J. BRUCE EMMONS:
 
J. BRUCE EMMONS




 
 
 
 
 
President of Autokinetics Inc. in Rochester Hills. Emmons founded Autokinetics in 1986 as a source for creative solutions to automotive engineering problems. An active inventor, Emmons holds several patents in the automotive and marine fields. Autokinetics is currently developing an electric bus that will reduce fuel costs by 300 percent compared to a conventional bus, in a partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy Office of FreedomCar and Vehicle Technologies, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory, AK Steel, UQM, D&N Bending, AristoCast and IBIS Associates. Previously, he had an independent consulting business, which he started in 1978. Emmons started his career in the aerospace industry with Technology Inc., a contractor to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, and has held various other positions with SDRC, a consulting company near Cincinnati; as the engineer in charge of fuel systems and hydrodynamics at OMC Stern Drive in Waukegan, Ill.; and as an independent design engineering consultant contributing to the Corvette and Fiero programs, as well as managing numerous advanced concept investigations. His memberships include ASM International, Society of Automotive Engineers, Society of Manufacturing Engineers, the Experimental Aircraft Association and the Nature Conservancy. He received his bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Cincinnati.


WHERE BORN: "Cleveland."

MOST INFLUENTIAL PERSONS: "Dr. Ruth Hawkins, my geometry teacher. She taught me the beauty of mathematical proof. She’s had a big influence on what I’ve done since."

LAST BOOK READ: "Blue at the Mizzen by Patrick O’Brian, which is part of a series of books about British sailing ships. I’ve read all 20 of them."

WORDS THAT DESCRIBE ME: "Tenacious, optimistic, and comfortable with risk."

WHERE MY FIELD/INDUSTRY IS HEADED: "In automotive advanced engineering, very big changes are going on. There’s a big move toward advanced technology propulsion systems and hopefully with some lighter restructures, this will make some very big changes in the industry in the next 10 years or so."

FAVORITE TECHNOLOGICAL GADGET: "Dimension 3-D printer that can do rapid prototypes."

FAVORITE PLACE: "Hawaii."

FAVORITE HOBBIES: "Sailing my Hobie Cat."

FAVORITE FOOD: "Ahi tuna at Lily’s Seafood in Royal Oak."

MY HIDDEN TALENT: "Seeing patterns in seemingly unrelated observations."

HOW I WANT TO BE REMEMBERED: "As someone who tried to make a positive difference in everyone's life."

Grant Thornton Website At the annual awards reception in April 2009, one Leader & Innovator from the previous 12 months will be selected as the Grant Thornton Leader & Innovator of the Year.