Learn about the people behind Statistical Design Institute.

STAFF


SDI's staff is composed of advanced-degree engineers with expertise in systems engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, computer science, operations research, and supply chain management. We have used our skills in areas of system design, subsystem design, component design, integration and verification, field test, requirements development, procurement, production, and program management to develop a unique and effective approach for DFSS.

A common belief of the SDI staff is that variation exists in all systems, subsystems, components, and processes. Problems result when the effects of variation are not identified, understood, and forecasted in future events. With this understanding of the problem, they identified the required skills to overcome the barriers found in day-to-day product development activities.

They also found that many 'process-focused' practitioners will tell engineers "what" needs to be done to prevent problems from occurring in product development, but few actually reveal "how" to achieve the results in design and development phases of a program. The staff has overcome this barrier and applied the "hows" in the form of technical training and easy-to-use, cost effective software tools. The background and qualifications of the SDI engineers who have developed this DFSS approach and support the training activities are summarized below.

George Chollar, Ph.D., P.E.

President

George Chollar
George's experience includes 30 years in design, systems engineering, and program management for product development programs at Texas Instruments (TI) and Raytheon. In addition to his program responsibilities at TI, he received certification as a Six Sigma Black Belt, focusing on the application of Six Sigma for engineering and product development. George's work has resulted in a framework of statistical analysis design concepts and methods for Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) applications. This framework has been used in DFSS training for engineers, Master Black Belts, and Black Belts at various companies in the U.S. and Europe. For SDI, George is director of training development activities. George received his B.S. (1976) and M.S. (1980) degrees in Electrical Engineering from Southern Methodist University and a Ph.D. (2000) in Interdisciplinary Engineering from Texas Tech University. He is a registered professional engineer in the State of Texas.

Jesse D. Peplinski, Ph.D.

Vice-President of Technology and Development

Jesse Peplinski
Jesse has been applying Six Sigma techniques in product development since 1996. As a systems engineer at Texas Instruments and Raytheon Systems Company he helped establish a foundation for applying Six Sigma concepts during requirements development and concept modeling, well before hardware is built. As a Master Black Belt at General Electric he guided an engineering organization in the daily application and implementation of DFSS and Six Sigma. For SDI, Jesse leads the development of our DFSS software tools. Jesse received his Ph.D. and M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Georgia Tech in 1997 and 1994, respectively, and he received his B.S. in Engineering Science from Harvard University in 1992. He is a certified Master Black Belt.

Garron K. Morris

Vice-President of Tools and Methods

Stacks Image 941
Garron has over 20 years of product development experience in thermal management and reliability of power electronics for medical, telecommunication, and lighting industries at Motorola and General Electric. Garron’s areas of expertise include mechanical engineering, thermal analysis, reliability analysis, model development, statistical analysis, and software development. As a certified Design for Six Sigma Master Black Belt and ASQ Certified Reliability Engineer, he has trained and mentored engineers on DFSS and Reliability concepts on all aspects of product development. Garron received his M.S. and B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 1996 and 1994, respectively.

Hauro Tomizu

Country Manager (Japan)

Stacks Image 2036
Haruo brings to SDI a host of skills in CAD/CAM/CAE/PDM, embedded Mechatronics system development, and business/product development. In his 35 year career he has supported Toshiba Corporation as a Senior Research Scientist in the Manufacturing Engineering Research Center, Siemens Inc. as an Industry Marketing Specialist, and ADS Inc. as a Marketing Manager. Haruo has been instrumental in introducing the SDI Tools software to companies and universities in Japan and providing the Japanese language translation for the SDI Tools. For SDI, Haruo has established the SDI-Japan office and currently serves as SDI’s Country Manager in Japan. Haruo received his Bachelor and Masters degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Kanazawa in 1975 and 1977, respectively.

SDI Tools 4.13.2 is available