SolidWorks World – These Folks Present. A Lot.

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Since SolidWorks World 2006 (Las Vegas), there have been approximately 1070 user technical sessions presented at SolidWorks World conferences – an average of 214 per event.  Every year brings new presenters and topics, but every year also brings back SolidWorks World veteran presenters.

NOTE: I'll use terms like "all-time" and "highest score ever", but my data only goes back to 2006. This is just for fun.

The Workhorses
It will come as no surprise to regular SolidWorks World attendees that Sal Lama of DS SolidWorks is the all-time leader in the number of presentations with 18, followed closely by Craig Therrien (DS SolidWorks) with 17, and Mark Biasotti (DS SolidWorks) and Marlon Banta (DS SolidWorks) with 16 each. 

SolidWorks users that are prolific presenters include Jerry Winters (VB CAD) with 15, and Rob Rodriguez (Axis CAD) with 14.

Special Note – Phil Sluder has presented at every SolidWorks World conference (sometimes twice), and would probably be close to the top of the list if I had better data).

SolidWorks reseller reps step up frequently as well, and Josh Altergott (CATI) leads the pack with 9 sessions.  Adrian Fanjoy (CATI) is next with 8, and Randy Simmons (3DVision) been at the podium 7 times.

The Experts
SolidWorks World presenters are held to a high standard, and each session is evaluated by the attendees.  An average score of 4.00 (out of 5.00) is the threshold that determines if a presenter will be invited back the following year.  Here are some of the top sessions and presenters from year's past.

Highest Rated Session Ever
Rob Rodriguez takes the honor with an overall score of 4.84 for his SolidWorks World 2011 session – PhotoView 360, Instant Images (hands-on).

Mark Biasotti comes in a very close second (4.80) with his SolidWorks World 2011 session – SolidWorks Clinic, Is the Doctor In? (he had a lot of help with this session – it was a panel of experts), and David "Woody" Woodruff (Design Dreams, LLC) rounds out the top 3 with his SolidWorks World 2010 session – The Other Project BUB, Part 2 – Land Speed Racing Designs for Bonneville.

All-Time Ratings
What would a post like this be if it didn't include some "Top 10's", right?  Here are the top 10 sessions of all-time (sessions in red will be presented at SolidWorks World 2012, asterisks *** denotes a presenter that will be presenting a different topic).

  1. PhotoView 360, Instant Images (hands-on) – Rob Rodriguez, Axis CAD? (2011)
  2. SolidWorks Clinic, Is the Doctor In? – Mark Biasotti, DS SolidWorks (2011)
  3. The Other Project BUB, Part 2 – Land Speed Racing Designs for Bonneville – "Woody" Woodruff, Design Dreams, LLC (2010) ***
  4. Rip-n-Stitch, Surfacing Repairs for Solid Models – Keith Pederson, CAPINC (2010)
  5. Creating SolidWorks Enterprise PDM Add-ins, From Napkin to Distribution – Jerry Winters, VB CAD (2011) ***
  6. Integrated CAM, What it Means for Designers, Engineers, and Programmers – Anthony Graves, HSMWorks (2010)
  7. Exporting Information from Intralink into SolidWorks Enterprise PDM – Kevin Schmitt, Inflow Technology (2010)
  8. Using 2D Analysis to Conquer Complex Problems – Omar Zohni, DS SolidWorks (2011) ***
  9. Electrical Mechanical Workflow with SolidWorks and E3.WireWorks – Patrick Hackney, E3.WireWorks (2010)
  10. 7 Habits of Higly Effective SolidWorks Users – Jason Pancoast, CAPINC (2009)

One more Top 10 – the highest averages, 2 or more sessions minimum (the overall average for all presenters is 4.10).

  1. David "Woody" Woodruff – Design Dreams, LLC (4.53)
  2. Marie Planchard – DS SolidWorks (4.52) ***
  3. Sal Lama – DS SolidWorks (4.47)
  4. Marlon Banta – DS SolidWorks (4.46)
  5. Joe Rowsey – Joe's CAD Co. (4.46)
  6. Jerry Winters – VB CAD (4.46)
  7. Keith Pedersen, CAPINC (4.44)
  8. Matthew Derov – DS SolidWorks (4.43)
  9. Tim Paris – ModernTech (4.42)
  10. Ed Eaton – DiMonte Group (4.41)

As you can see (in red), 7 of the top 10 presenters will be in San Diego in 2012 (Marie will be there as well, but her crazy schedule doesn't leave much time for technical sessions). 

Check out all of the sessions and presenters by heading over to the SolidWorks World 2012 site, then make sure you see some of these terrific sessions and speakers.  You'll be happy that you did.

Richard Doyle

Richard Doyle

My official title is Senior User Advocacy & SolidWorks User Groups - but most people just call me "The User Group Guy". I've been a SolidWorks user since 1997, and was one of the founding members of the SWUGN Committee. Since starting the Central Texas SolidWorks User Group in 1999, my career path has led me to DS SolidWorks and a dream job supporting the SolidWorks User Group Network worldwide.
Richard Doyle

@https://twitter.com/swugn

Richard Doyle