Project Management for Engineering Design

Charles S. Lessard, Ph.D., Lt Colonel, United States Air Force (Retired), is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Texas A&M University. His areas of specialization include Physiological Signal Processing, Design of Virtual Medical Instrumentation, Noninvasive Physiological Measurements, Vital Signs, Nystagmus, Sleep & Performance Decrement, Spatial Disorientation, G-induced Loss of Consciousness G-LOC). Neural Network Analysis. Dr. Lessard received a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Texas A&M (1958) a M.S. from the U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology (1965), and Ph.D. from Marquette University (1972). As an officer in the U.S. Air Force, Lessard was a pilot of F86L Interceptors and B-52G Strategic Bombers. He also served as Research Scientist and Chief of Biomedical Engineering Research for the Aerospace Medical Division of the School of Aerospace Medicine, at Brooks Air Force Base, Texas. In this capacity he planned and directed efforts in biomedical projects associated with the Manned Orbiting Laboratory Program (MOL), developed medical instrumentation (EEG Analyzer), conducted research on computer on the analysis of sleep brainwaves and cardiac signals, and the effects of zero-gravity (0-G) on the cardiac response during valsalva maneuvers. U.S. Air Force Medical Research Laboratories, Wright-Patterson AFB, Lessard with Biocybernetics Wing Engineering and worked on neural networks, self-organizing controls (SOC), and remotely piloted vehicles. He was the Field Office Director. Program Manager, with the Electronics Systems Division of the Air Force Systems Command during the installation and testing of Spain's Automated Air Defense System as a part of the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation between the US and Spain. Dr. Lessard retired from the U.S. Air Force in 1981 after serving as the Deputy Director Bioengineering and Biodynamic Division at Aerospace Medical Research Laboratory (AMRL), Wright-Patterson Air Forces. He began his academic career with Texas A&M University in 1981. His program management experiences are applied in his two Senior Design Courses. Joseph P. Lessard, is the Vice President of Americas for Globeleq, Inc. Globeleq Inc. is a global owner and operator of power assets focused on the emerging markets. He is responsible for all business development activities in Latin America and the Caribbean. Mr. Lessard received a B.S. in Electrical Engineering in 1987 and an M.B.A. in 1994 from Texas A&M. As an officer in the U.S. Navy, Mr. Lessard trained in nuclear power and served on the ballistic missile submarine USS Alabama. Mr. Lessard entered the private power industry in 1994 as a project manager for the Coastal Power Company. The following year he was named Regional Managing Director with responsibility for business activities in Southeast Asia. In 1997, Mr. Lessard shifted his attention to the U.S. power market as Managing Director of the Northeast United States. He had profit and loss responsibility for three power plants and led a successful acquisition of a fourth power plant. Mr. Lessard left Coastal Power Company in 1999 to form Hart Energy International, a start-up power company focused on the aggregation of power asset investments in Latin America. Hart Energy's successful direction of two acquisitions - EGE Haina in the Dominican Republic and Entergy's Latin American portfolio - led to the launch of Globeleq, Inc. in June 2002. At Globeleq, Mr. Lessard has led the company's efforts in Latin America including the acquisition of a 200MW hydroelectric company, the divestiture of two non-strategic assets, the development of a greenfield thermal power plant, and the placement of two local bond issues. He is currently directing three greenfield development projects in Guatemala, Panama and Peru.