Provides Opinion & Testimony In:
metallurgical, metallurgist, Material selection, material analysis, Failure analysis, Forensic engineering, root cause analysis, litigation consulting, Mechanical testing, tensile, fatigue, bending, impact, charpy V notch, compression, Mechanical Engineering, Materials Testing, materials Evaluation, Micro indentation, Erosion, hardness, Corrosion, wear, Microstructure, metallography, metallographic, Welding, Engineering, PE, Professional engineer, registered engineer, Professor, industrial experience, Ferrous, nonferrous, polymers, ceramics, Characterization, SEM, EDS, Auger, XRD, Surface engineering, surface modification, laser, CVD, PVD, plasma, thermal spray, Nanoscale Science, Nanoscale Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Cast Iron Valve Failure, Freight Elevatory Safety, Electric Car Safety, Copper Alloy Water Line, Tractor Fire, Pedestal Chair Failure, Patent Infringement, Extension Cord Failure, RV Fire, Chimney Fire, ATV Axle, Automotive Bearing, Cervical Stent Failure, Industrial Gear Box, Corrosion of Stainless Steel, Corrosion of Buried Pipeline, Retail Display Collapse, Engine Hoist Failure, Commercial Lifting Strap,
Education
Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, Mechanical Engineering, Dr. James Rawers advisor, Ph.D. 1991 with a minor in statistics.
Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, Metallurgy, Dr. Stephen Spooner advisor, M.S. 1982.
Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, Nuclear Engineering, B.S. 1976.
Summary of Experience
9/00 – Present
A Company, Owner / Principal. Perform metallurgical evaluations, mechanical testing, failure analysis, and forensic metallurgy to solve industrial problems, insurance claims and to provide expert opinions. Serve as expert witness. Develop material performance criteria and selection. Engineer products for entrepreneurs to bring to market. Perform materials characterization: corrosion, wear, structural analysis, SEM / EDS. Perform Finite Element Analysis (FEA) to confirm stress-related assumptions in analyzing failures and in design of components or fixtures. Use statistical software packages to analyze data and model trends and performance. Conduct specialty short courses in Metallurgy and courses tailored to each particular company on all materials-related issues.
5/04 – Present
A University, Mechanical Engineering Department, Adjunct Prof. Teach materials and mechanical courses. Advise senior capstone projects. Mentor and academically advise students.
5/04 – 5/05
Center for Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE), Sr. Research Scientist. Provide metallurgical expertise regarding metallurgy, sample preparation, and evaluation of bulk materials and thin films. Established and maintain metallurgy laboratory.
9/97 – 5/04
Assistant Professor, NDSU, Mechanical Engineering Department. Taught materials courses. Performed research in materials related to surface engineering: corrosion, wear, surface modification.
12/91 – 9/97
Principal Engineer, Babcock and Wilcox, VA. Provided technical support in materials and manufacturing. Studied manufacture and performance (corrosion, microstructure, diffusion bonding) of zirconium and nickel alloys. Studied surface modification techniques. Performed failure analysis.
6/91 – 12/91
Assisted Kaiser Engineers, Oakland, CA in the design of underground waste storage tanks located in Hanford, WA.
6/85 – 6/91
Resident Engineer, Babcock and Wilcox, in Oregon and Utah. Responsible for material performance. Customer representative at Teledyne Wah Chang, Albany, OR and traveled 1 week per month to competitor’s facility, Western Zirconium, Ogden, UT. Resolved technical issues concerning process manufacturing deviations. Examined microstructure and determined resulting affects on corrosion performance.
1980 – 1985
Engineer for Babcock & Wilcox, VA. Interface with companies that provide metals and machining and testing. Solved technical problems as they arose within B&W and problems that developed at the vendor that was pertinent to our material or services. Performed experiments characterizing materials at various process steps, e.g., extrusion and hot rolling. Utilized statistical software package, SAS, to analyze large data bases.
Related Information
Professional Engineer (PE) registered in Virginia, 1986; and North Dakota 1998; additional states readily available; contribute to PE exam and FE exam; patent on improved corrosion performance of laser processed zirconium; member of American Society for Materials, ASM (since 1979), The Minerals, Metals, and Materials Society, TMS (since 1979), National Society for Professional Engineers, NSPE (since 2003), American Welding Society, AWS, (since 2006); past Board of Directors for TMS; past chair for Surface Modification committee for ASM; presented numerous papers and chaired technical sessions at national and international conferences; review panel for National Science Foundation (NSF) proposals; associate editor for international conference on surface modification; review board for Materials and Manufacturing Processes.
Sofware packages include: Alibre, Algor, BoltCALC, CFS, Design Experiment, Engineers Toolbox, Excel, KyPlot, MDSolids, MITCalc, Visual Analysis, Working Model,
Expert Witness Cases (Litigation and Insurance Claims)
Cast iron valve failure
Freight elevator safety
Electric car safety
Copper alloy water line
Tractor fire
Pedestal chair failure
Patent infringement
Extension cord failure
RV fire
Chimney fire
ATV axle
Automotive bearing
Cervical Stent failure
Industrial gear box
Corrosion of stainless steel
Corrosion of buried pipeline
Retail display collapse
Engine hoist failure
Commercial lifting strap
Publications and Presentations
Available upon request.
