Dr. Hovis has over 25 years of customer-focused leadership experience in technology and product development.  He spent several years at Pratt & Whitney’s Government Products division developing and testing fighter engine components for the F-4, F-15, F-16, and F-22.

From 1989-2000 Dr. Hovis held positions of increasing responsibility at Westinghouse, heading a series of projects related to the production and safe handling of special nuclear materials for strategic defense.  At Westinghouse he directed large-scale flow and heat transfer experiments, authored standards for nuclear/chemical facility hazard identification and analysis, and designed robotic equipment and robot vision systems.  His innovative and cost-saving accomplishments led to numerous Vice President’s and President’s Awards, and he was recognized with the distinguished George Westinghouse Signature Award of Excellence.

Prior to co-founding Direct Measurements, Dr. Hovis served as Product Deployment Director for a business-intelligence software company during its launch.  In this position he participated on a global sales team, building key relationships with General Electric, Proctor & Gamble, Toyota, Verizon, Philips Electronics, SAP and others.  He worked closely with C-level executives matching client needs with product capabilities, developing and managing product deployment plans, and providing product support via training and consulting.

Dr. Hovis has published over 30 technical articles on a variety of topics ranging from alternative fueled vehicles to enterprise software solutions.  He is a member of ASME and has served on several ANS and EFCOG international conference organizing committees.  Dr. Hovis holds several technology patents and is a Microsoft Certified Professional.

Dr. Hovis received a B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Virginia Tech, and he holds an M.S. and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of South Carolina.