Kevin Sihlanick

I am an engineer. What that means to me is that I solve problems by crafting permanent solutions - I make stuff. I believe that an important part of being an engineer is understanding the context of your actions. That is, creating and reaching goals on time and on budget, while doing the right thing by all the stakeholders involved in the process; customers, employees, and everyone who may come into contact with the product. I enjoy working with others, and nothing beats the feeling of completing an impossible task together.

My interests include robotics and automation, product usability, user oriented design, web development, human-computer interaction, FPGAs, low power CMOS, silicon failure analysis, silicon product engineering, sustainable design, and life cycle analysis.

I play guitar, harmonica, and occasionally trombone. I'm into roots music - old time, country, acoustic blues, jazz. Really I like anything with a nice 'pocket' - that un-notated space between notes, the rhythmic pull between voices.

I sometimes play harmonica in a band, The Fried Bananas and have played shows to rave reviews to large crowds of dancers. Maybe a tour is forthcoming?

My other job is as a swing dance instructor at New School Swing http://newschoolswing.com/ . We teach the lindy hop, the original swing dance that originated in New York in the 1920's and 1930's.