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Walter Herbst
Clinical Professor – Mechanical Engineering
Director – Master of Product Development Program
McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science
Clinical Professor –Marketing Department
Kellogg School of Management

Dept. of Mechanical Engineering
Northwestern University
2145 Sheridan Road, B224
Evanston, IL 60208-3111, USA

TEL: 847-46-3375
FAX: 312-454-9019
CELL: 847-682-0129

w-herbst@kellogg.northwestern.edu

link to Kellogg School of Management Biography

B. F. A., Industrial Design, University of Illinois, (1959)
Master of Management, Kellogg School, Northwestern University,(1990)

Honors and Awards

Mr. Herbst holds over 80 patents in hardware, houseware and medical products. He is listed in "Who’s Who of American Inventors", as well as other "Who’s Who" publications, and is a frequent contributor of articles in various trade journals.  An expert in his field, he is frequently invited to speak at national and international industry trade shows and events. In addition, he was a recipient of the "Design of the Decade" award from the Industrial Design Society of America for his work with Gillette in the spring of 2001.

He received numerous design awards on an annual basis.

General / Consulting

Walter Herbst currently serves as Chairman for the company he founded in 1962, Herbst LaZar Bell Inc.  The firm is one of the three largest independently owned product design and development firms in the country.  His specific research and expertise have culminated in HLB being recognized as “Experts in the Process of Product Development”. His responsibilities include developing and implementing HLB’s strategic business plan, while maintaining hand-on responsibilities as a senior account supervisor. He is a board member of ASME (the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.    

In the Classroom

Professor Herbst teaches in the Marketing Department of the Kellogg School of Management where he brings his expertise for product development into the class room with a course he designed dealing with the Management of Product Development. For the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science, he created the Master of Product Development Program. The program is the only program in the country that deals with the totality of most of the issues related to product development. The 2 year program has 20 required discrete classes which the part time students complete in 2 years, by virtue of having most of the classes presented as ½ credit classes. Professor Herbst is a Fellow in IDEA, the Institute of Design Engineering and Applications program and is a NCEER Scholar (Northwestern Center for Education Research). Professor Herbst serves on the Advisory Board for the Department of Material Sciences at Arizona State University.