Making a Small High Tech Company Prosper: Personal Experience and Suggestions

MAE SEMINAR

 Making a Small High Tech Company Prosper: Personal Experience and Suggestions

Frederick William (Bud) Brust, PhD

Engineering Mechanics Corporation of Columbus

After working in the largest independent contract research company (Battelle Memorial Institute) for many years, Dr. Brust joined a small high tech firm, Emc², more than 5 years ago as a Senior partner and part owner.   Emc² performs high technical level development, analysis, consulting, and also leases some software packages developed in house.  All Emc² technical employees have a PhD (with one master's degree employee) and we produce high end technology at high end costs.  This presentation provides a discussion of some of the procedures we have developed and used in order to grow and prosper in a highly competitive industry.  Some of the topics covered include:

• Description of company and customers

• Company growth experiences - how to keep and motivate high tech employees

• Development of new customers and holding on to old customers in a very competitive environment

• Overview of technical specialties with some short examples

• Computational modeling

• Fracture mechanics, fatigue, corrosion life assessment

• Seismic analysis of nuclear power plants

• Unique experimental testing

• Software that we lease

• Case studies of some projects which helped grow and expand the company.  Recent example with SpaceX will be included.