Reliability, Maintenance & Managing Risk
A week of short courses on Reliability and Risk
July 20-23, 2026
Huntsville, AL
Instructors RMMR 2026
David Auda
David Auda is an ASQ Fellow, Certified Reliability Engineer and Certified Quality Manager who has worked in a wide variety of industries, to include but is not limited to, sensitized products, energy, automotive, heavy vehicle, aerospace, medical and consumer goods. David’s experience includes, but is not limited to, product design, instrumentation design, medical device design, aerospace systems design, information systems management, infrastructure network management, programming, etc. David has worked extensively in the areas of risk analysis, failure prevention, root cause analysis, problem solving, strategic planning and safety engineering as well as numerous other related disciplines. David has a BSEE from the Rochester Institute of Technology, with honors, Tau Beta Pi, and pursued his master level reliability studies at the RIT Center for Quality and Applied Statistics. David is a frequent presenter at international conferences and symposia, a competent speaker and validated ASQ trainer, delivering presentations and workshops on a wide variety of topics essential to the effective and efficient performance of Reliability and Quality practitioners. David’s most recent deployment was a Reliability and Maintainability Manager at Georgia Pacific’s Dixie works in Darlington South Carolina supporting their $350M+ expansion. David is presently semi-retired, providing consulting and training through a variety of channels.
Daniel C. Conrad
Daniel C. Conrad, Ph.D., is a Certified Reliability Engineer. He is currently the Hussmann Director of Design Quality, Reliability, & Testing. Prior to joining Hussmann he was the Global Design for Reliability Leader with Whirlpool. He received his B.S. from the University of Kentucky in Mechanical Engineering in 1989 and his MS and Ph.D. from Purdue University in Engineering Mechanics in 1991 and 1994 respectively. While completing his PH.D. degree he was employed by Whirlpool Corporation under and engineering fellowship. After receiving his doctorate, he joined Whirlpool Corporation where he has held several positions in research, quality, and new product innovation and delivery. He is a six sigma black belt, a robust product design mentor, innovation mentor and a customer excellence mentor. Dr. Conrad holds multiple US and foreign patents. He has published numerous papers in journals and conferences regarding new technology and processes for appliance applications. Dr. Conrad’s research interests include voice of the customer, systems engineering, reliability, quality, sound and vibration, materials, detergency and alternative cleaning methods, food safety.
Trevor Craney
Trevor Craney is a Sr. Tech Fellow for Statistics, Risk & Reliability at
Collins Aerospace. He has primary responsibility for safety risk analyses,
including performing analysis, training and evaluating individuals to be
authorized risk analysts. Trevor holds an MS degree in Statistics from the
University of South Carolina, an MS degree in Industrial & Systems
Engineering from the University of Florida, and an MS degree in
Reliability Engineering from the University of Maryland.
Mohammad Pourgol
Dr. Mohammad Pourgol is the Global Director of Design for Safety and Reliability Assurance at Schneider Electric and an Associate Professor of Reliability Engineering at the University of Maryland (UMD). He earned his Ph.D. in Reliability Engineering from UMD. Dr. Pourgol is an IEEE Senior Member, an elected Fellow of both ASQ and ASME, and a licensed Professional Engineer (PE) in Massachusetts. He has held several prominent leadership roles, including Chair of the ASME Safety Engineering and Risk/Reliability Analysis Division (SERAD) and currently Chair‑Elect of the ASQ Risk and Reliability Division (RRD). He holds multiple professional certifications, including ASQ Certified Reliability Engineer (CRE), Certified Six Sigma Black Belt (CSSBB), and Certified Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence (CMQ/OE). Dr. Pourgol has authored more than 160 peer‑reviewed journal and conference papers and has delivered numerous invited and keynote presentations worldwide. His work also includes a U.S. patent and several award‑winning contributions to the field. Dr. Pourgol serves as Associate Editor for the ASME–ASCE Journal of Risk and Uncertainty in Engineering Systems and in editorial boards for several high impact journals.
Pankaj Shrivastava
Pankaj Shrivastava is a reliability engineering leader with over 20 years of experience applying reliability, availability, and maintainability (RAM) principles across complex engineered systems. He currently serves as Discipline Manager and Principal Advisor – Reliability at Halliburton, where he leads the application of advanced reliability engineering methods to improve the performance, quality, and lifecycle outcomes of well completion tools. Pankaj specializes in Design for Reliability (DfR), life data analysis, predictive analytics, probabilistic risk assessment, and Six Sigma methodologies. Throughout his career, he has been instrumental in developing reliability strategies, tools, and processes that support new product development and operational excellence in high-reliability industries. Prior to Halliburton, Pankaj held senior technical and leadership roles at General Electric, where he led reliability and analytics initiatives for wind and gas turbine service agreements, and at Accenture Management Consulting, where he led predictive asset maintenance offerings and warranty analytics programs.
He is an active contributor to the global reliability engineering community, serving on the RAMS Management Committee, ASQ-RRD Management Committee and participating in industry standards development through API and AWES committees. Pankaj has authored more than 20 technical papers, holds a licensed patent in risk management systems, and is a frequent invited speaker at international conferences and industry workshops. Pankaj holds a master’s degree in Reliability Engineering and a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering. He is a Certified Reliability Engineer and ASQ Certified Six Sigma Black Belt, with deep expertise in reliability modeling, analytics, and engineering leadership.
Vinayak (Viny) Hegde
Viny is a seasoned Reliability Engineering leader with over 25 years of experience across medical devices, aerospace, automotive, and industrial systems. He is a doctoral candidate in Industrial and Systems Engineering, with a results-driven approach focused on advancing reliability methodologies for complex, safety-critical systems. Viny has built and scaled reliability programs for robotic surgical platforms and capital medical equipment, bringing deep expertise in Design for Reliability (DfR), accelerated life testing (ALT), reliability demonstration testing (RDT), FRACAS implementation, and ensuring essential performance in highly regulated environments. He is known for aligning reliability engineering practices with business objectives to drive product quality, reduce lifecycle risk, and enable predictable performance.
Viny is deeply committed to advancing reliability as both a technical discipline and an organizational capability. He has contributed to the reliability community through IEEE RAMS publications and leadership roles and is also an active member of the ASQ Reliability and Risk Division (RRD) committee. He actively promotes knowledge sharing through structured learning sessions and cross-functional engagement, helping teams translate complex reliability methodologies into practical execution. His work emphasizes closed-loop reliability systems, data-driven decision-making, and building a sustainable reliability culture to deliver measurable and lasting impact across organizations.