Interests and expertise

Systems Engineering, Project Management, Engineering Management

Career

Bob Monson is an engineer who has managed the development of multiple complex projects from conception through manufacture. He began his career as an engineer in the railroad industry, and has had significant experience in agricultural machinery, the defense industry, DARPA program management, nanotechnology development and medical device systems development. He is currently employed at Medtronic in the Systems Engineering group.

Bob has focused his work in mechanical design, software development, controls development, modeling and simulation, thermal systems, shock and vibration systems, systems design and engineering management. He has served as an Engineer, Director and Vice President for various commercial entities.

He serves as the Director of the Systems Engineering program at the University of St. Thomas and teaches the "Program/Project/Team Management" and "Human Aspects of Technical Management" courses at St. Thomas as well as several Systems Engineering courses.

Patents and Selected Publications 86 US Patents Granted, Several Patents Pending

Books

Monson, R.J., Beck, A.F. (2017) The Art of Systems Engineering, 1157 pages, Gray Publishing, Saint Paul, Minnesota, ISBN: 0998144223

Monson, R.J. (2017) Mastering Project Management, 512 pages, Gray Publishing, Saint Paul, Minnesota, ISBN: 0998144245

Monson, R.J. (2016) Engineering Leadership, 300 pages, Gray Publishing, Saint Paul, Minnesota, ISBN: 0998144215

Monson, R. J. (1991) A Method for the Automated Grinding of Desired Profiles in Materials, University of St. Thomas Press, Saint Paul, Minnesota

Monson, R. J.  (2000) The Contribution of Personality Traits and Context to the Career Success of Project Managers, UMI Dissertation Database, Michigan

Monson, R. J. (1996) Management by Conquest, Gray Publishing, Saint Paul, Minnesota

Articles and Presentations

Monson, R. J. (2003) Successful Shock Isolation of Naval Enclosures , 74 th Symposium for SAVIAC, www.saviac.org

Monson, R. J. (2003) The Use of Multiple Interfaces to Provide Maximum User Utility , ASNE HSI conference proceedings, Virginia

Monson, R. J. (2002) The People Problem: Getting and Utilizing the Resources on your Project , Presented at the International Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, Feb 2002, Mpls, Minnesota.

Monson, R.J. (2000) The Human Side of Project Management, American Society of Quality,  Minnesota Quality Conference, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Monson, R. J. (2000) Human Aspects of Technical Management, INCOSE Presentation, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Monson, R. J. (1999) Capturing COTS for Defense Applications , INSIGHT Corporate Publication, Bethesda, Maryland

Monson, R. J. (1999) Packaging Techniques to Enable a Broader Use of COTS, COMASE Presentation, San Diego, CA.

Monson, R. J., et al (1999) The Packaging of COTS Technology, COTS Journal, San Clemente, CA

Monson, R. J., et al (1998) Humans and Machines as Symbiotic Elements of a Complex System, ASNE HSI conference proceedings, United States

Monson, R.J. (1998) A Method for the Automated Grinding of Desired Profiles in Materials, SPIE Conference Proceedings, New York

Monson, R.J. (1996) The Application of Enhanced GPS Systems on Mobile Agricultural Equipment , Presented at the ASAE International Meeting, 1996, Paper No. 961023, ASAE, 2950 Niles Rd., St. Joseph, MI 49085-9659 USA

Monson, R.J. (1995) Effective Interface Design in Agricultural Controls , Presented at the Computers in Agriculture Meeting, 1996, Cancun, Mexico

Monson, R.J. (1994) The Application of Distributed Controls and the Windows User Interface on Mobile Agricultural Equipment , Presented at the ASAE International Meeting, 1995, Paper No. 951753, ASAE, 2950 Niles Rd., St. Joseph, MI 49085-9659 USA

Monson, R.J. (1990) VISTA, The Development of an Expert System , Journal of Applied Manufacturing Systems, University of St. Thomas Press, Spring 1990

Education

Ph.D., Industrial Engineering 1999, University of Minnesota

M.S., Manufacturing Engineering 1991, University of St. Thomas

B.S., Mechanical Engineering 1985, University of Minnesota