Andrew Hess (Hess Associates) – President (email) Andrew Hess is a 1969 graduate of the University of Virginia (BS Aerospace Engineering) and the U. S. Navy Test Pilot School. Andy attended George Washington University working towards a Masters in Technology Management and has completed many Navy and DOD sponsored professional and acquisition management courses. Andy is world renowned for his work in fixed and rotary wing health monitoring and is recognized as the father of Naval Aviation propulsion diagnostics. Working for the Naval Air System Command and beginning with the A-7E Engine Monitoring System program of the early 70’s, Andy has been the leading advocate for health monitoring in the Naval Aviation. He has been actively involved in every NAVAIR aircraft program since the F-8, leading to the evolution and development of not just engine monitoring; but also aircraft structural life usage, comprehensive health monitoring and management capabilities for most all other aircraft subsystems and advance maintenance concepts like Condition Based Maintenance (CBM+). For the last 10 years of his government career, Andy worked leading and managing the vision, the development, and integration of the Prognostic and Health Management (PHM) system the AL support concept for the Joint Strike Fighter program. Andy’s consulting interests are now leading him and his clients to exploring the application of PHM capabilities and CBM+ related support concepts to many new industry sectors such as: industrial gas and steam turbines, ships and fast patrol boats, unmanned vehicles, wind energy, nuclear energy, ground vehicles, mining, and gas and oil. Serving on the Board of Directors, Andy helped establish and grow the new and very successful PHM Society professional organization and has just been named president of the society. Recently, Andy was named an Asset Management Fellow with the International Society of Engineering Asset Management and is a member of the new SAE HM-1 committee on Integrated Vehicle Health Management Systems.

Rhonda Walthall (UTC Aerospace Systems) – Vice President (email) Rhonda Walthall is an industry recognized leader in the development of standards and best practices for Prognostics and Health Management (PHM) and Integrated Vehicle Health Management (IVHM). She joined Hamilton Sundstrand in 2003 as an APU Systems Integration Engineer and was promoted to Integrated Product Team Leader for the MRJ/ARJ APU Programs. She transferred to Customer Service in 2010 to lead the development and implementation of the Aircraft Systems Health Management aftermarket service offering, which was UTC’s first PHM application for commercial aircraft systems. In her current role, she is the product owner for the next generation PHM offering under the Intelligent Aircraft Digital Initiative. Rhonda is the 2018 recipient of SAE Rodica Baranescu Award for Technical & Leadership Excellence in the Aerospace Sector. She is the 2016 recipient of the SAE James M. Crawford Technical Standards Award for Outstanding Achievement. She has held numerous SAE leadership positions, including the Chair of the Reliability, Maintainability, and Health Management Systems Group, Chair of the IVHM Steering Group, and Chair of the Propulsion Systems Health Management Technical Standards Committee. Rhonda has contributed significantly to numerous SAE documents and authored chapters in SAE publications “Integrated Vehicle Health Management: Implementation and Lessons Learned” and “Integrated Vehicle Health Management: Business Case Theory and Practice” and in IEEE publication “Prognostics and Health Management for Electronics”. She has presented technical papers and has participated as a keynote speaker, invited speaker, or panelist at numerous PHM-related conferences. She holds one patent and two invention disclosures. In addition to her SAE activities, Rhonda is a member of the Board of Directors of the PHM Society, and a member of Toastmasters International and Women in Aviation International. Rhonda is serving on the Purdue Industrial Advisory Council to the School of Aeronautics & Astronautics, where she earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering in 1986. In 1993, she earned an MBA degree from Pepperdine University.

Karl Reichard (Penn State University) – Treasurer (email) Dr. Karl Reichard is a Research Associate at the Applied Research Laboratory at The Pennsylvania State University and Deputy Department Head of the Advanced Sensors and Controls Department in the Multisensor Processing Division. He has more than 15 years of experience in the development of advanced sensors, measurement systems, and signal processing algorithms. An Assistant Professor of Acoustics at Penn State and Head of the Condition-Based Maintenance Department at the University's Applied Research Laboratory, Dr. Reichard leads advanced research and development efforts in embedded systems, electro-optics, intelligent acoustic and vibration sensors, and signal processing and classification algorithms for active noise and vibration control, manufacturing machinery monitoring, and surveillance systems. Prior to joining Penn State ARL in 1991, he was employed by the U.S. Army Aberdeen Proving Grounds and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, his alma mater. Dr. Reichard has published more than 25 papers in refereed journals, conference publications, and technical reports. Dr. Reichard serves as Associate Editor of the International Journal on Prognostics and Health Management.

Peter Sandborn (University of Maryland) – Secretary (email) Peter Sandborn is a Professor in the CALCE Electronic Products and Systems Center at the University of Maryland. Dr. Sandborn’s group develops life-cycle cost models and business case support for long field life systems. This work includes: obsolescence forecasting algorithms, strategic design refresh planning, lifetime buy quantity optimization, and return on investment models for maintenance planning (including the application of PHM to systems). Dr. Sandborn is an Associate Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Electronics Packaging Manufacturing, the North American Editor of the International Journal of Performability Engineering, and on the Board of Directors of the International PHM Society. He has authored over 150 technical publications and several books on electronic packaging and electronic systems cost analysis; and was the winner of the 2004 SOLE Proceedings Award; the 2006 Eugene L. Grant Award for best paper in the journal Engineering Economics; and the Best Paper Award at the IEEE PHM Conference in 2011. He has a B.S. degree in engineering physics from the University of Colorado, Boulder, in 1982, and the M.S. degree in electrical science and Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering, both from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, in 1983 and 1987, respectively.