About Mike

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I am a technical manager implementing Lean Six Sigma in a science research and development environment and learning to create a high reliability organization. My early college work consisted of Physics. As part of my studies, I held research internships at Arizona State University and Los Alamos National Laboratory. Those experiences and additional undergraduate research, helped convince me to pursue graduate studies in Nuclear Engineering.

In graduate school, I took up swing and ballroom dancing, which amazingly helped me catch a steady girlfriend in less than three months (this is impressive for a nuclear engineer). I graduated from the University of Michigan with a Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering and began work shortly thereafter. Where I work, we are trying to harness the power of the fusion reaction for electric power production.

My Lean Six Sigma studies began at the University of Michigan, where I studied Quality Function Deployment and the Theory of Constraints. I became interested in the scientific basis of the quality movement and systematic innovation early in my career. I am now a practitioner of the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TRIZ) and also a graduate of the Advanced Corporate Coach Program at Corporate Coach University.  I am presently a Certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt.


Education

  • Ph.D Nuclear Engineering
  • B.S. Physics

Relevant Training and Certifications

  • Certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt
  • Corporate Coach University Advanced Corporate Coaching Program Graduate
  • Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TRIZ) Practitioner

Areas of Special Experience for Coaching

  • Lean Six Sigma – Many companies are talking about Lean and Six Sigma. I coach people in this area to help them understand what Lean is and how they can use it in their professional and personal lives.
  • Innovation – The Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TRIZ) is a set of tools that helps people become more creative at solving technical problems. It started with a detailed study of patents that showed that most innovative ideas can be categorized in one of 40 basic principles.