Dr. Francis F. Pitard is a consulting expert in Sampling, Statistical Process Control and Total Quality management. He is President of Francis Pitard Sampling Consultants (www. fpscsampling. com) and Technical Director of Mineral Stats Inc. (www. mineralstats. com) in Broomfield, Colorado, USA. He provides consulting services in many countries. Dr. Pitard has six years of experience with the French Atomic Energy Commission and fifteen years with Amax Extractive R&D. He taught Sampling Theory for the Continuing Education Offices of Colorado School of Mines, The Australian Mineral Foundation, for the Mining Department of the University of Chile, and the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa. He has a Doctorate of Technology from the Aalborg University in Denmark. He is author of several textbooks on Sampling Theory and Practice, two historical novels about Polynesians, Heirs of a Lost Race and Rapa Nui Settlers, and the biography of his great-aunt Aline Virmoux, who was involved in the French Resistance during World War II, in "From Normandy to the Hell of Ravensbrü ck". He is the recipient of the prestigious Pierre Gy's Gold Medal for excellence in promoting and teaching the Theory of Sampling (Cape Town, South Africa, 2009).
