Michael Nranian, JD, MBA, MS has more than 25 years on Product Development, Intellectual Property, Patent Development and Litigation, Legal and Technical Compliance, and Product Liability Litigation. He is a licensed attorney in Michigan, Texas, and the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Mr. Nranian is a Six Sigma Black Belt, Professional Engineer, and Certified Project Management Professional. He has an in-depth background and education in Law, Electrical, Chemical, Computer Engineering, and Business Financial Management.

Mr. Nranian’s expert witness litigation background includes patent infringement / non-infringement, patent validity / invalidity, prior art searches, and file-wrapper estoppel, for both ITC and Federal cases. He analyzes patents and products, prepares claim charts for Markman hearings, produces expert witness reports, and testifies with respect to all of these areas. He is thoroughly familiar with all 101, 102, 103, 112 and other enablement and prior art arguments.

Mr. Nranian also conducts Product and Technology Analysis, Patentability and Prior Art Research, and Provides Litigation Support and Technology Education of Intellectual Property.His experience includes Technology Standards Boards and Licensing Authorities, Antitrust / DOJ, Technology Development and Transfers, Patents, Trademarks, Trade Secrets, and Copyrights.

Mr. Nranian’s Product Liability Expert Witness litigation background includes all types of Safety Systems, Electrical Systems, Fires, Accident Reconstruction, and Evaluation of Alternative Designs for Automotive, Medical and other industries. He has over 20 years of experience in the development of Automotive Safety Systems in all aspects of Sensors, Seatbelts, Airbags / Curtains, Seats, Diagnostic Systems, Crash Recorders, Structure (including roof-crush and door) and System Design. Mr. Nranian has developed and designed front, side and roll-over systems (including sensing and algorithm development) for Ford, GM, and other domestic and international corporations. He is thoroughly familiar with all regulatory (including FMVSS) and corporate due-care requirements.

Bison is a multi-disciplined engineering firm specializing in failure analysis, forensic engineering and fire sciences with a team of P.E.'s who have performed thousands of forensic assignments including in excess of 1,000 fuel gas investigations.

Legal professionals turn to Bison to scientifically conduct investigations to determine the cause of destructive events. Forensic Engineers provide expert testimony and consultation. Investigations include explosions, fires, carbon monoxide incidents, electrical fires and failures, structural failures, mechanical failures, accident reconstruction, specialized testing, and courtroom presentations:

Fuel Gas Incidents: Fire and Explosion Causation; Propane Explosions, Natural Gas Explosion, Gas Delivery Systems; Carbon Monoxide Testing and Evaluation, Production and Migration Investigations; Plant & Pipeline, Piping Evaluation; Operational Analysis; Appliance Evaluation; Code Compliance; Soil Gas Migration; Vapor Dispersion

Fire Investigation and Explosion Analysis: Cause and Origin, Scene Documentation; Collection of Evidence; Certified Fire Investigator

Electrical Engineering: Electrically Related Fires, Electrical Service and Wiring Failures, Production Facility Service and Controls for Chemical, Petroleum, and Distribution Facilities, Electrical Contacts, Electrocutions; Lightning Strikes

Mechanical Engineering: Equipment Design and Operation; High-Pressure Oilfield Equipment; Pump Design and Operation; HVAC Systems; High and Low-Pressure Seals; Plastic Part Design and Manufacture, Industrial Equipment

Accident Reconstruction: Accident Sequence Reconstruction; Speed, Time and Distance Calculations; Crush Damage; Braking; Steering and Mechanical Analysis, including Tires; Electrical System / Electronic Failures; Mechanical and Fuel Systems; Airbag and Seatbelt Fatalities/Injuries; Staged Vehicle Impact

Failure Analysis: Industrial Equipment, Vehicle Impacts, Airbags and Seat Belts; Elevator Failures; Helmet and other Protective Equipment Failures; Infant Crib Design Inadequacies; Carbon Monoxide Investigations, Crane Failures, etc.

Metallurgical Engineering: Metal Fatigue of Gas Compressor Components; Electrical Contact Evaluations; Cracking of Structural Plastics; Chemical Analysis; Corrosion & Stress Evaluation and Analysis; SEM Analysis; Electron/Optical Microscopy; X-ray Examination

Bison's clients argue their cases with confidence, secure in the knowledge that their claims are based on unbiased, scientific data.

The CECON Group, Inc.

Consulting in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Materials, Nanotechnology, Mechanical Engineering, Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology and Related Science and Engineering Fields. Technical Experts with Experience in Patent Litigation, Products Liability and Personal Injury.

Our inside technical professionals will help you find the expert you need, either from CECON's network of over 1200 science, engineering, and technical business experts in 19 countries, or by doing a custom search. We will help you find the best consultant for your project. Advantages are:

Quick response, and no fee until the expert is working for you

Inside technical staff is able to understand the nuances of your project and effectively screen experts for your case.

Skilled at quickly assembling multidisciplinary technical expert teams.

26 years of experience serving the legal community and industry.

Litigation Experts For:

Products liability, patents and trade secrets, chemical and fire hazards, OSHA, EPA, FDA compliance, labeling, fitness for use, failure analysis, evidence evaluation, forensic investigation, insurance claims, damage valuation, IP valuation.

What CECON Consultants Do:

CECON consultants have decades of experience in industry, federal agencies and academia. CECON's strength is in finding the right consultant for your exact need from a world class network of technical experts. If the expert is not a CECON Consultant, we will use our external network to find the expert that meets your specifications.

Areas of Expertise:

Agriculture Bio Technology Ceramic / Glass Chemical Analysis Chemical Engineering Chemistry Composites Controlled Release Electrical Electronic Energy Engineering Environment Failure Analysis FDA Compliance Fermentation Fertilizer Fibers / Films / Coatings Food / Beverage Food Engineering Geo Science Hazardous Materials

Herbicides Insurance Legal: Expert Testimony Legal: Patents Manufacturing Materials Engineering Material Safety Medical Device Medicinal Chemistry Metals / Metallurgy Nanotechnology Particle Size Pesticides Pharmaceutical Physics / Optics / Magnetics Polymers / Plastics Regulatory Compliance Safety / Risk Assessment Sensors Toxicity

Dr. John Newport specializes in Materials Science and brings over 39 years of industrial R&D to bear on problem solving. Dr. Newport has a track record in Product Development and Program Management. His expertise is in Patent Prosecution and Defense and he offers technical resource services in intellectual property oppositions and defense.

Dr. Newport's laboratory facilities are available for contract research projects. He is Computer literate (Basic, Fortran and C++ programming, Linux, symbolic math [Macsyma, Derive, MathCAD], Scientist® [modelling], non-linear regression, and business software packages) and speaks some Japanese

Dr. Newport Consults in the General Areas of:

Polymer Science - Physical Chemistry, Emulsion & Condensation Polymerization, Diffusion and Solubility

Surface Science - Wetting, Adsorption, Adhesion, Coefficient of Friction, Emulsification, Formulation

Polyolefin Fibers and Films

Polymer Melt Rheology (die design and threadline extensional rheology; oriented films)

Paper Chemicals

Formulation of Emulsions and Latexes

Surface Oxidation & Modification

Diffusion in Polymers

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Carter B. Conlin, P. E. is a Licensed Professional Chemical Engineer. For the last 22 years, Mr. Conlin has been the president of the Chemical Engineering Consulting Firm, Conlin & Associates, Inc. He has worked to analyze government regulations and devise strategies for compliance. Mr. Conlin has also created a computerized tracking system to assist companies in complying with environmental regulations for production of reformulated and conventional gasoline under the Federal Clean Air Act.

Service and Areas of Expertise Include:

Design Engineering Processes for Refineries and Chemical Plants

Refinery and Chemical Plant Operations

Computer Blend Gasoline, Diesel and Jet Fuel for Optimum Quality and Cost Effectiveness

Engineering Design

Provide Expert Testimony in Lawsuits

Blending and Trading of Refined Products

Trade Petroleum Products

Design Computer Programs to Solve Engineering Problems

Sell and Dispose of Salvage Cargoes of Petroleum Products

Teach Refining Operations at Houston Petroleum Institute

Dr. Joseph D. Jolson has over 28 years of industrial experience providing Product Development, Product Support, Litigation, Subrogation, and Intellectual Property Services. He has championed the development of two-dozen commercially successful products. Dr. Jolson's experience includes:

The development, testing, use, and analysis of failed aqueous and lithium batteries

The development, placement, testing, use and analysis of failed carbon monoxide, chlorine, combustible gas, ethylene oxide, hydrogen, hydrogen sulfide, oxygen, nitric oxide, nitrogen dioxide, and volatile organic hydrocarbon gas detectors

The development, testing, use and analysis of failed air purifying respirators including self-contained self-rescuers

Areas of Expertise:

Batteries

Chemical Analysis

Gas Detection

Failure Analysis

Industrial Hygiene & Safety

Laboratory Safety

Material Safety Data Sheets

Mine Safety

Product Testing

Respiratory Protection

Dr. Edward Funk is a Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Illinois, Chicago. He also provides consulting to attorneys in the following areas:

Chemical Engineering

Chemical Products

Polymers

Patent Infringement

Hazardous Materials

Environmental Technology

He has extensive experience in chemistry-related technology from R&D with Exxon and Honeywell, and is the author of 6 U.S. patents and over 60 technical publications.

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Dr. David W. Riley is an Extrusion Analysis & Plastics Rheological Consultant. Dr. Riley has spent over nineteen years as a consultant in the field of Plastic Processing. He has over forty years of experience in developing Polymer Defect Technology and fifteen years in developing the field of Plastic and Polymer coefficient of friction related to the feed section of the extruder.

Areas of Expertise:

Expert Witness

Analytical Instrumentation Adaptation to Processing Equipment

Friction Analysis

Melt Rheology

Extrusion Equipment: Design & Analysis of Production

Telecommunication Cables and Insulation

Power Cables and Testing XLDPE

All phases of PVC Compounding & Extrusion

Thermal Stability of Polymers

Surface Chemistry, Metals & Polymers

Dr. Mark Goldstein, Ph.D. has 29 years of leading expertise in Carbon Monoxide Safety and Carbon Monoxide Poisoning. He is the President of Quantum Group, which manufactures carbon monoxide alarms, controls and sensor.

Dr. Goldstein was a founder and President of the Carbon Monoxide Safety and Health Association (COSHA). He served on Underwriters Laboratory's Standards Technical Panel (STP) of experts and currently serves on several panels for carbon monoxide alarms.

Dr. Goldstein has managed large projects for private American companies, U.S. government agencies, and foreign companies. He has over 30 patents and has published over 40 papers in scientific journals and magazines.

Areas of Expertise:

• Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
• Forensic Science and Engineering
• Explosions
• Fire
• Sensors
• Air Purification
• Accident Reconstruction
• Gasoline and Other Hydrocarbon Pollutants

Technical assistance to counsel in litigation involving Chemical and Environmental Forensics, Hazardous Waste, Hazardous Materials, Regulatory Compliance, Dioxins, Fires and Explosions at waste facilities and cement plants, and injury or chemical exposure claims due to hazardous materials or hazardous operations.

GCI provides the technical expertise and develops the evidentiary basis for legal arguments relying on or involving:

Industrial and environmental chemical forensic analysis

Causation proved by fate and transport of chemicals and their degradation products in the environment

Appropriate standard of care for and regulations of hazardous waste and hazardous materials

Safety and prevention of catastrophic events such as fires and explosions

Prevention of injury or chemical exposure resulting from hazardous materials or hazardous materials operations

Prevention of chemical spills and/or proper management of historical environmental contamination