Michael Barr is an internationally recognized expert on the design of embedded computer systems. In that role, he has provided expert witness testimony in federal court, appeared on PBS’ American Business Review, and been quoted in various newspapers. He is also the author of three books and more than fifty articles on related subjects. For three and a half years Michael served as editor-in-chief of Embedded Systems Programming magazine. In addition, Michael is a member of the advisory board and a track chair for the Embedded Systems Conference. Software he wrote continues to power millions of products. Michael holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in electrical engineering and has lectured in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Maryland, from which he also earned an MBA.

Clive “Max” Maxfield is a well-known author, editor, and engineer. After receiving his B.Sc. in Control Engineering in 1980 from Sheffield Polytechnic (now Sheffield Hallam University) in England, Max began his career as a designer of central processing units for mainframe computers. In those days of yore, Max and the rest of the team were designing silicon chips using pencil and paper, because they didn’t have access to any computer-aided tools. Over the following years, Max designed everything from chips to circuit boards; he gained expertise in digital logic simulation and wrote simulation models of everything from ASIC cell libraries to microprocessors; and he meandered his way through most of the tools used to design and verify chips, circuit boards, and electronic systems.

In addition to numerous technical articles and papers appearing in magazines and at conferences around the world, Max is also the author and co-author of a number of books, including BEBOP TO THE BOOLEAN BOOGIE (AN UNCONVENTIONAL GUIDE TO ELECTRONICS), BEBOP BYTES BACK (AN UNCONVENTIONAL GUIDE TO COMPUTERS), DESIGNUS MAXIMUS UNLEASHED (BANNED IN ALABAMA), EDA: WHERE ELECTRONICS BEGINS, THE DESIGN WARRIOR’S GUIDE TO FPGAS, and HOW COMPUTERS DO MATH (which features the pedagogical and phantasmagorical virtual DIY Calculator).

To cut a long story short, Max now finds himself President of TechBites Inc. (www.Techbites.Com) – The Science and Technology Collaborative Community. This new website offers a unique mix of technical content and social networking. It's FREE to join. Members can publish their own technical content; access world-class content; participate in group discussions; and connect with peers and industry experts in a multitude of vertical communities.

On the off-chance that you’re still not impressed, Max was once referred to as an “industry notable” and a “semiconductor design expert” by someone famous who wasn’t prompted, coerced, or remunerated in any way!

Rob Oshana has over 25 years of experience in the software industry, primarily focused on embedded and real-time systems for the defense and semiconductor industries. He has BSEE, MSEE, MSCS, and MBA degrees and is a Senior Member of IEEE. Rob is a member of the Advisory Board for the Embedded Systems Group, where he is also an international speaker. He has over 100 presentations and publications in various technology fields and is a licensed professional engineer in Texas. Rob is an adjunct professor at Southern Methodist University where he teaches graduate software engineering courses. He is a Distinguished Member of Technical Staff and Director of Global Software R&D for Networking and Multimedia at Freescale Semiconductor.

Gary Stringham is an embedded systems expert with a specialization in the hardware/firmware interface. He is the founder of Gary Stringham & Associates, LLC, (www.garystringham.com.) With over 25 years of industry experience, Gary focuses on diagnosing and resolving difficult hardware/firmware integration issues and produces solid solutions to prevent future occurrences of those issues. He is a frequent presenter of this subject matter and is the author of the book, Hardware/Firmware Interface Design: Best Practices for Improving Embedded Systems Development. Previous to founding the company, Gary was a technical lead at HP establishing standards in firmware and ASIC designs. His efforts have saved HP more than $100 million in development costs across several projects. He holds a BSEE from Brigham Young University and an MSEE from Utah State University. Gary holds 12 patents in the area of printer hardware and firmware.

Bob is the president and founder of Software Analysis and Forensic Engineering Corporation (www.SAFE-corp.biz), the leading provider of software intellectual property analysis tools. Bob is considered a pioneer in the field of analyzing software source code, having created the patented CodeSuite® program for detecting software intellectual property theft that is sold by SAFE Corp.

Bob Zeidman is also the president and founder of Zeidman Consulting (www.ZeidmanConsulting.com), a premiere contract research and development firm in Silicon Valley that now focuses on consulting to law firms about intellectual property disputes. Since 1983, Bob has designed computer chips and circuit boards for RISC-based parallel processor systems, laser printers, network switches and routers, and other complex systems. His clients have included Apple Computer, Cisco Systems, Cadence Design Systems, Intel, and Texas Instruments. Bob has worked on and testified in cases involving billions of dollars in disputed intellectual property.

Bob is a prolific writer and instructor, giving seminars at conferences around the world. Among his publications are numerous articles on engineering and business as well as three textbooks -- Designing with FPGAs and CPLDs, Verilog Designer's Library, and Introduction to Verilog. Bob holds seven patents and earned two bachelor's degrees, in physics and electrical engineering, from Cornell University and a master's degree in electrical engineering from Stanford University.