John Rasmussen, 45, is the head of the AnyBody Research Project and holds a professorship in biomechanics at Aalborg University, Denmark. John earned his PhD in design optimization of structures and mechanical systems in 1989 and subsequently supervised several teams of students designing extremely light but functional bicycle frames based on topology and shape optimization in finite element systems, for instance a 913 gram aluminum frame.

In 1996 he got into a discussion with Michael Damsgaard about the necessity of modeling the rider together with the bicycle. The ideas forged between Michael’s multibody expertise and John’s knowledge of optimization became the AnyBody Research Project and subsequently the spin-off company AnyBody Technology.

John lives in Aalborg, Denmark, with his wife and two kids and a garden he never has time to tend to. He hates administration and loves mechanics and sport with equal amounts of passion. He used to play ice hockey but now burns his calories on football (the type erroneously called soccer by the Americans), badminton and tennis.

Michael, 37, is Head of R&D, key developer and software architect in AnyBody Technology.

He holds a MSc and a PhD in mechanical engineering from Aalborg University, Denmark, where he became an Associate Research Professor prior to joining AnyBody. Michael’s primary academic interest and his former research topic is multibody dynamics.

In 1997 Michael wrote the first piece of code for what later became the AnyBody Modeling System (together with John Rasmussen). He is a co-founder of AnyBody Technology and a member of the Board of Directors.

Michael lives with his wife and two children in a village 2km from the office in Aalborg. Located next to a forest in rural sorroundings their home often serves as base camp for hiking and running expeditions. Their passion for  wilderness, mountains, and other challenges often brings them outside Denmark, for instance for skiing in the winter time. Michael plays in the local soccer club, even though he says that it is difficult to satisfy his ambitions in a team sport when being used to solo sports like running, biking, and karate. “In particular when ambitions are not matched by time and skills”, he reluctantly adds.

Søren, 38 is Support Manager in AnyBody Technology. He holds a MSc and a PhD in mechanical engineering from Aalborg University, Denmark, where he became Associate Research Professor prior to joining AnyBody Technology), he is a co-founder of AnyBody Technology. Søren’s primary former academic interest is numeric analysis and optimization of structural acoustic problems.

In 1999 Søren joined the AnyBody Research project working on shoulder modelling, seated human, car package design models and repository structuring. He co-founded AnyBody Technology and joined the company in 2004 to work on client’s model as a consultant and supporter.

Søren lives with his wife and two children in a suburb 3 km from the office in Aalborg. In his spare time Søren is busy reconstructing their home by himself. This work-in- progress started out 1 1/2 years ago with a typical dull one floor house from the sixties. The house is now gradually turning into a modern stylish two store bungalow - Søren added an extra floor to the house while replacing the roof. Søren has - as you may have guessed - a vivid interest in modern architecture and design.

Sylvain, 25 joined Anybody Technology in February 2008 he is working partly with consulting and support.

He graduated from the mechanical engineering school ICAM in Toulouse, France, in 2006. The focus was mostly about automotive and aeronautic mechanics.
Sylvain first experience with AnyBody was in 2006 as an exchange student at Aalborg University. The project was the modelling of a detailed thoracic spine to investigate scoliosis. It was quite successful and from then on he converted from the traditional mechanic to biomechanics.

He likes travelling, and has been for one year in South America after finishing the studies, here he met his future wife, weeding is planned for December 2008.
He is living in a small nice flat close to the centre of Aalborg, trying to resist the Danish winter (which is not always easy for a southern French guy). He practices the judo and has the brown belt now, sometimes also a bit of tennis.

Sebastian Dendorfer, 31, is a senior consultant.

He got a diploma in civil engineering from the University of Applied Sciences Regensburg and an MSc in computational mechanics from the Technische Universitaet Muenchen. Afterwards he worked for 4 years in the biomechanics laboratory at the University of Applied Sciences Regensburg. His research involved both, numerical and experimental studies on implant, trauma and tissue mechanics. He received his Phd in mechanical engineering from the University Paderborn in 2008 with a work on the cyclic deformation and fatigue behaviour of cancellous bone.

In early 2008 he joined AnyBody as part of the support team and moved with his family from Germany to Denmark. He lives 4 km from the office together with his wife and two kids. His favourite spare time activities are sports like running and football as well as the never-ending search for the perfect guitar tone.

Mark de Zee, 36, is a co-founder of AnyBody. Mark a biomedical engineer specialized in biomechanics and musculoskeletal modeling. His main research interest is to develop, validate and apply musculoskeletal models to basic research, clinical problems and sport science.

Mark’s work is taking place in the Department of Health Science and Technology at Aalborg University, where he operates as a Research Assistant Professor. His latest projects concern the development and validation of a neck model, as well as the biomechanical analysis of prosthetic discs in the lumbar spine.

Mark is very active in sports. He is fond of mountainbiking, bicycle racing, and speed skating. Mark is a Dutch citizen, but has lived in Denmark for many years. He is married, has 2 kids and a big yellow cat that is often mistaken for a cougar. He lives in the same suburbian village one mile from the office as Michael Damsgaard and Arne Kiis – 3 family guys rockin’ the neighborhood.

Michael Skipper Andersen, 30, is an Assistant Professor in the AnyBody Research Project, Aalborg University. He holds a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering and a M. Sc. E.E. in intelligent autonomous systems both from Aalborg University. His main research interests are in Musculoskeletal modeling and control theory.

In his spare time, Michael enjoys to play to soccer and music. He lives about 10 km from the university together with his Canadian wife.