Cy Todd
Ilya and I met about a year after he came to the USA with his family. I run a small electronics and automation R&D company (Technimation, Inc.) and Ilya had contacted me for consulting work. Fortunately, I decided to work with him on various consulting projects.
In the 25 years I have been in this business, and of the many mechanical engineers I have worked with, Ilya was the most creative and innovative mechanical engineer I have ever met. His analytic abilities were amazing; he was able not only to see a design problem from all perspectives, he also instinctively knew when to question the validity of the initial design objectives to get at the real design issues.
Almost immediately, we became close and personal friends. Ilya was extremely patient with me, NEVER lost his temper, and supported me with many of his ideas when I wrote project proposals. He was an absolute delight to work with. I can honestly say that the projects we worked on together were the most fun and satisfying of all the 100's of projects I have ever done.
Ilya's loss was terrible beyond words. I and my family mourn his passing.
Sent by Cy Todd
