Speakers

Daniele Di Cristofaro is a PhD Student in Structural Seismic and Geotechnical Engineering at Politecnico di Milano, within the structure section. In 2022, he obtained a master’s degree in mathematical engineering at Politecnico di Milano. Currently, he is working on in-depth research specifically geared towards Fluid-Structure-Interaction numerical scheme involving thin and lightweight structures, which can be effectively treated using shell solid mechanics theory.
Daniele likes to spend his free time swimming, reading and travelling.

Francesco Buffoli is a bachelor's student in Aerospace Engineering at Politecnico di Milano. He has been with Polimi Motorcycle Factory since 2022 and became Head of CFD analysis in 2023.

Sebastiano Turci is a master student in Aeronautical Engineering at Politecnico di Milano. He has been part of Polimi Motorcycle Factory since 2021, covering different jobs and gaining significant experience in several fields, from CAD design and production to CFD analysis of external and internal aerodynamics.

William V. Mars worked for 19 years at The Cooper Tire & Rubber Company as an expert in tire FEA and simulations. While working at Cooper, he earned a PhD from the University of Toledo in the area of elastomer fatigue.
In 2008, Will then founded Endurica to provide product developers with accurate, complete and scalable workflows for analyzing the durability of elastomer products. Endurica's products and services are used by leading firms worldwide to manage durability.
Will has received several awards for his scientific contributions and innovations. He has more than 60 peer-reviewed publications, holds four patents in the area of elastomer durability and is the past editor of two scientific journals.

Endurica opened an office in Luxembourg last year.

Sebastien Gautier obtained his mechanical engineering degree from EPFL in Switzerland in 2001. He began his career at MTU Aeroengines in Munich, focusing on aerodynamics and structural analysis. Later, he assumed various Technical Director roles at EXA Corp in Europe. In 2014, Sebastien became the Managing Director for the Aerospace Industry, a position he held until the integration of EXA into Dassault Systèmes in 2019. At Dassault Systèmes, he served as SIMULIA Head of Aerospace and SIMULIA GEO Leader EUROCENTRAL until July 2023, when he transitioned to the role of SIMULIA VP Sales and Marketing.

Ross McLendon serves as the product manager for the Abaqus FEA structural solvers and Abaqus/CAE interactive product within the SIMULIA Structures R&D organization in Johnston, Rhode Island (USA). He joined Dassault Systèmes Systemés in 2013 as a member of the back-end mechanics support team after completing his Ph.D. in aerospace engineering at Texas A&M University, where he studied composite mechanics. During his time in support, he led the development of the Micromechanics Plugin for Abaqus/CAE, after which he moved into the R&D organization as a developer for materials and then material calibration before taking on the Product Manager role. He works closely with the Abaqus development teams while collaborating with customers and the field and sales organizations to help ensure that the Abaqus FEA structural solvers at the heart of all DS structural simulation continue to deliver the class-leading capabilities needed to solve DS customers’ most challenging engineering mechanics problems.

After completing his PhD in Mechanical Engineering and a short tenure at Lockheed Martin, Chris Whiting joined Dassault Systèmes (HKS, Inc. at that time) as a Software Development Engineer in the Abaqus R&D organization, working on fundamental capabilities in the Abaqus solvers. From there, he took on additional leadership activities in development, strategy, and product management.
Eventually, Chris assumed full responsibility for the Structural Simulation R&D in 2016.
Today, Chris leads the global SIMULIA R&D organization within Dassault Systèmes’ global R&D.

Francesco Polidoro is the Director of Worldwide Business Development at SIMULIA. He spent the last 15 years helping companies develop products through the use of numerical simulation. Francesco’s background lies in fluids simulation across several industries, from aerospace to automotive. Francesco holds an MSc in Aerospace Engineering from Politecnico di Milano.

Leonardo Sassi is a Portfolio Manager Director of the Electromagnetic domain in the SIMULIA brand of Dassault Systèmes, with more than 20 years’ of experience in Electromagnetic (EM) and Electronic Simulations. Leonardo gained his experience in many years of product planning, technical sales and worldwide support in high tech, automotive, aerospace and defense industries. He received the Electronic Engineer Laurea and Ph.D. at Politecnico di Bari, Italy. Leonardo joined CST in 2001 and the SIMULIA brand after Dassault Systèmes acquisition.