Vibration Institute Course Instructors
Instructors for Vibration Institute courses have contributed to the development and application of vibration technology and have demonstrated their ability to effectively communicate their knowledge to others. All instructors are certified by the Vibration Institute as a Category IV Vibration Analyst and draw on their extensive industrial experience for case histories to illustrate measurement and computational techniques.
NELSON L. BAXTER is President of ABM Technical Services, Inc. and co-founder of Machinery Health Monitoring and Electro-mechanical Diagnostic Services. His 34 years of experience in the utilities industry include trouble-shooting rotating equipment, structural testing, and balancing. He is the Editor of Sound & Vibration Magazine, a Registered Professional Engineer, a Level IV Certified Vibration Analyst and Instructor for Level IV Class. Baxter holds an M.S. in Nuclear Engineering from Purdue University. He is a member of the Institute’s Board of Directors and ASME.
WILLIAM BRANCA is Technical Director of Renewable Energy Systems. He was previously Director of Engineering for TECO-Westinghouse Motor Company. Branca has more than 20 years of experience in the vibration analysis of rotating equipment. He holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Clarkson University and an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Buffalo. He is a registered professional engineer in the state of Texas and a member of ASME.
KEVIN R. GUY is a Senior Field Analyst for Delaware Analysis Services, Inc. and the former President of C. J. Analytical Engineering Inc., a company specializing in Predictive Maintenance and Vibration Analysis. His experience spans more than three decades. Mr. Guy holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering Technology from Purdue University and is a member of the Purdue MET Department Industrial Advisory Committee. He is a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and the Vibration Institute, where he teaches ISO Category I-IV certification classes and the balancing certification class. Guy is a member of the Vibration Institute Board of Directors, has served on the MFPT Board of Directors and Board of Editors of the Shock and Vibration Digest.
RAY KELM is owner of Kelm Engineering in Danbury, Texas. The company specializes in numerical modeling and field testing of dynamic systems including rotating, reciprocating, and static machines. He has 25 years of experience in the petrochemical industry and consulting. Kelm holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Texas A&M University and an M.S. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from the University of Virginia. He is a registered professional engineer in the State of Texas and a member of the Vibration Institute’s Board of Directors.
MALCOLM E. LEADER is owner of Applied Machinery Dynamics. He has more than 30 years of experience in modal testing, vibration control, and analyzing problems in rotating equipment. Leader holds an M.S in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Virginia. He was a Senior Engineer in the Central Engineering Division at Monsanto. Leader is a registered professional engineer in the State of Texas and a member of the Vibration Institute’s Board of Directors.
JACK D. PETERS is a Regional Manager for Connection Technology Center, Inc. (CTC). His responsibilities include Asia Pacific, Canada and India. Peters has more than 25 years of experience in analyzing vibration problems, including those of process manufacturing machines for photographic films and papers. He holds an AOS degree from Alfred Agricultural & Technical College and an AAS degree from Monroe Community College.
ALLEN PLYMON is President of Plymon & Associates, LLC and former General Manager of a large Electro-Mechanical repair facility and Engineered Services Division. Mr. Plymon has over 20 years of experience in the field of predictive and corrective maintenance. Over these years, he has had many opportunities to present case histories and technical papers at various technical meetings including local Chapters of the Vibration Institute, Vibration Institute Technical Symposium, Emerson Global Users Exchange, and PdMA. He has been a member of the Vibration Institute since 1999 and served on the Certification Committee for 5 years.
DAVID B. SZROM is President & CEO of Mechanical Consultants, Inc., a technical service company providing machinery repair, reliability improvement designs, vibration analysis and balancing, optical and laser alignment and other state of the art technologies to heavy industrial clients. A graduate of Purdue University, he has over 30 years of experience in vibration-based technical support to a broad range of industries. He previously served as Maintenance Manager for one of the first high-speed, recycled newsprint mills in the country. Mr. Szrom has been training with the Institute for over 20 years, is a Category IV Analyst, a member of ASME , the Secretary-Treasurer of the Institute and a member of the Board of Directors.