Mechanical Engineering Advisory Council
Mission Statement: The mission of the Purdue University Mechanical Engineering Advisory Council (MEAC) is to bring outside experiences to inspire, advise, and improve the image and reputation of the School of Mechanical Engineering through professional and financial assistance, resulting in advancing the learning experiences of mechanical engineering students and supporting the organizational leadership to enhance the quality of teaching and research by mechanical engineering faculty, staff and students.
Member Biographies
Chris Barman
Slate CEO Christine (Chris) Barman is leading Slate as it develops, executes, and brings to market new and distinctive innovations in the electric vehicle space.
Chris leads by example to collaborate across sprawling and complicated organizations, delivering success by creating strong teams. Prior to joining Slate, she was Global Vice President of Strategic Business Development and Solutions in transportation for HCL Technologies. Chris also held the role of Chief Technology Officer of the Industrial Sector at Eaton Corporation. During more than 20 years with Chrysler, Chris served in multiple leadership roles, including Vice President of Electrical & Electronics and Vice President of System and Component Engineering. She led and mentored teams that achieved industry firsts and developed systems including autonomous driving and driver assistance.
Chris holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University, an MS in Mechanical Engineering from Oakland University, and an MBA from University of Michigan.
Chris an Indiana native, enjoys basketball, running, and home-improvement projects. Mentoring is an important part of her life, and she continues to support women entering the engineering field by staying involved with the Phi Sigma Rho sorority and Purdue University Women in Engineering Programs. She is happily married with two adult children and two precocious Airedale terriers.
Mike Baxter
Michael Baxter is the Senior Vice President, Product Development and General Manager, Bureau Solutions for Entrust, a global provider of identity and cyber security technologies. Previously he held the position of Vice President, Engineering and Operations for FSI International, a provider of semiconductor processing equipment. He also held leadership positions in new product development for the Solvay Group, both in Europe and the USA. His primary focus areas with Solvay were polymers and polymer processing for the automotive industry. Just prior to Solvay, he obtained his doctorate in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University. His doctoral research focused on flame stability in jet engine afterburners, work he performed with Professor A.H. Lefebvre. Before attending Purdue University, he obtained a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Minnesota and spent time in the USAF as a chemical laser systems engineer developing high-power, space-based laser technology. He presently resides and works near Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Robyn Brands
Robyn Brands worked at GE for over 32 years on both the technical and commercial side in roles of increasing responsibility. Her roles varied from military design engineer, where she received her first patent that eliminated uncontained failures on single engine military aircraft; to managing the engine program on for the world’s most successful commercial aircraft engines. At one point, an aircraft took off every 2 seconds around the world, powered by her engines! She recently retired from being the Executive Chief Engineer for the GP7200 Engines on the Airbus A380.
She has a BSME from Purdue University and a Masters of Aerospace Engineering from the University of Cincinnati.
As a self-proclaimed “Engineer with a Creative Flair,” she and her husband love the arts and are appreciative of all of the opportunities to share them in their community. She is secretary of Mutual Dance Theater and Co-Chair of Greater Cincinnati Braver Angels. Additionally, she is a CPS (Cincinnati Public School) Girls to Women mentor and a Purdue ME Mentor.
Above all, Robyn is a member of the community, wife, mother, daughter, aunt, sister and friend. She is a born and raised Cincinnatian who has had the privilege of getting a global perspective by traveling extensively worldwide through her roles at GE Aviation. She has a passion for diversity and inclusion, and truly believes we are all better off when we use the collective wisdom of diverse inputs to achieve our goals, striving to lift others up.
Alan Carlson
Mr. Carlson was born in Hibbing Minnesota. He grew up in Oregon and Ohio and graduated in 1963 from Rocky River High School in Rocky River Ohio. He graduated from Purdue in 1967 with a Bachelor’s of Science in Mechanical Engineering. He was a member of Pi Tau Sigma, the Mechanical Engineering honorary, and Phi Delta Theta social fraternity. Upon graduation from Purdue he attended The Ohio State University Law School. He completed his legal education at the University of Minnesota and William Mitchell Law School, graduating in 1971 with honors.
He then joined the firm now known as Merchant and Gould in Minneapolis. When he joined the firm had of six lawyers, all of whom specialized in the general practice of intellectual property law. He became a partner in 1975 and served on every management team until he became the Chairman and CEO in 1995. At that time the firm consisted of 80 lawyers.
After a 30 year career with Merchant and Gould, he formed the Carlson Caspers law firm in 2003. The firm has 30 lawyers and specializes exclusively in Intellectual property litigation, Mr. Carlson’s specialty. Mr. Carlson is the Chairman and CEO of his firm.
Mr. Carlson tries intellectual property cases to juries. He has tried copyright, contract interference with contract, libel patent, trademark, trade dress and trade secret cases, and won multimillion dollar jury verdicts in diverse technologies. He has represented Honeywell, 3M, General Mills, Pillsbury, Medtronic, St. Jude Medical and every other large Minnesota company.
In 1991 he was named one of “Minnesota’s Winningest Trial lawyers,” and he has been listed in Best Lawyers in American every year from 1991 to the present. In 2003 he became the first patent attorney in Minnesota to be inducted as a Fellow into the American College of Trial Lawyers. In 2009, he was named the Minnesota Lawyer Magazine “Attorney of the Year,” and in 2010 Best Lawyers publication named him “Lawyer of the year 2010, Intellectual Property Law-Minneapolis.”
Mr. Carlson and his wife, Susan, have two sons. They live in Wayzata, Minnesota, outside of Minneapolis, and spend their winters on a horse farm in the Palm Beach Florida area. Mr. Carlson still maintains a legal practice at his firm where he continues as Chairman and CEO.
Juan de Bedout
Juan is Vice President of Enterprise Engineering at Collins Aerospace, leading a team of over 2800 engineers across the United States, the United Kingdom, Poland and India. Enterprise Engineering is part of Collins Aerospace headquarters, and works closely with the engineering teams in the Company’s six business units. In this role, Juan is responsible for leading advanced technology planning and investment, driving the vitality of the Global Engineering Center teams, streamlining engineering supplier planning, and promoting continuous improvement throughout Collins’ businesses. Prior to joining United Technologies, Juan was with the General Electric Company where he most recently served as the Chief Technology Officer for GE’s Grid Solutions business. Juan lives with his wife Erika, his son Carlos and his daughter Josephine in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Mark Ehrlich
Mark is Vice President of Engineering at Wabash. He is a product manager with proven results in managing product portfolios, business operations, and Sales. He has an extensive background in building relationships and managing products from inception to production release while meeting cost, quality, delivery, and customer requirements. He is experienced in leading cross functional teams for design, development and implementation of new technologies that increase revenues and market share. He also manages and coaches multiple teams in a highly matrixed organization.
Bill Link
Bill is Founder and Managing Partner of Flying L Partners and a Founder and Managing Director of Versant Ventures. He has over two decades of operations experience in the healthcare industry and specializes in early-stage investing in medical devices. Prior to co-founding Versant Ventures, Bill was a general partner at Brentwood Venture Capital. He was previously Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Chiron Vision, which was sold to Bausch and Lomb in 1997. Prior to Chiron Vision, Bill founded and served as President of American Medical Optics, a division of American Hospital Supply Corporation, which was sold to Allergan in 1986. Later, he served on the board of their successor company, Advanced Medical Optics, which was acquired by Abbott in 2009 and then by Johnson and Johnson in 2016.
Before entering the healthcare industry, he was an assistant professor in the Department of Surgery at the Indiana University School of Medicine. Bill currently serves on the boards of several private companies. He previously served on the board of Edwards Lifesciences, Glaukos, and Oyster Point Pharma, Inc.
Elizabeth Morris
Elizabeth Morris is Legal Director of Intellectual Property & Product at Pure Storage, Inc. where she works closely with the CTO office to manage a rapidly growing patent portfolio through home grown ideas and acquisitions. She is excited to be a part of the cutting-edge patent management strategy of Pure. Her responsibilities also include integrating new acquisition portfolios, open-source projects, trademark portfolio management, patent litigation oversight, patent strategy development, and competitive analysis.
Ms. Morris has experience leading global team of attorneys and engineers in managing portfolios of over four thousand US and international patents. Ms. Morris is also a guest lecturer at Santa Clara University School of Law, University of Nebraska College of Law, and is a member of the Faculty of PLI (Practicing Law Institute). Previously, she practiced patent prosecution, licensing, and litigation at Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP where she drafted numerous patent applications and developed specialized experience in patent prosecution highway procedures, fast prosecution mechanisms, and design patents.
Elizabeth received her J.D. from Santa Clara University School of Law, where she served as Editor-in-Chief for the Santa Clara Computer & High Technology Law Journal and as a research assistant to Professor Donald S. Chisum, author of "Chisum on Patents." Ms. Morris was in Honors Engineering program at Purdue University, where she received her B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. While she was there, Elizabeth founded a women-in-engineering cooperative that is still active today.
Ms. Morris has extensive experience on non-profit boards. She has served as President of the board of the Santa Clara City Library Foundation & Friends. She currently sits on the board for YMCA Camp Campbell, is the legal advisor for the board of Devonshire Cooperative, and she served on the Agnews Boundary Advisory Committee for the Santa Clara School District. Elizabeth has served as President of the Executive Committee for Women in Licensing Bay Area and has also been the Executive Director for Leading Women in Technology.
Ken Morris
Ken Morris was named General Motors Vice President of Autonomous and Electric Vehicle Programs in November 2019. In this role, Morris leads the global team of Executive Chief Engineers and Program Managers who oversee GM Autonomous and Electric Vehicle, Electric Drive, Battery, and Fuel Cell programs from inception to launch and beyond. Ken is also responsible for the initiatives associated with the commercialization of EVs and AVs as well as infrastructure improvements.
Previously, Morris was Vice President of Global Product Programs, leading the global team of Executive Chief Engineers and Program Managers who oversee conventional GM Vehicle, Engine, and Transmission programs as well as Performance Accessories. Prior to this role, Ken was the Vice President of Global Product Integrity, leading the organization that implements system integration and oversight across vehicle and propulsion systems to deliver vehicles with consistent safety and compliance performance.
Morris also served as Executive Director for Global Vehicle Performance of the Proving Grounds and Test Labs from 2006-2013. In this position, he led the teams that execute the crash performance, ride, handling, aerodynamics, fuel economy, noise, and vibration for GM. He also managed the GM Proving Grounds and testing facilities in the U.S., Korea, Germany, Brazil, Australia, China, and India. Additionally, Morris led the Knothole Ride process that increased performance consistency across GM’s vehicles.
Morris began his General Motors career in 1989 as a brake systems engineer and has held multiple engineering positions over the years. He was the Lead Development Engineer for the original CTS which marked Cadillac’s return to rear-wheel-drive vehicles. During this time, he pioneered GM North America’s usage of the famed Nürburgring in Germany for vehicle development. Morris has held GM’s highest driving certification since 1998 and has accumulated more than 1800 laps on the Nürburgring Nordschleife while leading the dynamic development of GM’s vehicles.
In January 2002, he was appointed Program Engineering Manager for the 2004 Cadillac CTS-V, where he led the engineering team that analyzed, designed, and developed the vehicle. Morris has stayed engaged with these performance vehicles to this day. His first executive assignment was as Director of Specialty Vehicles in 2005. Morris’ role expanded from developing specialty vehicles to leading the team that executes all performance parts and variants, such as the Camaro Z28 and ZL1 as well as the Cadillac V-series.
Before joining GM, Morris worked as a test engineer for Borg Warner Automotive Transmission Systems in Muncie, Ind. While there, he helped develop the Borg Warner T56 six-speed manual transmission that went on to be used in many GM vehicles such as the Corvette, Camaro, and CTS-V.
A native of Indiana, Morris graduated from Purdue University in 1989 with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering. He and his wife have two children.
Bill Moseley
A resident of Hollis, NH, Bill is a venture capitalist currently focused on many land development projects. After graduating from the Purdue School of Mechanical Engineering in 1980, his professional career, that started as a Navy nuclear engineer officer, has included several heavy industrial manufacturing leadership positions associated with ceramics, plastics, automotive power trains, unconventional machining processes, and solar energy. He is the author of the book Succeeding by Leading that focuses on effective leadership and industrial relations within the manufacturing environment. Bill is currently the Secretary on the board of directors associated with the Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital in Cooperstown, NY, Chair of the Hollis Planning Board, alternate member of the Hollis Zoning Board of Adjustment, and a director for the Nashua River Watershed Association.
Marcia O'Malley
Marcia O’Malley combines many interests in her research at Rice University in Texas. She directs the Mechatronics and Haptic Interfaces Lab, which addresses issues that arise when humans physically interact with robotic systems, with a focus on training and rehabilitation in virtual environments. This includes wearable robots; compliant series-elastic actuation systems; assessment of human motor control and surgical skill; virtual environments and haptic feedback for skill assessment and training; bilateral teleoperation; and educational haptics.
At Rice, she currently serves as Special Advisor to the Provost on Educational and Research Initiatives in Collaborative Health. She is also an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Departments of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at both Baylor College of Medicine and the University of Texas Medical School at Houston. Additionally, she is the Director of Rehabilitation Engineering at TIRR-Memorial Hermann Hospital, and is a co-founder of Houston Medical Robotics, Inc.
She has twice received the George R. Brown Award for Superior Teaching at Rice University. O’Malley received the ONR Young Investigator award and was also a recipient of the NSF CAREER Award. She is a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. She currently serves as senior associate editor for the ASME/IEEE Transactions on Mechatronics and the ACM Transactions on Human Robot Interaction.
Marcia O’Malley received a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering from Purdue University in 1996, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in mechanical engineering from Vanderbilt University in 1999 and 2001, respectively.
Jim Overman
Jim is an accomplished business, operations, and execution leader with 40 years experience in the downstream energy sector. Jim retired from Shell Oil Company in 2019. He started with Shell as a plant support engineer straight out of Purdue before moving into operations management roles. He progressed to Refining Operations Superintendent then transitioning into refinery business management. Jim ended his career with Shell as Vice President of Business Management for the Deer Park Refining Limited Partnership (DPRLP), a joint venture between Shell Oil Company and P.M.I. North America S.A. de C.V. (a subsidiary of PEMEX).
Jim has extensive experience in strategy development, strategy implementation, and benefits realization holding positions such as strategy advisor, business opportunity manager, and business lead for a global ERP system implementation. Jim enhanced his manufacturing background with leadership roles in hydrocarbon supply and trading (Supply Operations Manager), commercial marketing (eCommerce Director), and technical IT systems (VP Programmes). Since retiring from Shell, Jim has stayed active engaging in both professional and volunteer consulting.
Jim received his BS Mechanical Engineering from Purdue (1980) and his MBA from University of Houston-Clear Lake (1983). He is currently on the board of Bay Area Turning Point, Inc., a non-profit advocating to end sexual and domestic violence. Jim additionally volunteers with SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives) and ESCH (Executive Service Corps Houston) advising small businesses and non-profits in their improvement journeys. Jim and wife, Diane, split their time between Houston and Galveston and have two adult children, Catherine (Chicago, IL) and Michael (New Orleans, LA).
Andrew Oxtoby
Andrew is President and CEO of Kalaris Therapeutics, a public biotech company focused on the development of treatments for retinal disease. Previously he served as Chief Commercial Officer of Chinook Therapeutics and President and CEO of Aimmune Therapeutics, where he led the organization’s integration into its new parent company, Nestlé Health Science, and expanded Aimmune’s portfolio and therapeutic focus beyond food allergy into disease states related to gastrointestinal conditions. Prior to his role as President and CEO, he served as Aimmune’s Chief Commercial Officer with a focus on building the company’s commercial in both the United States and Europe. Before joining Aimmune, Andrew spent 16 years at Eli Lilly and Company where he was responsible for Lilly’s U.S. insulin business as Vice President of U.S. Diabetes Connected Care and Insulins, after previously serving as Vice President of U.S. Diabetes Sales. His previous roles at Lilly include Vice President of the International Oncology business, General Manager of the Netherlands operation as well as positions of increasing responsibility in finance, marketing and sales in the U.S. and Europe. Andrew holds an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University.
Melanie Petsch
Melanie Petsch is the Lead Data Scientist, Regulation at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Prior to taking her current role in 2018, Melanie founded and ran Petsch Analytics, LLC, a research consultancy, for nine years. Other prestigious firms Melanie has worked for include Goldman, Sachs & Co., AllianceBernstein, and TIAA-CREF. Since 2010, Melanie has been an Adjunct Associate Professor at either Columbia’s School of International and Political Affairs or Columbia Business School. Her areas of expertise include analysis of truly big quote and trade data; quantitative financial research and data visualization; and regulation, market microstructure, trading, active equity portfolio management
Melanie studied in the finance Ph.D. program at the University of Chicago and holds an MBA from the University of Chicago and a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University. Melanie is on the Advisory Council of Purdue University’s School of Mechanical Engineering and the board of the Society of Quantitative Analysts and has previously been a member of the Research Committee of the Q Group, a member of the Chicago Quantitative Alliance, and a Trustee for Woodbury College.
Melanie is widely published on financial topics, including "Beating Benchmarks," which won an award for "Outstanding Article" in the Journal of Portfolio Management and "Creating Shareholder Value," which was published as the lead article in the inaugural issue of The Journal of Risk Finance. Melanie has also written a book, Commodities as an Asset Class, and chapters of other books on commodities.
HONORS & AWARDS
2018 recipient of an Outstanding Mechanical Engineer award from Purdue University
2019 “Women Innovators in Finance” panelist for the International Association of Quantitative Finance
John Scholtes
John Scholtes retired (2019) as Chief Engineer for Ford Motor Company’s Commercial Vehicles in North America where he was responsible for total product program management, including product leadership, quality, fuel economy, customer driven features, product innovation and financial management. John’s product portfolio included Transit, E-350/450, F-650/750 and F53/9 Commercial Stripped Chassis that are built into motorhomes and delivery step vans by third parties. He also led Ford’s Special Vehicle Engineering activity that designs unique fleet customer options that are a condition of sale, resulting in Ford’s leadership in commercial vehicle sales.
Throughout his career, John operated with the mindset to “do what’s right for the customer.” A good example of this was John’s Special Vehicle Engineering team delivered a project to add wheelchair lifts to the internal employee shuttle fleet on the Dearborn campus, even though no budget was allocated. Wheelchair bound employees can now receive a ride between buildings in 15 minutes versus previously having to book 48 hours in advance with a third-party taxi service.
John grew up on a farm in Granger, Indiana and came to Purdue in 1978. He earned his bachelors of science in mechanical engineering from Purdue University in 1982 and a master of business administration in finance from the University of Detroit in 1985. His career with Ford Motor Company began in 1982 as an engineer in the Heavy Truck Engineering Office. He served in a variety of engineering, strategy, marketing/sales and general management positions with increasing responsibilities in Michigan, Indiana, California, Taiwan, England, Brasil, South Africa and China. Over the course of his career, John was instrumental in delivering a number of new product programs to market including, Transit (China), Transit Connect (Europe), EcoSport (Brasil), Ranger (global), Everest (China) and F-650/750 (global).
John has been happily married to Rebecca Jane Held (PU B.S. Management 1982) for 37+ years, they have four grown children and four grandchildren, are members of the John Purdue Club Presidents Council and Grosse Pointe Memorial Presbyterian Church, where John serves as a trustee. John also serves on the Purdue University School of Mechanical Engineering Advisory Committee. In his spare time, John enjoys various outdoor activities – golfing, bicycling, camping, hunting and fishing – international travel, attending sporting events and cooking.
David Tiley
David Tiley joined Align Capital Partners in 2020. He is the Senior Operating Partner responsible for building the operating team to work with the portfolio companies. He works across the investment team and portfolio company management on growth initiatives and operational priorities.
Prior to joining ACP, David was a Senior Operating Partner and Operating Partner at The Riverside Company. During his 11 years at Riverside, David and his team helped implement an improved operating rhythm and updated the operating partner profile. As a Senior Operating Partner and Operating Partner, David served as Chairman of the Board for multiple companies and was responsible for building out the operating team to capitalize on opportunities.
Prior to Riverside, David served as Senior Vice President of Global Services at Celestica, Inc., a Canadian electronics manufacturing services company, where he built and scaled multiple new service offerings to change the value proposition of the business. Prior to Celestica, David founded three start-up companies — Alventive Inc., Visionary Design Systems (VDS), and IronCAD. Under David’s leadership, VDS made #58 on Inc. 500’s Fastest Growing Private Companies and IronCAD received numerous product innovation awards for its computer-aided design platform. David started his career with Hewlett-Packard, Inc. in sales and sales management.
Outside of work, David enjoys spending time with his wife and three kids. In his free time, David serves on the Board of Trustees for Restore Addiction Recovery, a faith-based addiction treatment and recovery program founded in 2017 to respond to the growing crisis of substance abuse in Ohio. David has been active locally and nationally in Young Life and has been a high school football coach on and off for 10 years.
Brad Tolley
Throughout his career, Brad has leveraged over 30 years of experience in industrial manufacturing, covering global operations, corporate strategy, business development, engineering, and program management. Currently, he serves as an advisor, consultant, and operating partner for private equity firms and their portfolio companies, specializing in the automotive sector. He provides strategic guidance for transforming industrial manufacturing companies, with expertise in value creation, corporate strategy, leadership development, and restructuring.
During his time at Shiloh Industries, where he eventually served as President, Brad transformed the company from a regional automotive supplier into a global Tier 1 lightweighting provider with $1 billion in annual revenue. By restructuring business development and engineering, he led the company's expansion into Europe and Asia through strategic acquisitions, greenfield development, and organic growth. Brad successfully guided Shiloh through a restructuring that resulted in its acquisition by private equity, boosting cash flow and retaining key leadership. He also oversaw the transition to decentralized business units, setting the stage for successful divestitures of key divisions, and played a key role in the integration of Shiloh and Dura Automotive.
In 2025, Brad became CEO of CSP, industry leader in the formulation and molding of lightweight, advanced composite components for the transportation industries.
His career highlights include roles as Vice President of Strategy at Varroc Lighting Systems and various senior positions at Visteon Corporation. Brad holds an MBA from Oakland University and a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University, with advanced leadership development from prestigious business schools.
Jennifer Tucker
Jennifer Tucker is an executive leader with over 25 years of experience in the aerospace industry. She earned her Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering at Purdue University and Master’s degree in Business Administration at Arizona State University.
During her time at Purdue, Jennifer completed a five-session co-op with General Electric. Working at GE Aircraft Engines on the F-16 platform and attending the Dayton Air Show was the start of her lifelong passion for the amazing products, technology, and innovation in aerospace.
Jennifer currently serves at Honeywell as the Vice President of Engineering for the Aerospace Integrated Supply Chain. In this role, she leads a global engineering organization responsible for manufacturing technology development, production engineering support, and design for manufacturing during new product development. Prior to her current role, she held positions of increasing responsibility in analysis, project engineering, systems engineering, and engineering management for new product development of aircraft mechanical systems. Jennifer has had the opportunity to work on many exciting aircraft development programs, including the Airbus A350 and Boeing 777X.
Jennifer has a personal interest and commitment to developing the next generation of engineering talent. She is the executive sponsor of the University Recruiting and Development Program and a member of the Society of Women Engineers. Having raised two amazing children in partnership with her husband of 24 years, Jennifer appreciates the challenges of balancing family priorities with career progression. With her personal experience stepping away from her career to be a stay-at-home-parent for several years, Jennifer frequently mentors and supports parents (men and women!) in the workplace to achieve their personal and professional objectives.