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About
the Writer
An independent business and
technology writer since 1992, Hans VanderKnyff (VAN-der-kuh-nife)
has served a range of clients, from small consultancies
and nonprofits to multinational corporations, and he has written about
many different industries. He often works with the University of South
Carolina, writing copy about breakthrough research in technology.
Among his freelance clients
he counts the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), BMW Manufacturing,
KEMET Electronics, CH2M HILL, Lockwood Greene, PSMJ Resources, Rust Environment
& Infrastructure (now Earth Tech), the Georgia Department of Natural
Resources, Santee Cooper, the Clemson University Research Foundation,
Automation Engineering, Parsons, and the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce.
Whether the subject is manufacturing,
environmental technology, engineering, construction, power-generation,
pulp and paper, high-tech, finance, health sciences, or research, Hans
has written about it. He has a knack for taking difficult topics and turning
them into highly readable copy.
He was a research associate
at a university think tank where he served as the associate editor and
senior writer for an environmental-technology magazine and as the writer
and editor for a federally funded (DOD-EPA) newsletter. He worked at the
think tank—the Institute for Public Service and Policy Research at
the University of South Carolina—for nearly 12 years. For his work
on the magazine, he received awards from the Society for Technical Communication
(South Carolina and Carolina Foothills Chapters) in 1994, 1997, and 2000.
He's a published writer with
many articles and columns to his credit. Hans has also written and edited
many kinds of communications—marketing materials, public-relations
materials, technical manuals, ad copy, fundraising materials, annual reports,
and more. He helped create the collateral materials, Web copy, event scripts,
and video script for the annual South Carolina Environmental Symposium.
For more than four years, Hans was the freelance business writer for an
IT department.
Hans has ghostwritten articles
and columns for business professionals, technical professionals, and politicians.
He has also drafted a gubernatorial proclamation.
Today he is the editor, on
a freelance basis, of Momentum, the newsletter published by the
University of South Carolina's College of Engineering and Computing.
Hans is the co-author of The
A/E Project Managers' Primer on Working with Public Sector Clients,
published by PSMJ Resources, Inc.
He has profiled companies in
a variety of industries—the environmental, automotive, computer,
chemical, textile, electronics, electroplating, plastics, and food-service
industries, among others. He also brings 20 years of experience in the
engineering/construction/power-generation industries where he served as
a planner/scheduler, consultant, and technical writer.
Hans has also been a contributing
writer to GSA Business, a biweekly business publication serving
the South Carolina cities of Greenville, Spartanburg, and Anderson.
As a consultant, Hans helped
develop—and wrote the documentation for—business-planning programs.
He has guest-lectured a graduate-level engineering class and, at several
companies, trained managers and engineers in the application of project
management software.
EDUCATION
He has a degree in Industrial
Technology/Construction Management from California State University, Long
Beach. His education included courses in technical writing, proposals
and specifications, data processing, computer programming, mechanical
and electrical systems, geology, finance, accounting, management, and
many other engineering, technical, and business subjects. Since then,
he has also received training in nuclear plant systems.
MILITARY EXPERIENCE
His military experience includes
a tour of duty as an Army electronics-maintenance specialist and as an
instructor in electronics and radio repair at the U.S. Army Southeastern
Signal School at Fort Gordon, Georgia.
ABOUT THAT UNUSUAL NAME...
Hans emigrated from the Netherlands
when he was a young boy. He grew up in Southern California, but he has
also lived in Northern California, Arizona, Washington state, North Carolina,
Tennessee, and South Carolina. He is a naturalized American citizen and,
except for his tour of duty in the U.S. Army, he has lived in the United
States ever since he first arrived.
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