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Mechanical Engineer Board Certified, Fire Expert, Ignition of Solid, Ignition of Liquid, Gaseous Fuels, Flame Spread, Fire Spread, Flammable Liquid, Self Heating, Spontaneous Combustion, Wildland Fires, Vehicle Fires, Warehouse Fires, Industrial Fires, Explosions, Laptop Fires, Smoke Detector Product Liability, Residential Fires, Fire Reconstruction, Fire Modeling, LNG Spills, Spacecraft Fire Safety, Applied Physics, Aviation Aircraft Fire, Aviation Aircraft Crash, Electrical Transformer Fire, Rack Storage Fire, Naphthalene, Oil Well Gas Ignition, Oil Well Gas Explosion, Hydrogen Explosion, Rocket Propellant Plant, CFD Modeling of Flame, Piloted Ignition, Diesel Engines Applications, Vapor Fuel Radiation Absorption, Combustion Modified Polyurethane Foam, Trajectories of Embers, Combustion Science,

EDUCATION

  • PhD – Mechanical Engineering (major field: combustion), University of California, Berkeley, 2006
  • BS/MS  – Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, 2000/2002

OVERVIEW

Expert is a founding partner and Principal Engineer at a Private Engineering Inc., a thermal sciences consulting firm based in California. He earned his PhD in the Combustion and Fire Processes Laboratory at the University of California working on NASA projects to better understand the behavior of fire in zero gravity conditions.  Expert brings a diverse background to engineering, with research and development experience in academia and the private sector, in combustion, bioengineering and mechanical design combined with practical experience as a Rescue Captain and Paramedic in the San Francisco Fire Department. He is a lecturer in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at University of California, in the Fire Protection Engineering graduate program at Cal Poly, and in thermo-fluid sciences at a private University. Expert  is a fire expert with comprehensive experience in the fire testing laboratory and with sophisticated analysis and modeling tools. He is an experienced designer and peer reviewer of building fire safety systems, especially performance based systems supported by computational methods and experimental mock-ups. Expert has broad experience as an expert in legal matters, conducting fire scene investigations, review of expert opinions, evidence collection, systems analysis, experimental investigations, computational fire modeling and graphics support for trial and mediation.


EMPLOYMENT HISTORY

8/08 – present
Private Engineering, Berkeley, CA
Founding Partner and Principal Engineer

  • Development of experimental programs in support of product development, thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, heat transfer, instrumentation, control and data acquisition
  • Fire litigation support – analysis, modeling, and theory, fire inspections/investigations
  • Computer fire modeling: forensic fire reconstruction, prediction of heat release rate via fire growth modeling, fire timeline recreation, time to untenability/incapacitation by smoke or heat, calculation of smoke detector and sprinkler activation times, onset of flashover
  • Ignition and flame spread of materials, evolved species, heat transfer and deformation

2013-Present
University of California, Lecturer

  • Thermo-fluid sciences

2011-Present
California Poly, Program in Fire Protection Engineering, Instructor

  • Flammability Assessment Methods, Smoke Management and Special Hazards

2008-Present
Private University, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Adjunct Professor

  • Graduate and Undergraduate courses in Fluid Mechanics, Thermodynamics, Combustion, Fire Dynamics, and Internal Combustion Engine Technology

09/08 – 09/11
University of California, Post-Doctoral Researcher, Staff Researcher

  • Development of carbon neutral fuels from cellulosic feedstock, Scale model and laser imaging of building smoke flows for innovative ventilation (under floor, natural) systems and validation of FDS models, Combustion testing and modeling to characterize fuels and measure energy efficiency of specially developed stoves for use in developing countries.

1/07 – 8/08
Arup Fire, San Francisco, CA Fire Protection Specialist
Worked in conjunction with engineering teams, architects, and approving authorities, to develop integrated fire safety strategies for buildings and transportation systems.

07/91 – 06/99
San Francisco Fire Department, San Francisco, CA, Paramedic/Rescue Captain

  • Provided 911 emergency services, conducted community disaster training, implemented federal multi-agency programs to manage causalities of weapons of mass destruction.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONSAvailable Upon Request

DEPOSITION AND MEDIATION HISTORYAvailable Upon Request

PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES

  • Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE)
  • National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)
  • American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM)
  • International Association of Fire Safety Scientists (IAFSS)

JOURNAL REVIEWER

  • Fire Safety Journal
  • Journal of Building and Environment
  • Fire Technology
  • Fire Science and Technology
  • Proceedings of the Combustion Institute
  • Mediterranean Combustion Symposium

 

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