Mark J. Anderson, PE, CQE, MBA, is a principal and general manager of Stat-Ease, Inc. (Minneapolis, Minnesota). A chemical engineer by profession, he also has a diverse array of experience in process development (earning a patent), quality assurance, marketing, purchasing, and general management. Prior to joining Stat-Ease, he spearheaded an award-winning quality improvement program (generating millions of dollars in profit for an international manufacturer) and served as general manager for a medical device manufacturer. His other achievements include an extensive portfolio of published articles on design of experiments (DOE). Anderson coauthored (with Whitcomb) DOE Simplified: Practical Tools for Effective Experimentation, 2nd Edition (Productivity Press, 2015).
Patrick J. Whitcomb, PE, MS, is the founding principal and president of Stat-Ease, Inc. Before starting his own business, he worked as a chemical engineer, quality assurance manager, and plant manager. Whitcomb developed Design-Ease® software, an easy-to-use program for design of two-level and general factorial experiments, and Design-Expert® software, an advanced user’s program for response surface, mixture, and combined designs. He has provided consulting and training on the application of design of experiments (DOE) and other statistical methods for decades. In 2013, the Minnesota Federation of Engineering, Science and Technology Societies (MFESTS) awarded Whitcomb the Charles W. Britzius Distinguished Engineer Award for his lifetime achievements.