Mark J. Kiemele, president and co-founder of Air Academy Associates, has been named the College of Science and Mathematics Distinguished Alumnus for 2009. He was originally scheduled to come to campus in April, but was rescheduled due to the flood.

Kiemele has more than 30 years of teaching, consulting and coaching experience. Having trained, consulted or mentored more than 30,000 leaders, scientists, engineers, managers, trainers, practitioners and college students from more than 20 countries, he is world-renowned for his Knowledge Based KISS (Keep It Simple Statistically) approach to engaging practitioners in applying performance improvement methods. His support has been requested by an impressive list of global clients, including Xerox, Sony, Microsoft, General Electric, GlaxoSmithKline, Raytheon, Lockheed-Martin, Northrop-Grumman, Woodward, Samsung, PerkinElmer, Danaher, Corning, EMC, Kaiser Aluminum, Gates Rubber Company, Apogee, Schlumberger, Bose, Heritage Valley Health System, John Deere, Valeant, Brunswick, Sandia Laboratories, General Dynamics Land Systems, Aptuit, Pittsburgh Glass Works, Energizer, and Army Materiel Command.

Kiemele earned a bachelor's degree and master's degree in mathematics from NDSU and a doctorate in computer science from Texas A&M University. During his time in the U.S. Air Force, he supported the design, development and testing of various weapon systems, including the Maverick and Cruise Missile systems, and was a professor at the U.S. Air Force Academy. Kiemele has been involved in the origin and evolution of Six Sigma. He trained the first Six Sigma Black Belts at the Six Sigma Research Institute at Motorola and has helped deploy and implement Six Sigma at more than 80 companies worldwide.

Kiemele is scheduled to deliver a presentation on Friday, Oct. 30, at 1 p.m. in Dolve 215. For more information, contact Keri Drinka at keri.drinka@ndsu.edu or 1-6131.