Albert-László Barabási is the Emil T. Hofman Professor of Physics at University of Notre Dame. Born in Transylvania, and educated in Bucharest and Budapest, he received a Ph.D. in physics in 1994 from Boston University. After spending a year at IBM T.J. Watson Research Center he joined Notre Dame in 1995. His research has lead to the discovery and understanding of scale-free networks, capturing the structure of many complex networks in technology and nature, from the World Wide Web to the cell. His current research focuses on applying the concepts developed by his group for characterizing the topology of the www and the Internet to uncovering the structural and topological properties of complex metabolic and genetic networks.
He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and an external member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. His recent general audience book entitled Linked: The New Science of Networks (Perseus, 2002) is currently available on ten languages. For more information see http://www.nd.edu/~alb.

Steven R. Schmid joined the University of Notre Dame as an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering, and was promoted to Associate Professor in 1999. He performs research and teaches courses in the general areas of manufacturing, metal forming, tribology, biomechanics and design. Dr. Schmid is a co-author of the textbooks Fundamentals of Machine Elements, Manufacturing Engineering and Technology, Manufacturing Processes for Engineering Materials and Fundamentals of Fluid Film Lubrication. He is an Associate Editor for the Journal of Manufacturing Science and Engineering, and has held numerous offices in the Tribology Division of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, where he is currently Technical Expositions Chair.
He has written over fifty technical papers. Among his honors, Dr. Schmid has received a National Science Foundation CAREER award (1994), a John T. Parsons Award from the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (2000), the Kaneb Teaching Award at Notre Dame (1999-2000 and 2002-2003 academic years) the Burt Newkirk award from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (2000), and was named a Kaneb Faculty Fellow in 2002 and was recently given the Ruth and Joel Spira Award for Excellence in Teaching (2005).

Antony Lozier is a native of Indiana and a mechanical engineering graduate of Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. He began his career with Zimmer in 1984 and has worked in various functional areas including Trauma Development, Spinal Development, Research and now most recently, the oversight of Transformation Technology.  He and his wife, Luanne, have been married for 22 years and they have two children, both attending IUPUI.  

Wolfgang Porod currently is Frank M. Freimann Professor of Electrical Engineering at the University of Notre Dame. He received his Diplom (M.S.) and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Graz, Austria, in 1979 and 1981, respectively. After appointments as a postdoctoral fellow at Colorado State University and as a senior research analyst at Arizona State University, he joined the University of Notre Dame in 1986 as an Associate Professor. He now also serves as the Director of Notre Dame’s Center for Nano Science and Technology.  His research interests are in the area of nanoelectronics, with an emphasis on new circuit concepts for novel devices. He has authored some 300 publications and presentations.

Eugene Smotkin, a leading fuel cell expert, is an Associate Professor in Chemistry at the University of Puerto Rico, and a Research Professor at the University of Notre Dame. His research on fuel cells led to the creation of NuVant Systems, which he founded in 1999 .
Since 1992, Dr. Smotkin has trained numerous scientists now working with major fuel cell developers. He has been awarded over $11 million for fuel cell research by the US government and private industry. Dr. Smotkin holds 4 issued patents, 5 patents pending and has over 50 peer reviewed publications.

Paul J. McGinn is a professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Notre Dame. He received his PhD from the University of Notre Dame in 1984, after also receiving his BS and MS in 1980 and 1983 respectively. After a brief stint at IBM he returned to Notre Dame in 1987.
Dr. McGinn's primary research interests are in the areas of the processing and properties of advanced materials. Current research programs are centered on the development of processing tools and characterization techniques for use in combinatorial materials development. Researchers in his lab are applying combinatorial discovery techniques to the development of improved fuel cell electrocatalysts, microwave dielectric materials, diesl soot combustion catalysts, and improved carbon-carbon composites.

Mark La Forest is a Principal Engineer at Honeywell’s Aircraft Landing Systems and has received numerous awards for his achievements with Honeywell.  They consist of:  Technical Achievement Awards, Patents and Special Recognition Awards for Outstanding Performance and Contributions to the Company. His areas of expertise are polymer science, composites/C-C composites, and process engineering.
During his 29 years with Honeywell, Mr. La Forest developed several commercial systems.  Such as: Manufacturing process for Blends to Product at Honeywell's nylon production facility.  ANSO stain resist for carpet and the commercial application process.  Most recently he developed a manufacturing process (Resin Transfer Molding) to infiltrate carbon brake disks with high carbon yielding pitch resin for increased heat capacity or systems weight savings.  Mr. La Forest was transferred from Corporate Headquarters in Morristown, NJ to Honeywell's Aircraft Landing Systems in South Bend to apply his expertise in developing new and low-cost carbon friction materials and the design of the systems to manufacture them.

Allen Simpson joined Honeywell Aircraft Landing Systems in 1997and has worked in high temperature processing of carbon-carbon composites, in the Six Sigma group, and is currently a Principal Engineer in the Research and Technology Department.  In 2004 he was co-wrote two successful grant applications to the Indiana 21st Century Fund.  Prior to joining Honeywell he was employed by Intergraph Corporation.  He earned a Ph.D. from the University of Notre Dame in 1997 and holds a bachelors degree from the University of Alabama.  Other interests include aquatic chemistry and the health effects of environmental toxins.

Thomas Siegmund is an Associate Professor in the School of Mechanical Engineering at Purdue University.  His research interests are in the areas of manufacturing of composite materials, in fracture and fatigue, and recently in biomechanics.  He is the author of 86 peer-reviewed journal articles and conference papers. Together with Dr. Ray Cipra, also Purdue University, Dr. Thomas Siegmund collaborates closely with the engineering staff at Honeywell Aircraft Landing Systems, South Bend, in the development of manufacturing processes for carbon-carbon composites.