Thomas Morel - President & Founder
Dr. Morel founded Gamma Technologies, Inc. in 1994, as an engineering software firm serving the automotive and engine industry. Today, Dr. Morel's primary area of responsibility includes the overall management of GTI and on the technical side, of GT-SUITE development. His technical work focuses on the development of new fluid dynamics models in GT-SUITE, acoustics and on modeling of turbochargers. He is a strong proponent of multi-disciplinary integrated tools, and the evolution of GT-SUITE reflects this philosophy.
An automotive industry veteran, Dr. Morel started his career with eight years at General Motors R&D Labs. He was also a founder of Integral Technologies, Inc. (ITI), an engine consulting firm specializing in the development of CAE software products. There he was responsible for the development and application of advanced CAE design methodologies for internal combustion engines. He was the principal developer of the engine design analysis codes WAVE and IRIS. Primarily because of these successful commercial engine simulation tools, ITI was acquired in 1988 by Ricardo. After the acquisition, Dr. Morel was for 5 years the Executive Vice President of Ricardo North America and continued to be responsible for commercial software development.
Dr. Morel also has expertise in vehicle aerodynamics. It includes his work on the aerodynamic design of the rocket-powered land speed record holder "The Blue Flame", at 622 mph (1001 km/h) in 1970. He also contributed to basic research on drag generation on bluff bodies (such as cars and trucks) during his years at General Motors. He has also worked methods for wind-tunnel design, and one of his methods is often used for the design of contraction cones.
Dr. Morel received his Ph.D. from the Illinois Institute of Technology and an honorary degree Doctor Honoris Causa from the Czech Technical University in Prague. His contributions to engineering have been widely recognized, and he is a Fellow of Society of Automotive Engineers, and Fellow of American Society of Mechanical Engineers. He is also a Past Chairman of the ASME Fluids Engineering Division and a Past Chair of the SAE Fellow Selection Committee. Dr. Morel's direct technical contributions are reflected in over 90 publications, and he has received several awards for best publications and presentations. He is a holder of one U.S. patent.
Rifat Keribar - Vice President
Dr. Keribar joined Gamma Technologies in 1995, bringing many years of specialization in the development of engine CAE tools, and a record of technical leadership and managerial positions. He is primarily responsible for mechanical applications in GT-SUITE, including development and integration of dynamic and tribological system models of engine cranktrains and valvetrains, vehicles and vehicle drivetrains.
Prior to joining GTI, Dr. Keribar was one of the main developers of IRIS at Integral Technologies, and the principal developer of tribological and dynamics models of pistons and piston rings aimed at the prediction of engine friction, blowby and oil consumption. He was also responsible for commercialization of these tools. When Ricardo acquired ITI, Dr. Keribar became one of the Section Heads in the organization, and continued his leadership role in software development.
Dr. Keribar is a graduate of Northwestern University. He is a Member of the Society of Automotive Engineers and author of over 40 technical papers. He is the recipient of the FISITA Technical Paper Excellence Award, 1986; the SAE Arch T. Colwell Award for excellence in a technical publication, 1987; the SAE Teetor Industrial Lectureship Award, 1991; and the Arch T. Colwell Award for excellence in a technical publication, 1993.
Syed Wahiduzzaman - Principal Engineer
Dr. Wahiduzzaman joined Gamma Technologies in 1995. His primary responsibility is in the development and application of advanced combustion models of SI and diesel engines in GT-POWER, as it relates to engine performance and emissions. In addition, he leads the development of modeling of exhaust aftertreatment systems (SCR, LNT, TWC, DOC, DPF, CPF, etc.), and analysis of port-injection and fuel puddling for current generation engines, fuel cells, as well as of advanced combustion concepts. Other areas include model calibrations and optimization technologies for GT-SUITE.
Dr. Wahiduzzaman is a graduate of Purdue University. He joined Integral Technologies Inc. in 1985, and there he worked on IRIS combustion models, including diesel jet modeling, SI engine turbulent flame combustion modeling, NOx and knock modeling. After Ricardo acquired ITI, he held a variety of positions, culminating with the position of Manager of Research and Development.
Dr. Wahiduzzaman is a Member of the Society of Automotive Engineers, and a Member of several honor and professional societies. He is a Recipient of the Cummins fellowship, and has presented and published over thirty technical papers and archived reports.
John J. Silvestri - Principal Engineer
Mr. Silvestri joined Gamma Technologies in 1995. His primary responsibility is in the development and application of GT-POWER to the prediction of engine breathing and performance characteristics, as well as engine intake and exhaust system acoustics. Mr. Silvestri also manages the team of developers involved in integration of third party tools (Star-CD, Fluent, Simulink) with GT-SUITE.
After receiving his Master's Degree from Florida Institute of Technology, Mr. Silvestri started his career at Mainstream Engineering, a developer of flow simulation software. There he was involved in both analytical and experimental investigations of various fluid thermal systems. His involvement with engine engineering started in 1991, when he joined Ricardo North America. There he worked as a project engineer and later a Section Head. He was involved in the development and application of engine simulation codes, primarily in the development and application of acoustic modeling in WAVE.
Mr. Silvestri is a Member of the Society of Automotive Engineers and a Licensed Professional Engineer, State of Illinois. He has chaired many technical sessions on engine modeling and simulation, and his direct technical contributions are reflected in over 15 publications.