Since 1994 Michael Blaha has been a consultant and trainer in conceiving, architecting, modeling, designing, and tuning databases. He has worked with dozens of organizations around the world. Blaha has authored seven U.S. patents, six books, and numerous articles. He received his doctorate from Washington University in St. Louis and is an alumnus of GE Global Research in Schenectady, New York. He has worked in many problem domains and specializes in financial applications.