Bert Uschold - Podcast Details

Shows

Beers with EngineersJosh Tarbutton: Accidentally Awesome#43 – Josh Tarbutton: Accidentally Awesome 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 m...2025-07-2859 min

Beers with EngineersGretchen Gagel: Leaving the world a better place.#42 – Gretchen Gagel: Leaving the world a better place. 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 an...2025-07-151h 00

Beers with EngineersWes Schwie - Porsches, patents, problems, and pigs.#41 – Wes Schwie: Porsches, patents, problems, and pigs. 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 (altho...2025-07-021h 00

Beers with EngineersJohn Clarke: Don’t be a cow on ice#40 – John Clarke: Don’t be a cow on ice Found morel mushrooms in his yard and ate them. And ventured into others. Hunting wild berries Drinking Little Willow beer – tired it because his daughter is Willow. Tried numerous manual labor jobs in high school – which convinced him to go to college. Manager to engineer to manager. Worked at a high tech textile company A great project that was awful. A crazy way to remove tatoos. Maybe. Nitinol tubing in a medical device Lack of documentation really annoys him. Feeling like a cow on ice. Who is your chief jailable...2025-05-201h 04

Beers with EngineersKyle Smith: Engineering knowledge and wisdom#39 – Kyle Smith: Engineering knowledge and wisdom Kyle saved Bert’s butt by modifying parts overnight You tend to repeat small mistakes, but not big ones. Another engineer who started with Legos Self-taught on an early computer animation program – Maya. Which led into SolidWorks Got a mill for cheap and converted to CNC Kyle and Bert both use Send Cut Send – not sure how they make money. Company name is Sparrow Hawk Design – small and agile. Industrial designers need to interact with engineers. Two excellent books Manufacturing Processes for Design Professionals Handbook of Product Design for Manufacturing Can AI advise you...2025-04-281h 02

Beers with EngineersSeth Greenwald: Engineers are storytellers, too.#38 – Seth Greenwald: Engineers are storytellers, too. A teller of “good” stories Active in toastmasters Soul Brewing Company Attended Cooper Union to be an architect, but…. First job was as a furniture designer. “Serious Creativity” by Edward DeBono – lateral thinking You need to know when to be logical and when to be lateral Divergent thinking before convergent thinking Toastmasters help you to speak and to lead Gives workshops on storytelling MOTH – a storytelling organization Six words stories The Power of Storytelling for Project Professionals or mycpe.com Plans to hike the Appalachian Trail Speaking in Louisville on May 13 about generative AI. B...2025-04-141h 00

Beers with EngineersLarry Bridge: Sustainability is good business#37 – Larry Bridge: Sustainability is good business Built the pedestrian bridge over Sycamore St in Cincinnati. Bert wants to use nitinol someday. It is super-elastic and has shape memory. Larry’s dad was called Mr. Steel and his uncle worked on submarine propellors. Thought about being an actuary Quickly moved into project management – lots of capital products HVAC in an R&D building is huge expense Kosher surfactants are a thing A big problem with waste is transporting it. Cincinnati is building an anaerobic digester, P&G is a big “supplier” Kentucky’s water is key to horses and bourbon. Doe...2025-03-311h 02

Beers with EngineersPete Rezac - The Ritual Engineer#36 – Pete Rezac: The Ritual Engineer First job out of college was at a startup working on hydrogen energy. Pete was unschooled (not homeschooled) through 7th Didn’t believe his Mom when she tried to teach him the rules of English. For math he was mostly self-taught and discovered the distributive property Often school erodes children’s natural inquisitiveness. Many smart kids were troublemakers because they were bored. Decision on whether to homeschool his kids was not what you would expect. Our brains have learning windows that close. Science is discovering ways to open them back up. The Anxious Genera...2025-03-171h 01

Beers with EngineersDavid Elentukh: Not An EIT, A DIT – Doctor in Training#35 – David Elentukh: Not An EIT, A DIT – Doctor in Training Drinking kombucha but is a sour beer fan. 12 cylinder rotary engines? Why do we make the decisions we do? “Paycheck” with Ben Affleck and other movies inspired him to engineering. (but not “Falling Down”) Isaac Asimov did not believe in character development, especially in the “Foundation” series. Knows why he loves engineering, but less why he became one. Every day is a new challenge. Really good designs are often not wildly creative but well implemented. Challenging the idea of a biomedical engineering degree. Which is better for college, quarters or seme...2025-03-031h 05

Beers with EngineersTim Johnson: Axe throwing, Ninja engineer#34 – Tim Johnson: Axe throwing, Ninja engineer Owns a Parkour/ninja gym and Axe-Throwing Bar The town council raised an eyebrow at the second one. Tinker toys and old broken toys can be used for prototypes In college, president of the Demiurgical Engineering club. Worked on the Segway and Rockband drumkit. Tried to quit but his boss wouldn’t let him. Has been doing martial arts since he was a child so he started his own gym. but thinks it has been a bit wimpified a bit. Once an engineer, always an engineer When starting a company, better to do i...2025-02-1758 min

Beers with EngineersChris Costa: He always has enough time for people.#33 – Chris Costa: He always has enough time for people. Chris is enjoying his favorite beer, Sam Adams Octoberfest Chris placed engineers and now sells SolidWorks Crashed three planes when in high school Some recruiters suggest jobs that are a terrible fit. It seems like an easy job, but it isn’t. It requires lots of contacts. Learn from his father: “You always have enough time for people” How many things could you do with this brick? Drafter and mechanical designer jobs have all but disappeared. Mechanical engineers wear a lot of hats. Engineers get too much blame and not enou...2025-02-0358 min

Beers with EngineersSteve Drake: Speakers in your suspension?#32 – Steve Drake: Speakers in your suspension? Beers with engineers or wine-ing and designing? Steve worked at Bose – the Soundlink and the Wave CD radio. As a kid, he jumped off a roof with a trash bag as a parachute. Elsewhere, worked in electro-optics system group. Always been interested in acoustics and Bose was very close to home. Bose was a great place to work; high caliber people. Bose worked on car suspension. They also worked on suspension seats for trucks. Bose – big rich sound in a really small package Steve likes Klipsch speakers Helped unify different groups at Olympu...2025-01-2358 min

Beers with EngineersTodd Mansfield: Culture is what you do.#31 – Todd Mansfield: Culture is what you do. Lots of microbreweries in Boise, Idaho. Todd grew up on a farm north of Boise. He became an aircraft mechanic and is also a pilot He did fly the planes he worked on. Later involved in building materials and electromechanical devices. Worked on kit airplanes 9V batteries contain 6 AAAA batteries His company, OneIPM, co-founded by Bill Dahl, who co-founded Solidworks PDM Works. Their tool is fully integrated into Onshape Bert used and liked Trello years ago. One IPM and Trello both use kanban boards OneIPM is good for project management and as...2025-01-081h 00

Beers with EngineersJosh Hoy: Robots and a dollar store trebuchet#30 – Josh Hoy: Robots and a dollar store trebuchet Josh wanted to work on robots since 4th You learn the fastest by making mistakes and teaching other people about them. Robotics program is like three minors You work both below and above your pay grade. Bamboo bicycles are a thing; bamboo lacrosse sticks, too. Wooden shoes complicated forming the EU. Things look done way before they are done. A few SolidWorks tips. Josh is a big OnShape fan Did you know dollar stores sell pallets? A specific career plan is not required, but a guiding thought is. Bert’s Co...2024-12-231h 09

Beers with EngineersAnnie Green: Artificial Intelligence, consider both value and values.#29 – Annie Green: Artificial Intelligence, consider both value and values. Among other things, Annie is an instructor at George Washington University. She originally wanted to be a pediatrician but decided against it. Working with blood analyzers was part of her shift to engineering. Artificial intelligence is the emulation of man. Our brains use the past and the present to predict the future. Structured vs unstructured artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence vs augmented intelligence ChatGPT, et al are augmented intelligence. Necessity is the mother of invention. Laziness is the father. She feels we need to stop or pause and th...2024-12-051h 01

Beers with EngineersBeers with Engineers Trailer, 2.0This trailer gives you a quick overview of the podcast. Your host, Bert Uschold, talks to other engineers about their careers, engineering, and whatever else that interests us. It is a pint of fun and a shot of geek. If you want to find out more about Bert, below is a link to a short bio and a bit of work history. https://dexterityeng.com/about 2024-12-0301 min

Beers with EngineersTim Coonahan: Not team building, building a team#28 – Tim Coonahan: Not team building, building a team Tim is Director, Design and Development at Medica Corporation Drinking engineering appropriately named beer – “Ripping Through Dimensions” and “Memory Bias”. An anti-phonetic (not semaphore) alphabet “A” as in are, “y” as in you, “E” as in eye. Went to RPI – Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, oldest non-military technical school in the US. Started as biomedical, ended as mechanical Learn as much as you possibly can From a family of engineers – steel and railroads Organic chemistry as an elective? Is vertical integration coming back? A Machine Design cover story got him into product development con...2024-11-211h 01

Beers with EngineersBONUS 3: Just the jokes, ma'am.Bonus Episode #3 In this bonus episode all of the jokes from the first year of the podcast are compiled in one place. I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as I enjoyed putting it together. One duplicate was removed and another you could argue is a duplicate but got left in. Unlike many compilations, there is no extra narration between clips stretching it out. A bit of the original conversations before and after is included to make it flow a little better. Enjoy! Bert's company - www.dex...2024-11-1419 min

Beers with EngineersBert Uschold - On the other side of the mike.#27 – Bert Uschold: On the other side of the mike. Bert owns his own engineering consulting firm, Dexterity Engineering, LLC and regular host of this podcast. Doug wants to be like Bert Doug has bought over half the beers Bert has ever consumed. He could have been a lumberjack or an architect A night light was his first invention. A quart of random loose change is about $100. Bert is more design engineer than mechanical engineer Or even better, full stack product development engineer. Bert figured out how to determine process capability for true position dimensions. And Doug’s co...2024-11-071h 03

Beers with EngineersDoug Tyger - What makes an engineer?#26 – Doug Tyger – When is an engineer not an engineer? Doug is the owner of Integral Manufacturing, between Cincinnati and Dayton. Chose engineering because it paid well Chose material science because materials are important to all other engineering disciplines. We were coops at Procter and Gamble. Helped fix a broken Pringles line He saw more options at a steel company, whose president was a metallurgical engineer. Supported auto industry. They crashed a lot of cars during development back then Material Science Engineering degree – isn’t something either science or engineering? He worked with guys who could design alloys i...2024-10-251h 01

Beers with EngineersMurat Islam - He's a Turk, Definitely not a Turkey.#25 – Murat Islam: He’s a Turk, Definitely not a Turkey. Murat is a Lead Engineer at John Crane Couplings Fellow of the IMechE, like the ASME We call it A-S-M-E, they call it as-me. Growing up in Turkey, he and brothers made their own toys. Turkey’s college entrance exam is different from the US and UK. It helps direct you into your best subject SAT and other tests are not the best, but they are what we have Some of his engineering classes were in English. Earned a master’s degree in UK. Received patent for inst...2024-10-1459 min

Beers with EngineersTEST for Youtubebla blah blahh 2024-10-1400 min

Beers with EngineersLuis Figarella - The Fourth F is for Figarella#24 – Luis Figarella: The Fourth F is for Figarella Luis is patent agent in Massachusetts, originally from Puerto Rico and enjoying a Puerto Rican beer. Wanted to be a fighter pilot but stopped by bad eyes. Became an electrical engineer instead. Remember when resumes were actually mailed? In late 80s, worked for UPS on automated truck loading. Early in his career, he didn’t even know what a patent was. Learned his first patent had issued because he received an offer to make a plaque of it. Patent descriptions are like painting by numbers. It is an impo...2024-09-201h 11

Beers with EngineersClay Williams - Supply chains are like fractals#23 - Clay Williams: Supply chains are like fractals Clay is an account executive for Jiga. Clay is from Tennessee and has actually been to my town, Leominster, MA. Degree in Supply Chain Management Video of Roman Army on the march Jiga – cross between digital manufacturing and local machine shop Full automation is really tough? Hadrian Automation – Manufacturing the future. Seem to be following The Goal or Theory of Constraints, both by Eli Goldratt Supply chain strategy often base on manufacturing concepts. Supply chains are internal and external Not “The Origin of Stuff”, but “The Story of Stuff” Ann...2024-08-301h 01

Beers with EngineersMatt 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. Virt...2024-08-161h 02

Beers with EngineersBONUS 2: Kevin Kildea - Cooking with GeeksBONUS #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 –...2024-08-091h 01

Beers with EngineersChris 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 secu...2024-08-0156 min

Beers with EngineersDave 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 shel...2024-07-191h 01

Beers with EngineersDanielle 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 fie...2024-07-191h 01

Beers with EngineersBONUS 1: Jen Uschold - She can engineer your pain awayBONUS #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...2024-07-121h 01

Beers with EngineersSummer Update - Keep Cool and Listen OnA quick update for the summer. More episodes coming. Bonus episodes coming. Working on process capability for true position paper. LinkedIn version here. Get your alt-code card here. www.dexterityeng.com 2024-06-2803 min

Beers with EngineersDave 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 d...2024-06-2158 min

Beers with EngineersHeidi 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 bu...2024-06-101h 00

Beers with EngineersMike 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 comple...2024-05-2459 min

Beers with EngineersTom 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...2024-05-1059 min

Beers with EngineersRobert Kropiniewicz - You can't drill holes from the inside out#14 - Robert Kropiniewicz: You can't drill holes from the inside out First guest outside of US. Before becoming an engineer, he was going to go into religious life. Started in engineering in quality but didn’t want to wear safety shoes. In Solidworks, just because you can do it one way, doesn’t mean you should. It is critical to design the part for the process. Also, build the part to convey design intent. For the engineer, the drawing is your finished product. Tap into the knowledge of the guys on the shop floor. Don’t be proud. Engine...2024-04-2658 min

Beers with EngineersCherie Duddridge - Retirement and ROUSs#13 - Cherie Duddridge: Retirement and ROUSs Cherie is retired after many years at BP. Topics of Conversation: Oil companies are not all bad. - they invest a lot in green technology in various ways. Bert’s crazy solution to recycling. Cherie’s experience with autism and neurodiversity. Any individual is neither unique or universal Benefits on including non-experts Your local chamber of commerce can help you in your business. Yoga is good for fitness – physical and mental Be careful saying “Do you have a minute to talk?” Movies - “Reservoir Dogs”- bad. “Princess Bride” – good Ini...2024-04-1249 min

Beers with EngineersDave Smith - He plays games and asks questions.#12 - Dave Smith: He plays games and asks questions. Dave is a manufacturing engineer that I worked with at Avery Dennison. We talk about: How those little things that hold the tag to your clothes are made (by Avery Dennison) It is pretty cool and the reason Dave still works there. Manufacturing is hard. Book reference - “Zero Marginal Cost Society” and 3D printing tractors Space Exploration by self-replicating probes or worm holes. Board games – Settlers of Cataan changed everything. Complex games vs simple games and sports The game Bohnanza – Dave’s rules are better Some stuff is fu...2024-03-2957 min

Beers with EngineersRafael Diana - Wait a minute? He's an engineer?#11 - Rafael Diana: Wait a minute? He's an engineer? Sorry, no joke this time. Learn by doing and helping others Land the little fish before the big fish. New projects and interviews are like a first date. Read a lot and learn from many different sources. Mentoring - it’s important and worth it to take the time teach people. Mentoring – people at all levels need it. Loss aversion and the strange psychology of buying things from friends. Risk analysis and confidence. Humility is a good thing. Three E’s – efficiency, effectiveness, and education. Engineers aren’t cheap – th...2024-03-1558 min

Beers with EngineersCharlie Sears - Are some engineers becoming a commodity?#10 - Charlie Sears: Are some engineers becoming a commodity? CAD – from the beginning Scotch in bourbon barrels 3D printing – from the beginning Medical Device approval Concurrent engineering and FDA approval Rise and fall(?) of product development firms. Engineering vs software development Being good at CAD vs being a good engineer. Design Engineer vs mechanical engineer. Don’t get cute designing– you’ll regret it. Looking done well before you are done. Vacationing in the Caribbean Home ice rinks Engineer’s Toolbox is a useful website. Sneezing at the sun. Advice for new engineers, especially in consulting world Be a sel...2024-03-011h 01

Beers with EngineersFrank Uschold - An engineer or an intellectual rapper?#9 - Frank Uschold: An engineer or an intellectual rapper? Today's guest is my nephew, a recent graduate of Clarkson University. Some of our topics include: Double engineering major and a minor in history. Why do it and how to accomplish it. Working on intellectual rap What he looks for in a job Skillshare as a music teacher The Colorado River The Great Wall of China How to ruin eggnog Can a chemical engineer cook? Rick Beato is the music YouTuber I mentioned. Here is his channel. Bert's website - Dexterity Engineering, L...2024-02-1636 min

Beers with EngineersMike Marcoux - Buying your wife auto parts. For Christmas.#8 - Mike Marcoux: Buying your wife auto parts. For Christmas. Today's guest is Mike Marcoux, Director of Engineering at Boston Engineering. (As of 4/2024, he is a senior engineer at Physik Instrumente) Here is a couple of links to videos of the robotic tuna, link 1 and link 2. We also talk about a robotic pterodactyl. Here is a video, but maybe not the one we discussed. Mike's career advice: If you can't find something you love, find something you like. If you can't find something you like, find something you t...2024-02-0455 min

Beers with EngineersMike Marcoux - Buying your wife auto parts for ChristmasToday's guest is Mike Marcoux, Director of Engineering at Boston Engineering. Here is a couple of link to videos of the robotic tuna, link 1 and link 2. We also talk about a robotic pterodactyl. Here is a video, but maybe not the one we discussed. Mike's career advice: If you can't find something you love, find something you like. If you can't find something you like, find something you tolerate. Try autocross with your wife if you want to buy her auto parts next Christmas. Bert's company, Dexterity Engineering, LLC.2024-02-0255 min

Beers with EngineersJeff Turk - We can’t all be engineers.#7 - Jeff Turk: We can’t all be engineers Today’s guest is an engineer but he is a recruiter who helps engineers get jobs. Recruiters are sometimes like lawyers or salesman. They can be annoying until you need one, but when you need one, you want a good one. Jeff is one of the good ones. Our conversation covers: Recruiters: good one vs bad ones. Are recruiters working for the worker or the company? Some of Bert’s interview experiences – good and bad. Interview tips: Be Friendly Be confi...2024-01-1855 min

Beers with EngineersBrian Smith - Agility and character: for work and for play.#6 - Brian Smith: Agility and character: for work and for play. Brian coaches agility development for BigBear.ai. Our conversation starts in Guam, includes the Wright brothers, and ends with family karate. We also discuss: - managing vs coaching - listening to and learning from your employees - efficient employees vs. high value employees - the cost (and benefit?) of standing by your principles - decisions from long ago that affect decisions we make today - The Goal by Eli Goldratt (two thumbs up) 2024-01-1053 min

Beers with EngineersNate Rollins - His network is his most valuable resource#5 - Nate Rollins: his network is his most valuable resource. Nate is a design engineer and independent contractor. Among our topics are: - his motto – “my network is my most valuable resource” - 3D printed sugar snacks - buying cyanoacrylate by the gallon - the end of mechanical designers - having your coop employer pay for college - design engineer vs mechanical engineer - why his company is still just one man - comparing ourselves to Richard Branson and Elon Musk ...2023-12-2258 min

Beers with EngineersJay Julian - Did he say ramen spectroscopy?#2 - Jay Julian: Did hew say ramen spectroscopy? Today's guest, Jay Julian, is founder of Accelerate Design in Charlton, MA. Out topics include: specialist vs. generalist, remote teams, mentoring, rock and ice climbing, big vs small company employment, and race cars. Here is a link to Jay's company, Accelerate Design. Here is a link to Bert's company, Dexterity Engineering, LLC. While I am getting no payment, here is a link to the brewery Jay mentioned, Treehouse. If you are in Massachusetts, you have probably heard of them. If...2023-12-1555 min

Beers with EngineersKen Stuber - When engineers go camping.#4 - Ken Stuber: When engineers go camping. My guest today is Ken Stuber, a friend I met when I lived in Kentucky. He worked for a few years as an engineer for RCA but most of his career was at a non-profit called the Christian Appalachian Project where he did home repair. We talk about some of the things we built while camping, how his job and Kentucky have changed during his career, and different methods of positioning large wooden beams. Here is a link to the trebuchet business card. Here is...2023-12-0452 min

Beers with EngineersRalph Thibodeau - This one is for Moose.#3 - Ralph Thibodeau: This one is for moose. Ralph is a program manager at Jabil Healthcare in Clinton, MA. We discussed some similarities between our colleges and how we decided what kind of engineer to be. advantages of trial by fire and doing a little of everything as a young engineer learning from everyone you work with big salaries can have bad consequences companies and cultures can change Finally, we discuss Ralph’s son Josh, aka Moose, and the foundation in his name that provides AED to numerous organizations in central Massachusetts. If yo...2023-11-1451 min

Beers with EngineersJoe Paraschac - I am glad I didn’t kill him.#1 - Joe Paraschac: I am glad I didn't kill him. The first Beers with Engineers podcast talks with Joe Paraschac, a very experienced medical device engineer that I have known for over thirty years. Among our topics are: - the importance of design - serving customers - knowing when to say when at a job - second chances in engineering - changes in engineering management - a little about playing ukuleles. Yes, ukuleles. Fortunately, we just barely mention the time I almost killed...2023-10-2444 min