profiles

	Ellen Domb Ellen Domb is the founder of the PQR Group and editor of The TRIZ Journal. TRIZ is Dr. Domb’s 6th career: she has been a physics professor, an aerospace engineer, an engineering manager, a product line general manager, and a strategic planning/quality improvement consultant. In 2005, she was named by Quality Digest Magazine as a leading voice for the future, citing the integration of TRIZ for innovation in quality improvement and quality planning systems. Ellen's client work, books, and articles are aimed at making it easy for people to learn TRIZ and to incorporate new thinking methods into their organizations. Clients include the Global 500--Dow Chemical, Hewlett-Packard, 3M, and others--and entrepreneurial companies with 3-50 employees.
	Joe A. Miller Joe A. Miller is an independent consultant and Principal of Quality Process Consulting. He integrates TRIZ, QFD, and Systems Dynamics analysis into the design, development, and provision phases for both product and service applications. His more than 30 years experience in medical product and system development and management includes extensive problem solution consulting and the development and teaching of proprietary project management, TQM and technical problem solving courses. Mr. Miller has been a TRIZ practitioner and member of the PQR Group since 1998.
	Ralph Czerepinski Ralph Czerepinski is principal of Cz innovation, a consulting firm specializing in problem-solving utilizing TRIZ methods. Prior to his retirement after 34 years at the Dow Chemical Company, he served a number of years as their TRIZ champion, facilitating many problem-solving sessions, and co-leading numerous classes in TRIZ. Dr. Czerepinski's vast research and problem-solving experience includes extensive work in the fields of reprography, emulsion polymers, waterborne coatings, polymer property control, adhesives, composite technologies, imbibitive polymers, and thermal analysis, in addition to many others. He holds a BS Degree in Chemistry from the University of Wisconsin, and a PhD in Inorganic Chemistry from the University of Washington.
	Darrell Mann Darrell Mann is has conducted extensive research on modifications of TRIZ to modern business and technology. He is the most-published author in the TRIZ Journal and a featured presenter at many engineering and strategic planning conferences. He has collaborated with Ellen Domb on research articles, university and conference presentations, and client engagements since the founding of the PQR Group, and used the PQR model to help develop the Systematic Innovation Network, which is active in 9 countries.
	Noel Leon Noel Leon is a professor at the Center for Product Innovation in Design and Technology at Mexico’s Tecnológico de Monterrey. He holds a PhD in mechanical engineering (Summa cum Laude), from the Dresden University of Technology, in Germany. Prof. León is the Director of the Research Program Creativity, Inventiveness and Innovation in Engineering. He specializes in Product Design, Design Methodology and Computer Aided Engineering. Noel Leon is Chairman of the Mexican TRIZ Association and a member of the Altshuller Institute of TRIZ Studies. He also chairs the IFIP Working Group WG5.4, Computer Aided Innovation. Noel owns two patents and has applied for 16 new patents. He is member of the National Researchers System of Mexico. His experience includes courses in Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Chile, Panama, USA, Germany, France and Peoples Republic of China. Clients include Delphi, Siemens, Volkswagen, Technicolor, Schneider Electric, Gamesa, Mabe, Whirlpool, CEMEX, Plastiglas.
	John Terninko Dr. John Terninko has integrated his diverse experience base (electrical engineering, operations research, organizational development, teaching, continuing education and management consultation) to develop a unique intervention style for organizations. He has been teaching and using TRIZ for 13 years. Consistent with his professional life of being on the cutting edge in QFD and Taguchi for 23 and 27 years, respectively, John has integrated TRIZ, QFD and Taguchi in his approach to design problems. Organizations become more profitable by having innovative robust processes and products desired by their customers. He has published books and has presented many papers on each subject. His Step-by-Step QFD book was on Amazon.com's top 50 Management book list and his Step-by-Step TRIZ book is being used by universities and industry for training. He and Dr. Edward Chaplin wrote Customer Driven Healthcare: QFD for Process Improvement and Cost Reduction.
	Robert Brands Robert F. Brands is president and founder of www.innovationcoach.com and author of “Robert’s Rules of Innovation” (Wiley, March, 2010. Brands’ hands-on experience in bringing innovation to market spans decades, and includes the creation and improvement of product development processes and company culture. He served as Managing Director of the Personal Care Division of Rexam Plastics representing about $1B in sales, with 25 sites worldwide, about 11,000 employees. Rexam acquired Airspray NV, a worldwide leader in non-aerosol foam dispensers, in 2006. Under Brands’ stewardship as President of Airspray U.S., Airspray created the international market for instant foam dispensing. Here, Brands delivered consistent double-digit profitable growth.
	Tony Ulwick Strategyn is a pioneer and leader in Outcome-Driven Innovation®, a revolutionary approach to innovation management that enables companies to unlock hidden opportunities, reveal high-growth emerging markets, create breakthrough products and services, and streamline business processes. Strategyn offers turnkey innovation management programs to companies throughout the world. The programs include education, tools, and mentoring and support--everything a company needs to build competency in innovation. Strategyn is a global network of consultancies, founded on the research done by Tony Ulwick and his associates over the last 2 decades. Tony's book "What Customers Want" and his articles in the Harvard Business Review and Sloan Management Review will introduce you to Strategyn's methods.
	Akhilesh Gulati Akhilesh Gulati is the Principal of Pivot Consulting. He specializes in ISO 9000 and Lean & Six Sigma tools such as productivity improvement, cost and waste reduction, process enhancement, and customer satisfaction, and was among the first to add TRIZ to these systems. He has over 20 years of experience in team leadership, and coordination, problem solving, lean manufacturing and kaizen events,process and productivity improvement. Experienced in a wide variety of industries:ship building, oil and gas, aerospace, insurance, healthcare, distribution, hi-tech and manufacturing. MBA, MS, BS, California Quality Award Examiner, Senior Member and ASQ Section chair.
	Marco Aurélio de Carvalho Marco Aurélio de Carvalho is a lecturer, researcher and consultant in the areas of product development and TRIZ / systematic innovation. He is a mechanical engineer and has a master´s degree in product development. His professional experience includes working with Volvo, John Deere, Electrolux and Bosch in the areas of product planning, engineering design and quality engineering. He has more than 20 publications, including books "121 Heuristics for Solving Problems" and "Product Life Cycle Management" (the latter in Portuguese). Currently, Marco is a lecturer at UTFPR (Paraná Federal Technological University), a PhD candidate at UFSC (Santa Catarina Federal University) and owner of consulting company Aditiva. At UTFPR, Marco is a lecturer in product development, creator and manager of the GDP3 MBA program. As a PhD candidate, he is developing a TRIZ-based forecasting methodology. As a consultant, Marco has been consulting and solving problems for Bosch, Electrolux, FIAT, Infraero, Petrobrás, QSP, SENAC, SENAI, Siemens, TECPAR, Volvo, Whirlpool, Xerox, and other companies. He is member of ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers), ETRIA (European TRIZ Association), PDMA (Product Development Management Association, SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers), and WFS (World Future Society).