Strategies for Technical Communication in the Workplace

Laura J. Gurak is professor and founding chair of the Department of Writing Studies at the University of Minnesota. She holds an M.S. in technical communication and a Ph.D. in communication and rhetoric from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. She is author of two books from Yale University Press (1997, 2001), the earlier of which was the first book-length work to study online communities and Internet-based social actions. Gurak is also co-editor of several edited collections and author on numerous conference presentations and papers; she is a recipient of the Society for Technical Communication’s Outstanding Article award. Gurak has authored and coauthored five textbooks in technical communication published by Pearson. She has worked as a technical writer and communications consultant for various companies and organizations.

John M. Lannon is Professor Emeritus and former Director of Writing at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, where he developed the undergraduate major in professional writing and later co-developed the M.A. program in professional writing.
He has also taught at Cape Cod Community College, University of Idaho, Southern Vermont College, and University of Strasbourg.
He has authored and coauthored five major textbooks in business communication, rhetoric, and technical communication, book reviews, filmstrips, and environmental documents and instructional software. He is the recipient of an NDEA Fellowship and Fulbright Lectureship. He holds a B.S., M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. His initial training and work was in biomedical science and technology with the USAF. He has served as a communications consultant for various companies and government institutions.  He worked seven years in medical laboratories.