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.
Sam brings his philosophy from 20 years of rock climbing experience and instruction to his work with LabVIEW developers. As the president of Pittsburgh’s Explorers Club, he took an immense amount of pride in seeing his new climbers learn, grow, and find a supportive and joyful community to belong to.
That remains the mission of SAS. 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.
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.
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. Jeff 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
Ed Dickens
I earned my first CLA certification in 2007 and became a LabVIEW Champion in 2005. My LabVIEW experience started in 2000 when I started work at DISTek Integration where I’ve been for over 20 years. I’ve 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 of our projects are in the off-road vehicle industry but I’ve also done projects for the medical industry and Universities.
Before DISTek, I worked at Rockwell Collins as an Engineering Technician in Systems Engineering where we worked on a variety of Government projects that included ground and air-based radar and communications systems. Before Rockwell, I was in the Army as a Helicopter mechanic.
When I’m not coding, I enjoy heading west into the mountains for a day of hiking or driving with Holly. Other things we enjoy in our off hours are movies, zoos, catching a Rockies game or just relaxing at home.
I’ve recently gotten into home automation and have an automation server setup using Home Assistant and several ESP32-based devices around the house to monitor and control things.
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.