GALLERY
GALLERY
GALLERY
These biographies have been compiled using information believed to be reliable, some submitted with these persons’ nominations to the Fluid Power Hall of Fame, and additional information on the Internet and other sources.
Peter A.J. Achten, PhD
Inducted 2021
An internationally recognized and outspoken proponent of efficiency and energy conservation, since long before they were “popular” topics, Peter A.J. Achten, PhD, has spent his four-decade career in fluid power emphasizing “the quest for a designer is not to find just a random solution, which you might do with just creativity, but to find the right solution.” With over 40 individually titled patents in Europe, the United States, Japan, and through the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), Achten has also authored well over 200 survey reports, conference papers, magazine articles, books, and has presented invited speeches, workshops, and lectures around the world and in several languages. In 2019, Achten won the Robert E. Koski Medal, from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). The Koski Medal, established in 2007, recognizes individuals who have advanced the art and practice of fluid power motion and control through education and innovation. In 2008, Achten was awarded the Joseph Bramah Medal from the Mechatronics, Informatics and Control Group of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Established in 1968, the Bramah Medal is awarded for outstanding achievement tending to advance the science of mechanical engineering, particularly in the field of hydraulic engineering.
Timothy R. Bailey
Inducted 2021
As a busy and well-known fluid power activist in Australia, Timothy R. Bailey has been involved in fostering the development of all Australian fluid power organizations, their professional focus and their training programs. Bailey has served as President of Western Australian Fluid Power Society Inc. for 12 years (1994-2006), President of International Fluid Power Society Australia Inc. for 8 years (2006-14), President of Fluid Power Society Australia Inc. for 2 years (2014-2016), and President of Fluid Power Society (WA) Inc. for 5 years (2014-2019). In leading these organizations, Tim concentrated on developing and promoting Fluid Power training and certification. He led the team that created the original WAFPS Curriculum Matrix which is now the central focus of Australian Fluid Power Society Inc., an International Associate Member of the IFPS. In his professional engineering working life, Tim has always been involved in the ‘new’ hot topic of safety. For over 35 years, he has worked in the areas of chasing machine defects and finding the flaws in malfunctioning fluid power systems as well as the design, construction, and commissioning of a wide variety of systems. With a view to maximizing the safety of innumerable different machines, Bailey has served as consultant and expert witness for cases involving accidents, hydraulic equipment failures, specification errors, and design mistakes that led to workplace injuries and fatalities.
Jim Brizzolara
Inducted 2021
With his 56 years of dedicated service in fluid power, Jim Brizzolara is well-known for his insistence on superior quality and uncompromised customer service. Brizzolara co-founded HydraForce in 1985 with a mission "to provide the customers with highest quality products and the most responsive support at a globally competitive price." This mission became the job description for every employee, and the vision “to delight the customer” was adopted as each employee’s guiding mantra. Through Jim’s emphasis on quality and performance, including the formation of a Quality Support Administrative Team (QSAT), the company won industry awards and accolades including quality commendations from Bobcat, Caterpillar, Douglas Dynamics, Terex Genie, Clark Hurth, and Skyjack. HydraForce earned the Ford Q1 Quality Audit on its first attempt and the company was among the first 80 companies earning ISO-9000 Certification. Brizzolara placed strong emphasis on community involvement and student training. HydraForce supported the growth of students, suppliers, and employees through contributions exceeding $400,000 in grants, tuition support and training programs. Also making donations to local schools, HydraForce provided full sponsorship for the Wheeling High School Robotics Lab. Upon Jim’s nomination to the Hall of Fame, a colleague stated, “I do not believe the custom integrated hydraulic circuit and custom manifold industry would be what it is today without the ingenuity and foresight of these men.” [see also Fontecchio biography]
George Doig
Inducted 2021
George Doig started in fluid power after WWII naval service in the South Pacific. As he promised his mother, before enlisting Doig completed his B.S.M.E. degree at Detroit Institute of Technology. George worked several years for J.N. Fauver before he and three others founded Numatics in 1953. George rose to Senior Vice-President and Director of Sales/Marketing and participated in the rollout of Numatrol products. In 1966, George and L. Irwin Walle, authored Practical Air Circuitry to address real, practical fluid power aspects – not included in published books of the day. The 1950s found George as one of 30 founders of the Fluid Power Society (IFPS) and Chapter 1 in Detroit. In 1973, he led the NFPA group establishing industry standards resulting in American National Standard Method of Diagramming for Moving Parts Fluid Controls. George holds four U.S. air control patents, and most are also patented in Germany, Switzerland, and Australia. He founded manufacturers' representative Doig Associates in 1972, which also produced air circuit panels. George was well known for troubleshooting abilities as well as design creativity. He lived up to the company slogan “Air Logic That Works.” George was a certified Fluid Power Engineer (CFPE) from 1994 - 2010. Upon retirement, after more than 60 fluid power years, George continued to participate in the annual southeast Michigan fluid power golf outing.
Craig M. Fox
Inducted 2021
Focusing on all aspects of excellence in fluid power education – including training design, teaching, and publishing accurate educational materials – Craig M. Fox has spent most of his 41 fluid power years pursuing quality education in all its forms. Craig served as technical editor for the well-known, industry standard Lightning Reference Handbook published by Berendsen Fluid Power (formerly Paul Munroe Hydraulics). He worked for Eaton Corporation, Maumee, Ohio as a senior technical trainer and contributed to Eaton’s (formerly Vickers) published Industrial Hydraulics Manual, an industry-recognized hydraulics textbook. In this role, Craig also trained most personnel working in Eaton’s accredited distributor warranty facilities. As the founder of the Universal Studios Internship Program and member of the Canyons Educational Program Curriculum Development group, Craig continues to be an active member of the electronic technology curriculum review board for the College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita, California. Craig’s technical developments include the application of Eaton’s EHST (electro-hydraulic system controller valve/board) to control critical hydraulic application pressure to within one psi. He has been widely known as both a repair expert and personnel trainer for installed, non-functioning industrial hydraulic applications.
Medhat Khalil, PhD, CFPAI
Inducted 2021
Winning the 2012 Otto Maha Pioneer in Fluid Power Award, Medhat Khalil, PhD, is serving his sixteenth year as the Director of Professional Education and Research Development for the Applied Technology Center of the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Medhat is the recognized authority on the design and construction of Universal Fluid Power Trainers, which he originally developed under a grant from the Center for Compact and Efficient Fluid Power (CCEFP) in 2009. Since that grant, Khalil has contributed to the specification and commissioning of training labs for MSOE, Concordia University’s Fluid Power Research Lab, Egyptian Iron & Steel Company’s Hydraulic Training Center, and the Giza, Egypt, Civil Aviation Authority’s Fluid Power Training Lab. He has authored five books on fluid power components, systems, fluids, and contamination controls as well as numerous periodical articles. Khalil has served as the International Fluid Power Exposition’s (IFPE) Chair of the Education Committee in 2017 and 2020. Tri-lingual in Arabic, English, and French, he has taught fluid power courses to industry professionals for over 20 years in the United States, Canada, and the Middle East. Medhat has developed and copywritten software programs for analyzing and training on hydraulic systems. Medhat’s doctoral thesis for Concordia University in Montreal is the patent pending “Double Swash Plate Axial Piston Pump with Valve Ring Concept.”
Noah D. Manring, PhD, P.E.
Inducted 2021
Prominent educator-author Noah D. Manring, PhD, P.E., has served on the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department faculty of the University of Missouri, teaching graduate and undergraduate courses in fluid power since 1997, becoming Dean of Engineering in 2020. He published 44 archival journal papers, 38 conference papers, and three books in fluid power. He is working his next book, “Opportunity, Genius, and Entrepreneurship: A History of Modern Engineering”. Manring holds 12 United States patents including his most recent 2019 “Check valve pump with two-phase flow control”. He earned his doctorate from Iowa State University and became a registered Professional Engineer for the State of Missouri in 2006. Extending well beyond the usual industrial fluid power impact, Manring’s patents include 2018’s “System to improve management and monitoring of cardiovascular disease”, proving that fluid power really IS everywhere! Featured invited lecturer at Baylor and Vanderbilt Universities as well as in Korea, China, and Canada, Noah has assisted many upcoming engineers by advising doctoral, masters, and honors-level undergraduate students. He has been a productive participant in $2.245M of grants, contracts, and industry gifts, such as from Caterpillar and the National Fluid Power Association (NFPA). He served from 2006 to 2010 as scientific advisory to the Center for Compact and Efficient Fluid Power (CCEFP). His former students say: “His expertise created an environment which gave difficult topics elements of understanding to young, inexperienced, engineers without losing detail and depth.”