Dr. Alan Parkinson, dean of the Fulton College of Engineering and Technology, is a professor of mechanical engineering. He was born in Washington, DC, and served a mission to Japan. He received his PhD and master's degrees from the University of Illinois, Urbana, and his MBA and bachelor's degrees from Brigham Young University. In 2003, he received the Design Automation Award from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers for his work in robust design and design optimization. Dr. Parkinson was elected to Fellow status in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in 2004. His areas of interest include design for manufacture and artificial intelligence applied to engineering design. He is a coauthor of a commercial optimization software package, called OptdesX, which has been used at many companies and universities in the United States and Europe. He has been a consultant to many companies regarding applying optimization methods to their products.