Our Team
Mark Balla
Mark Balla is a senior production test engineer currently working for S&C Electric in Chicago Illinois. Before starting at S&C in 2019 he worked as a consultant/integrator for 13 years developing LabVIEW based test systems. Mark has been a professional LabVIEW developer since 1997, starting his career in LabVIEW 4.0. He is certified as a CLA and CPI.
Over his 25 year plus LabVIEW career, Mark has been very active in the LabVIEW community from being a code reviewer on the LAVA G website, to being a founding member of the Chicago LabVIEW User group, to video recording NI week and CLA Summit presentations to share with other developers. Mark also teaches high school students LabVIEW and robotics as a mentor of a FIRST (For InspiRation of Science and Technology) robotics team.
For all his efforts he was awarded the honor of LabVIEW Champion in 2010. Mark has attended every NIWeek since 1998 every CLA summit and every GDevCon N.A. conference. He looks forward to bringing his LabVIEW community experience to the GDevCon N.A. Board of Directors.
Jeff Debuhr
Jeff DeBuhr has been programming in LabVIEW since Version 3.1 in 1995 On Windows 3.11. He has worked for a variety of places starting with Motorola where he was first introduced to LabVIEW. He has also worked for places that focused on High Powered RF Amplifiers, created running software solutions for Prototype Beverage dispensers before working at his current employer working on test solutions for Garage doors.
Jeff is a Certified LabVIEW Architect and LabVIEW Champion
Jeff’s hobby is attending and showing his classic car at Cruise nights in the summer. He has also done some Arduino / Pi Pico programming for his car to update some of the features/ functions.
Edwin Dickens
Ed earned his first CLA certification in 2007 and became a LabVIEW Champion in 2005. His LabVIEW experience started in 2000 when he started work at DISTek Integration where he’s been for over 20 years. Ed has worked on a variety of projects including standard test and control applications as well as more complex systems that include motion and vision-based testing. Most projects are in the off-road vehicle industry but he’s also done projects for the medical industry and Universities.
Before DISTek, Ed worked at Rockwell Collins as an Engineering Technician in Systems Engineering where they worked on a variety of Government projects that included ground and air-based radar and communications systems. Before Rockwell, he was in the Army as a Helicopter mechanic.
Ed has recently gotten into home automation and has an automation server setup using Home Assistant and several ESP32-based devices around the house to monitor and control things.
John Giannangeli
John Giannangeli began programming LabVIEW and TestStand in 1993 on SunOS. After employment in the workstation and storage industries, he started his own NI Partnership in 2004, eventually becoming Bolder Software in 2011.
John and his team have helped solve challenges in Medical, Aerospace, Renewable Energy, Manufacturing, and other markets. He is an avid practitioner of software engineering including specialties in revision control, issue tracking, and requirements traceability.
When not coding, John enjoys skiing and hiking with his wife, trading and investing, tending the Koi ponds, and recording metal and jazz compositions in his studio.
John is a Certified LabVIEW Architect, Certified TestStand Developer, and a Certified Professional Instructor.
Dr. Jeremy Marquis
Jeremy Marquis has been serving the LabVIEW community for over 15 years. He has led events such as the CLA Summit, years of the annual LAVA barbecue, scores of user groups, the LabVIEW Live livestream, and countless impromptu dinners, social events, and get togethers every chance he gets. Jeremy is bringing that experience and his love of the community to help shape GDevCon N.A..
Jeremy is a LabVIEW Champion, Certified LabVIEW Architect, Certified Professional Instructor, and has a PhD in Electrical Engineering. With a focus on both people and results, a strong multidisciplinary sciences background, and a large dose of software engineering, Jeremy has over 20 years of experience leading, growing, and mentoring teams to consistent business success solving challenging problems in biomedical, energy, manufacturing, research, semiconductor, and spacecraft.
Besides designing and creating ambitious projects, Jeremy also loves board games with friends, live blues music, and swing dancing.
Laura Miller
Laura began developing in LabVIEW as a college intern in a dark corner of a Westinghouse test lab. She’s had the privilege to be involved in the development of LabVIEW systems for the automotive, nuclear, railroad, aviation, and space industries. She’s helped install cRIOs in nuclear control rooms, commissioned LabVIEW test platforms in a rail yard, suited up and used a PXI for Rod Position testing in nuclear containment, used LabVIEW to monitor the CAN bus of her car, and volunteered as the test engineer for a LabVIEW hydraulic flight simulator. She’s currently at JKI and loving every minute of it.
Aside from using her skills as a CLA, Laura has a strong background in EE and enjoys “tinkering” with various electronics, microcontrollers, python, and 3D printing to create fun automation and wearable projects. She’s also a member of a local flying club and can occasionally be seen several thousand feet in the air on a sunny day.
Sam Taggart
Sam Taggart is a CLA, CPI, CTD, and LabVIEW Champion with over 15 years of LabVIEW experience. He cut his teeth running a lab in the Science and Technology Center at Westinghouse Electric Company, leading a team that designed various testing and monitoring systems for nuclear power plants.
Since those days he has continued using LabVIEW on a variety of projects, such as testing soil samples and calibrating flow meters. He has also taught several classes at the Colorado School of Mines as well as various LabVIEW classes for National Instruments (NI). Sam is an international speaker, having spoken at the European CLA Summit in Madrid and GDevcon in Cambridge, in addition to appearances at NI week and various other NI-sponsored events.
That remains the mission of SAS Workshops. Just as no two climbers scale a cliff the same way, neither do any two coders approach the same challenge. And that’s a good thing! Coding is a creative exercise, and the best developers approach their projects with agility and a willingness to let it teach them something new.
Sam is also the host of the LabVIEW Experiment Podcast.
Taylor Jo Oxley (Organizer, Wrangler)
Taylor Jo Oxley is happy to officially join the GDevCon N.A. team and help them put on a great event. You might know Taylor from her role as Producer for The LabVIEW Experiment or as Director of Operations for SAS Workshops. While she does not have any formal training in software development, she is happy to be a part of the robust LabVIEW Community.
Taylor is a former professional dancer and holds a degree in Dance Performance from Illinois State University. She began working with small businesses and entrepreneurs in 2017 as an Administrative Specialist. She published her first book of poetry in 2021. Learn more here.
Becca Tiwet
Becca is a mechanical engineer and has been a fluid power specialist for the past 12 years. She was first introduced to LabVIEW during her undergraduate time at NIU and has been well versed in its applications throughout her entire career, especially how they pertain to hydraulic testing. In 2023, she co-founded her company, VoxSomnia Inc: a project based engineering company specializing in custom data acquisition and controls solutions for small to mid-size manufacturing companies. Her primary role in VoxSomnia is project management and helping current and future customers realize the potential of implementing a LabVIEW based control solution for their test equipment.
When she's not helping the VoxSomnia team deliver solutions to customers, Becca can be found at the local ice rink where she trains 5-7hrs per week as a competitive figure skater. Her other interests include going to concerts and trying new restaurants around her home in downtown Chicago, as well as spending time with her two cats and husband, Andy.
