Mr. Ted Pawela
Vice President, Marketing - MSC.Software Corporation
Presenting: Welcome and Opening Remarks

Ted Pawela is VP of marketing at MSC Software, responsible for MSC's "go-to-market" strategy and planning. Ted has been involved in the CAE industry for over 20 years, having held previous positions in the ANSYS organization, LMS International, and MARC Analysis Research Corporation. Prior to MSC's acquisition of MARC in 1999, Ted was responsible for MARC's regional business & technical operations within the central U.S. Before becoming directly involved in the CAE software industry, he led a modeling and analysis team within the underwater defense industry and was responsible for development of coupled finite element / boundary element methods used to analyze submarines, torpedos, and sonar equipment. Ted holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the Florida Institute of Technology and a Master of Science Degree from Michigan State University in Engineering Mechanics.

Dr. Reza Sadeghi
Chief Technology Officer - MSC.Software Corporation
Presenting: MSC Product Roadmap

Dr. Sadeghi is currently the CTO of MSC Software, with responsibility for strategy and development of all MSC core technologies (Nastran, Marc, Adams and Dytran). Prior to the merger of MARC Analysis Research Corp. and MSC Software, he was responsible for the company's overall operations. Before joining MARC Analysis Research Corporation, he was responsible for the simulation methods group at Goodrich aerospace, where he led the development of a number of math based tools for design and manufacturing of commercial and military jet engine nacelle structures. He has more than 10 years of teaching experience in the filed of Computational mechanics and math based modeling. He has been asked to serve on a number of science and technology review boards, among them the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Defense, as well as authored a number of papers in the field of computational mechanics and math based modeling.

Dr. Matthew Melis
Aerospace Engineer - NASA Glenn Research Center
Presenting: The Columbia Accident Investigation and Returning NASA's Space Shuttle to Flight

Matthew Melis served for nearly five years as technical lead of the NASA Glenn Ballistic Impact Team for both the Columbia Accident Investigation and NASA's Return to Flight program. In a presentation rich with imagery and high-speed motion pictures, Mr. Melis will provide a look into the inner workings of the Space Shuttle and a behind the scenes perspective on the impact analysis and testing conducted to identify the cause of the Columbia Accident and enhance safety for NASA's future Shuttle missions. In addition, highlights from recent Shuttle missions will be presented.

Matt Melis received both a BS in Civil Engineering and an MS in Engineering Mechanics from Michigan State University. He has worked at the Glenn Research Center for twenty four years as an aerospace engineer. His primary area of focus is in advanced finite element modeling and analysis methods including nonlinear and dynamic impact loading. His research has contributed to predict ballistic impact response of jet engine fan containment concepts subjected to fan blade and debris strikes in support of national aviation safety initiatives. Since the tragedy of Space Shuttle Columbia in 2003, Matt has been dedicated full time to working on the Columbia Accident Investigation, and for the Space Shuttle Program in the area of debris impact assessment.