in technology education from North Carolina State University.
Karen Waldenmeyer
member of the Information Management Leadership Program
GE Aviation
Presenting Session 4: Technology Infrastructure to Support the Product Lifecycle for SMEs
Karen Waldenmeyer is currently a member of the Information Management Leadership Program at GE Aviation based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Her most recent work has been in information technology, supporting and developing the areas of contract service agreement systems, cloud computing, and bill of material planning across GE Aviation's supply chain. Prior to joining GE, she graduated from Purdue University with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Graphics Technology and a Master of Science in Technology with an area of specialization in Applied Computer Graphics, where she worked with both Rolls-Royce America and Boeing Company on product data management technologies and its related training both for corporate employees as well as university students. Her masters thesis study focused on small and medium manufacturers and their experiences with PDM and PLM systems.
Jacob Schpok
Director of Programming and Business Advisor Education
Indiana Small Business Development Center (ISBDC)
Presenting Session 5: "Free Strategic Planning and Implementation Assistance"
Jacob Schpok works for the Indiana Small Business Development Center (ISBDC), a non-profit organization with a mission of having a positive and measurable impact on the formation, growth, and sustainability of small businesses in Indiana. He received a bachelor's degree in entrepreneurship and small business management from the nationally ranked Ball State University Entrepreneurship Program. Following graduation, Jacob consulted for the Ball State Entrepreneurial Community Analysis Program, co-founded two businesses, and worked in a number of roles at the ISBDC, including Central Indiana Business Advisor where he served over 180 entrepreneurs and helped generate $2 million in bank loans and lines of credit for his clients. At an early age, Jacob learned the skills required to be a successful entrepreneur. Today, he applies those skills in helping develop Indiana businesses through the ISBDC.