Governance
Board of Directors
Ron Hicks
CMS Board Chair
Ron Hicks has been an active member of the Coordinate Metrology Society since the 1980s, serving the organization in multiple leadership and volunteer capacities over the decades. He began his career at Newport News Shipbuilding, where he led the Dimensional Control Department and oversaw large-scale measurement operations supporting complex shipbuilding programs.
His work helped advance the application of portable and large-volume metrology in heavy industry at a time when the technology was rapidly evolving.
Ron later joined Automated Precision Inc. (API), where he founded and built the company’s Service Division before advancing to Vice President of Sales and Marketing. In that role, he supported global customers across aerospace, defense, energy, and manufacturing sectors, helping drive adoption of advanced laser-based measurement systems. Now retired from full-time industry leadership, Ron continues to contribute to the profession as a member of the CMS Board of Directors, bringing decades of technical, operational, and strategic experience to the Society.
- ron.hicks@cmsc.org
- (757) 810-4743
Scott Sandwith
CMS Board Vice Chair
Scott has delivered a wide range of automated Metrology Solutions across various applications, including Robotics, Aerospace, Shipbuilding, Power Generation, and Advanced Scientific Systems. Scott, a Mechanical Engineer from Washington State University (1985), started in Metrology some 34 years ago as a part of Boeing’s MR&D Optics Group.
That work included developing processes and introducing Photogrammetry, Computer-Aided Theodolites, and Laser Trackers to build and inspect parts and tools on the factory floor. He joined New River Kinematics in 2000 (now Hexagon Metrology Software) and continues to develop innovative solutions that integrate automated Metrology to improve processes. Scott grew up in Seattle and the San Juan Islands of Washington State, USA. He has authored 25 technical papers in metrology.
- scott.sandwith@cmsc.org
- (206) 963-2887
Al Metzel
CMS Board Director
Al Metzel is the senior principal quality engineer at Northrop Grumman Mission Systems, responsible for metrology equipment, methods, and training supporting model design and fabrication and nondestructive examination.
- al.metzel@cmsc.org
- (301) 992-4043
Rina Molari-Korgel
CMS Board Director
Rina Molari-Korgel has been involved with portable industrial metrology since 1983, after graduating with a Bachelor of Engineering in Surveying and Photogrammetry from California State University at Fresno.
- rina.molari-korgel@cmsc.org
- (817) 675-3541
Gary Confalone
CMS Board Director
Gary Confalone has been working in the metrology industry for the past 20 plus years. He attended and presented at CMSC early on in his career while he was a Systems Engineer at Sikorsky Aircraft – a job he took out of college in the late 1980s.
- gary.confalone@cmsc.org
- (978) 621-0846
Chuck Pfeffer
CMS Board Director
Chuck Pfeffer is VP of Product Marketing at Cupix. His career in metrology and product management took him from a small startup to FARO Technologies, where he significantly contributed to their growth and innovation.
- chuck.pfeffer@cmsc.org
- (610) 331-9182
Mike Gunn
CMS Board Director
Mike Gunn is the president and founder of 3SPACE Inc., a metrology services firm. Mike holds a civil engineering degree from the University of Maine. Upon graduation, he spent 10 years at Newport News Shipbuilding as a shipwright engineer. Mike has been a member of the Coordinate Metrology Society since 1984 and is a past chairman. He is also a member of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers, and the American Nuclear Society.
- mike.gunn@cmsc.org
- (321) 427-8126
Matthew Ilardo
CMS Board Director
Matthew Ilardo is a senior Engineer at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), where he leads the Survey & Alignment Group responsible for the construction and precision alignment of the new Electron-Ion Collider (EIC) facility and accelerator.
He also oversees alignment operations for the existing Collider Accelerator and supporting facilities, ensuring the continued performance and accuracy of BNL?s advanced particle physics infrastructure.
With nearly three decades of experience in engineering and surveying, and over a decade focused on metrology. Matthew has been instrumental in developing and implementing cutting-edge alignment techniques and instrumentation. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering and an Associate of Science in Architecture from Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston, MA.
At BNL, his responsibilities include pre-survey analysis, data post-processing, research and development of metrology instrumentation and techniques, and personnel support, training, and management. He is a Certified Trainer in surveying, mapping, and scanning equipment and software, providing expert instruction and technical support across these domains.
Matthew is deeply involved in the professional metrology community, currently serving as Chair of the CMS Certification and Measurement/Education Zone Committees. He previously led the development of the Level-Two Laser Tracker Certification Exam and continues to contribute to industry standards and education. In addition to his technical and leadership roles, Matthew serves as a hotel liaison and provides conference technology support. He is responsible for creating and managing conference registration platforms and scheduling websites, ensuring seamless and professional event execution.
- matthew.ilardo@cmsc.org
- (631) 790-3232
Stephen Kyle
CMS Board Director
Stephen Kyle has a degree in engineering from the University of Cambridge and a PhD in industrial measurement from University College London. He currently holds a part-time position as a Principal Research Fellow in Large-Volume Metrology at University College London.
The funding project will finish at the end of March 2026 but he expects to continue as a research fellow, working with Stuart Robson who is UCL’s Professor of Photogrammetry and Laser Scanning.
He and Stuart are both co-authors, with Prof. Jan Boehm (UCL) of Prof. Thomas Luhmann’s textbook “Close-Range Photogrammetry and 3D Imaging”. This is the English version of Thomas’ original book in German “Nahbereichsphotogrammetrie”. He is also joint translator of “Photogrammetrie” by Prof. Karl Kraus (Vienna) and has 88 publications in the related fields of large-volume metrology, industrial surveying and industrial photogrammetry. These are a mix of journal papers, conference presentations, technical articles, translations and patents.
Stephen’s excellent knowledge of German was mostly gained as an employee of Leica Geosystems in Switzerland. Here he acquired extensive experience of commercial metrology systems development including, for example, the 6D laser tracker for which he proposed the spatially distributed targets subsequently incorporated in the distinctive design of the T-Probe.
Stephen is also on the organizing committee of the 3D Metrology Conference (3DMC – www.3dmc.events) which took much of its concept from the CMSC. The 3DMC celebrated its 10th anniversary in September 2025 and is an international European conference which has so far been delivered in Germany, the UK and Spain. There are concrete plans for the conference to be hosted in Brazil, possibly as early as March 2026.
- stephen.kyle@cmsc.org
Joe Sabol
CMS Board Director
Director of ship fitting, welding, and metrology at Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS), Joe Sabol has 39 years of experience in optical and 3D industrial measurement in the land surveying, shipbuilding, and commercial nuclear environment.
- joe.sabol@cmsc.org
- (757) 202-0756
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