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PDES, Inc. is pleased to announce that Tom Thurman has been selected as the recipient of the 2026 Bryan K. Martin Technical Excellence Award. This award recognizes individuals who have demonstrated outstanding technical contributions to the PDES, Inc. program and honors the legacy of Bryan K. Martin, a motivating leader dedicated to advancing product data standards.

Tom Thurman is widely regarded across the standards community as a leading expert in the development and implementation of the ISO 10303 (STEP) standard. Over a career spanning more than three decades, he has made sustained and impactful contributions across multiple domains, including architecture, tooling, testing, standards development, and industry adoption.

Tom has played a pivotal role in advancing the technical foundation of product data standards. His early recognition of the importance of persistent identifiers (PID/UUID technologies) and his leadership in incorporating these concepts into standards have been instrumental in enabling modern interoperability capabilities.

Tom’s influence extends deeply into the ISO TC184/SC4 WG12 community, where he has contributed to both detailed technical development and broader architectural direction. His work has supported key advancements such as semantic PMI capabilities, improvements to core STEP resources, and the development of Isogeometric Analysis (IGA) within the standard. His ability to navigate complex technical challenges and provide practical, well-founded solutions has made him a trusted resource across numerous working groups and initiatives. Additionally, Tom’s role in the EXPRESS Language Foundation is indicative of his dedication to transferring knowledge to the next generation.

Tom has been a consistent advocate for bridging standards development with real-world implementation. His active participation in CAx-IF testing activities and his contributions to recommended practices have helped ensure that standards are successfully deployed across industry. These efforts have strengthened the connection between standards bodies, software vendors, and end users.

Tom’s career reflects a rare combination of deep technical expertise, long-term commitment, and collaborative leadership. Whether contributing as an individual expert or working across diverse teams, he has demonstrated an exceptional ability to advance complex initiatives while supporting the broader community.

PDES, Inc. congratulates Tom Thurman on this well-deserved recognition and thanks him for his enduring contributions to the advancement of product data standards and interoperability.

Juan Mendo of Boeing, who leads the PDES, Inc. Model-based Systems Engineering (MBSE) project, and John Nallon of INCOSE, along with their  colleagues were honored for their contributions to INCOSE’s Tool Interoperability and Model Lifecycle Management (TIMLM) Working Group, which is focused on strengthening the foundations of systems engineering in an increasingly digital and model-driven environment. Honorees were John Nallon, who chairs the TIMLM working group, Kyle Hall of Airbus, Juan Mendo of Boeing, Mark Williams (ret. Boeing), and Kirk Moen of Boeing.

In a LinkedIn post, Mendo pointed out that the proliferation of digital standards presents both opportunity and risk and the importance of collaboration to exploit the opportunities and mitigate the risks.

This award exemplifies the spirit of collaboration that PDES, Inc. values—bringing together diverse stakeholders to advance interoperability, reduce fragmentation, and enable faster, more effective digital transformation. The PDES, Inc. and INCOSE memorandum of understanding helps solidify the collaboration between the two organizations.

Congratulations to the TIMLM Team

PDES, Inc. congratulates Juan Carlos Mendo and the entire TIMLM Working Group on this well-deserved recognition. Their work highlights the importance of cooperation across standards communities and reinforces the role of PDES, Inc. as a trusted forum for advancing model-based engineering and systems interoperability. The MBSE project brings together organizations such as OMG, prostep ivip, Modelica and others to collaborate to ensure that model-based systems engineering standards are aligned, interoperable and ready for real-world implementation.

In the era of Model-Based Definition (MBD), establishing seamless traceability from design intent through manufacturing to quality inspection has become essential. Traditional manufacturing workflows often break the connection between design specifications and inspection results. When a part fails inspection, engineers struggle to trace the failure back to specific design requirements.

This challenge is addressed by implementing Persistent Identifiers (UUIDs) that maintain identity across system boundaries, as documented in the “Recommended Practices for Cross-Domain Exchange for Downstream Uses“, jointly published by DMSC and the CAx-IF.

The STEP standard uses V5_UUID_ATTRIBUTE (namespace-based, repeatable UUIDs) to tag geometric entities and PMI elements. QIF files preserve these identities through EntityExternalIds, creating a robust linkage mechanism that survives data translation between CAD, CAM, and CMM systems.

Research validated by CAx-IF testing demonstrated that Persistent ID-based traceability between STEP and QIF is achievable and practical. The combination of V5_UUID_ATTRIBUTE in STEP files and EntityExternalIds in QIF provides a robust, standards-compliant mechanism for maintaining the digital thread from design through inspection. With proper implementation following established rules and patterns, 100% traceability success is attainable, enabling true Model-Based Definition workflows where design intent flows seamlessly to quality verification.