staff

Lynn Samantha Discenza, President

Ms. Discenza, co-founder of Design By Analysis, Inc., has guided DBA as it has grown from a single person consulting firm to a twenty person full service design company with an impressive customer base. Prior to founding DBA, Ms. Discenza spent 18 years as a structures analyst with leading aerospace companies such as Chandler Evans a Division of Coltec Industries, TRW and Pratt & Whitney Aircraft. She holds both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in civil and structural engineering from Villanova University and has completed graduate course work requirements for a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering.

Dr. Mehdi Golafshani, Chief Technologist

Dr. Golafshani has over 30 years of professional experience in propulsion research, design and development for private industry, including 15 years of program management experience in high-tech thermo-fluid systems. Dr. Golafshani has been a private consultant, to the government, and private industry, on flow and heat transfer modeling using state-of-the-art CFD. As a member of the DBA staff , he has been responsible for flaw identification, performance improvements, and redesign of high pressure, high temperature thermo-fluid multiphase systems. He has been involved in many projects ranging from mini electro-optical cooling system and miniature fuel-cell design, and development, to component design, and analysis of magnetic levitating, power generating helium turbine engine, as well as identification and resolution of several high, and low pressure valve, and centrifugal pump flow instability problems.

He was a research scientist with Thiokol Propulsion Company for 7 years prior to returning to academia to teach and carry on research for 8 years as an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering and lead CFD Faculty in the area of high-speed propulsion. Dr. Golafshani has contributed to the NASA Space Shuttle and JPL Mars Pathfinder Programs; several rocket programs, including, Delta, Tident II (D5) and SICBM Midgetman; and, to the redesign of GTE Turbine Blades. He earned his doctoral degree from the University of Utah, in Salt Lake City with an emphasis on the experimental and computational modeling of multi-phase thermo-fluid systems. He is a senior member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).

Mr. Rob Moore, Sr. Project Engineer/Business Development

Mr. Moore has more than 30 years of experience in engineering, technical marketing and technical recruiting. He was Director of Advanced Systems at Fail Safe Technology, Inc. and subsequently Strategic Systems Marketing Manager for laser radar, Trident guidance, and machine control systems at Hughes Aircraft. After building engineering teams for new programs at Hughes, he formed Dawson-Moore Associates, a technical search firm, and consulted at Boeing, Raytheon and at Parker Aerospace where he recruited engineers and managers for the JSF fuel system development program and for flight control actuator design. He holds bachelors and masters degrees in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, and an MBA from Pepperdine University.

Mr. James Jones, Senior Analytical Engineer

Mr. Jones has 35 years of structural and mechanical design and structural dynamics, CFD, thermal analysis and scientific software development experience in various fields including power, defense, electronics, and automotive. He worked at ITT Grinnell and Sparta Systems as well as a consultant before joining DBA in 1998. Some representative projects he has been responsible for are as program manager and analyst for ship borne laser range finding system, system modeling of heat engine coupling gas dynamics and kinematic effects, nonlinear thermo-elastic-plastic prediction of laser induced controlled detonations of artillery shells, and combustion simulation of prototype rotary diesel engine including optimization of fuel injection timing. Mr. Jones has a BSCE from the University of Lowell along with graduate courses in solid mechanics, numerical analysis, FEA theory and application.

Mr. Robert Avalone, Senior Mechanical Engineer

Mr. Avalone has over 20 years experience in manufacturing, automation, machine building, plastic processing and medical device manufacturing. During this time he made substantial contributions in testing, processing, manufacturing, and performing failure analysis of plastics and metals. Mr. Avalone conducted training sessions for engineers and manufacturing personnel. Topics of these training sessions included SPC, physical properties, color and optics, rheology, chemical compatibility, measurement systems, and manufacturing processing. Mr. Avalone’s designs include machine layout, fluid power, pneumatic and vacuum systems, conveyers, part handling devices, motion control and programming. He was a Senior Project Design Engineer responsible for design and development of an Electron Beam Robotic Welder with an Automated Helium Mass Spectrometer for the automotive industry. Mr. Avalone has also conducted extensive research in selecting appropriate materials for harsh environments and chemical compatibility.

Mr. Avalone has held the titles of Senior Scientific Associate, Senior Project Design Engineer, and Process Engineer. He has worked for Boston Scientific Corp., Henry Souther Laboratories, CYRO Industries and Advanced Vacuum Resources prior to joining DBA in 2000. He holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Northeastern University and a M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of New Haven.

Mr. Robert E. Donahue, Senior Dimensional Analyst

Mr. Donahue has over 35 years of aerospace drafting experience at Hamilton Standard Division of United Technologies. He held a number of prominent positions including Senior Draftsman, Layout Designer, Dimensional Analyst, and Drafting Supervisor.

Mr. Donahue possesses numerous skills which include expert knowledge of engineering drawing practices and ANSI Y14.5 M (Dimensioning and Tolerancing). He has an advanced working knowledge of ANSI and MIL standards. In addition, he has a well developed working knowledge of manufacturing practices, capabilities and verification methods and the integrated project development (IPD) processes.

Ms. Debra Viets, Senior Designer

Since 1998, Ms. Viets has been an integral part of DBA’s design engineering team, assisting with the development of hydraulic and pneumatic components from concept to manufacture. She works directly with engineers and machinists to produce 3D models and documentation to be utilized during the manufacture, assembly, inspection, and testing of electro-mechanical products, including 3D solid modeling, concept design layouts and detail drawings. She has performed extensive tolerance stack analysis and applied geometric dimensioning and tolerancing in accordance with ANSI Y14.5M. Ms. Viets received her Bachelor of Science degree from Post University.

Mr. Gerald Lee, Project Manager

Mr. Lee has had extensive experience at DBA designing aerospace products. He has worked on pump, valve, actuator and gear box designs for Hamilton Sundstrand, Curtiss Wright Flight Systems, Goodrich Pump and Engine Controls, Warren Pump and Woodward Governor Company. He also has designed tools for manufacture. His prior work experience includes senior tool design and manufacturing engineering positions at MTU Aero Engines, Superior Electric (formerly Danaher Corporation), Howmet Corporation, and Grosite. His technical education was obtained at Tunxis Community College, and as a Journeyman Tool Designer for the State of CT.

Mr. Daniel Kimberly, Mechanical Engineer

Mr. Kimberly obtained his BS in Aerospace Engineering from the L.C. Smith College of Engineering and Computer Science at Syracuse University. His relevant coursework included: Thermodynamics; Engineering Graphics and Computer-Aided Design; Fluid Mechanics; Engineering Materials, Properties, and Processing; Aerodynamics; Dynamics of Mechanical Systems; Design and Analysis of Aerospace Structures; Electrical Engineering Fundamentals; Linear Control Systems and Manufacturing Processes. Additionally, Mr. Kimberly gained hands-on experience with Aircraft Design, Design and Analysis of a spacecraft Vibration Isolation System, Thrust Structure Design, and Electronics through his education. His industry experience includes the design and prototyping of various structural brackets and electrical panels for electrical components in transit buses for Daimler Buses.

Ms. Amanda Nichols, Mechanical Engineer

Ms. Nichols graduated with distinction from Worcester Polytechnic Institute with an MS in Mechanical Engineering. During her undergrad studies at WPI, she also had a Concentration in Astronautics and minored in International Studies. Her extensive studies included: Advanced Materials with Aerospace Applications, Spacecraft and Mission Design, Computer-Integrated Manufacturing, Manufacturing Science, Rocket Propulsion, Spacecraft Dynamics and Control, Aerospace Structures, Controls Engineering, and Design for Manufacturability. Ms. Nichols, an IIE Lean Green Belt, has a computer skill set which includes SolidWorks, Lab View, MatLab, and MathCAD.

Ms. Krystle Strachel, Sales & Marketing/ Office Manager

Ms. Strachel performs many key office functions for DBA, including Market Research, Database Management, Sales Strategy Development, Tracking of Sales, Quotes and Purchase Orders, Presentation Design, Management of Internet Marketing, Meeting Coordination, and various accounting tasks. She earned her BS in Communication, Advertising and Promotions from Southern CT State University and minored in Art.

SPECIALISTS:

Mr. Robert Goodman, Pneumatics Engineer

Mr. Goodman has over 50 years of experience in the design and analysis of pneumatic valves for aircraft applications. He is a retired chief design engineer of the Hamilton Standard ECS, Valves, Systems and Controls group. Following his retirement in 1992 after 37 years, Mr. Goodman continued to work as a consultant in his field. He has consulted for Allied Signal/Grimes Aerospace, Honeywell and Hamilton Sundstrand. He has 19 patents involving pneumatic valves and has authored a book entitled “A Primer on Pneumatic Valves and Controls”. He holds a BS and an MS in Mechanical Engineering.

Mr. Ray Furst

Mr. Furst has over 50 years of experience in the turbomachinery, fan, and pump fields, primarily in the aerospace industry. He has worked for premier aerospace companies such as AlliedSignal, Chandler Evans, Sundstrand, Bombardier, Rockwell, and Garrett. For the DBA/PLU Advanced Main Fuel Pump, Mr. Furst’s experience led to the development of software to automate the design and analysis of centrifugal pumps. He has been credited with five patents in the pumping field. He was also honored with the ASME Henry R. Worthington Medal for contributions to the pumping profession and two NASA awards for contributions to rocket engine turbopump design and analytical procedure improvement. He is a co-author of a text book on Centrifugal Pumps and has been a consultant to DBA since 1997. He is a fellow for the Institute for Advancement of Engineering, and has a BS and MS in Mechanical Engineering.

Design By Analysis