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

Gene Farmer is president of Gene Farmer and Associates, Architects and Planners an award winning architecture firm. He has over thirty years of experience in the Design of numerous Residential and Commercial Projects in Florida, Texas, Illinois and Minnesota. His work has been published both locally and nationally and he has received numerous awards including two F.A.M.E. awards and the prestigious Price Waterhouse South Florida Business Journal "Up and Comer Award for 1990".

Mr. Farmer holds a license to practice architecture in the State of Florida, an N.C.A.R.B. Certification, a Dade County Sub-Builder Certificate, and is a certified International Building Code Congress International (IBCCI) Building Inspector and has been a certified OSHA 500 instructor. In 2009 he also became a LEED Accreditited Professional, (LEED-AP).

Mr. Farmer has served as an Expert Witness in numerous cases ranging from Construction Defects to Construction Claims Analysis.

Gene Farmer is an Associate Professor and Director of the Undergraduate Program, in the Department of Construction Management, in the College of Engineering and Computing at Florida International University. His teaching specialties include Principles of Construction Management, Building Construction Materials, Sustainable Construction, Building Codes, Quality Control in Construction, and Electrical, Mechanical and Plumbing Systems in Buildings.

In addition to his book entitled Architectural Detailing for Commercial Construction, published by McGraw Hill in 1991, he has a new book entitled “Sustainable Construction a LEED Approach to Construction Management", which is scheduled to be published in 2011 by Delmar-Cengage. He is currently working on his third book entitled “Fundementals of Construction Management” which should be completed in 2011.

Dr. Barzegar is a registered Professional Engineer with 25 years of experience as a Civil/Structural Engineering & Forensic Consultant, Construction Project Manager and Educator. He has been retained by insurance companies, law firms, construction, high-tech, mining and manufacturing industries, governmental and educational institutions, engineering and architectural firms, and individuals. He provides services to insurance companies, defense counsel and plaintiff attorneys.

AREAS of EXPERTISE

• Expert Consulting & Witness; Insurance Claim, Legal Support, Peer Reviews

• Buildings, Structures & Materials: Residential, Commercial, Institutional & Historic; Bridges, Towers, Stacks/Chimneys, Containment Vessels, Grain Silos, Conduits & Pipelines, Retaining Walls, Foundations, Slabs & Pavements; Concrete, Steel, Composite, Wood, CMU, Brick Masonry & Adobe

• Design, Construction, Performance, Repair & Retrofit Issues

• Construction Defects & Accidents; Defective Concrete; OSHA Standards

• Code Compliance; Seismic Resistant Design; Errors & Omissions; Standards of Care

• Damage & Failure Investigation; Due Diligence; Non-Destructive Testing; Analysis/Report

• Vibration, Explosion, Impact, Earthquake, Wind, Fire, Hurricane & Flood Damage Investigations

• Pile Driving & Demolition Damage to Adjacent Facilities; Cracking & Settlement

• Dynamic, Stress & Thermal Analysis; Finite Element Method; Product Design; Failure Simulation/Reconstru

James I. Daniel, PE, REWC - Building Construction Consultant, Dispute Resolutions

Jim Daniel is Principal and Executive Vice President of Building & Environmental Consultants, a division of ITC Experts, Inc. With 33 years of experience, Mr. Daniel specializes in investigation, testing, evaluation and design of repairs for non-performing construction systems including exterior building facades, roofing systems, wall systems, foundations, windows and building fenestration, curtain walls, and interior gypsum drywall and plaster systems. Exterior facade expertise includes, among others, brick, concrete and limestone masonry; exterior insulation and finish systems (EIFS); direct-applied exterior finish systems (DEFS); one-coat and three coat exterior portland cement plaster (traditional stucco); wood, metal, fiber-cement board, and vinyl sidings; thin brick, tile and exposed aggregate finish systems; glass fiber reinforced concrete (GFRC); glass curtain wall systems; joint sealants; flashing; and waterproof coating systems. Roofing expertise involves steep and low-sloped roofs including asphalt, wood, slate, and tile shingles; single ply membrane roofing; modified-bitumen roofing (MBR); built-up roofing (BUR); spray polyurethane foam (SPF) roofing; metal roofs; and associated expansion joints, scuppers, copings and flashing. He is a Licensed Professional Engineer in the States of Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Texas, and Wisconsin and has NCEES certification. He also is a Registered Exterior Wall Consultant (REWC) through The Institute of Roofing, Waterproofing, & Building Envelope Professionals (RCI). View Curriculum Vitae.

Edward Malnar, FMP - Building Defects and Insurance Claims Investigations

Mr. Malnar is a Senior Consultant with Building & Environmental Consultants, a division of ITC Experts, Inc. He specializes in investigation, evaluation, testing and repair of non performing construction systems involving roofing, exterior walls, windows, building fenestration, foundations, and various other components of the exterior building envelope. Roofing expertise encompasses residential systems including asphalt composite shingles, wood shingles and shakes, natural stone (slate), and terra-cotta/clay tiles; commercial systems including poly-vinyl chloride (reinforced and unreinforced PVC), modified-bitumen roofing (MBR), built-up roofing (BUR), and metal roofs. Exterior cladding expertise includes brick, concrete, and limestone masonry; exterior insulation and finish systems (EIFS); exterior Portland cement plaster (traditional stucco); wood, aluminum, and vinyl siding. While employed at HPZS Architects in Chicago, Illinois, Mr. Malnar specialized in management of projects for exterior envelope restoration. He performed field exploration and produced reports for prescriptive remedial recommendations of problems related to roof, wall, and window systems. Mr. Malnar was a key team member for the time sensitive historic façade and roof restoration for Soldier Field in Chicago, in anticipation of the World Cup Soccer in 1994. He managed the construction phase of the historic copper roof restoration for the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. He was the primary investigator of all building facades and remedial repair supervision for Fulton House, 345 North Canal Street, Chicago, IL. View Curriculum Vitae.

John Fildes, PhD - Chemical, Materials, Product Development

Dr. Fildes has over 30 years of highly successful experience as a business leader, technology manager, researcher, and practicing scientist in dispute resolution and insurance investigation. His Ph.D is in Chemistry (Physical) from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, and his B.S. is in Chemistry from Georgetown University. He has specialized throughout his career in the role that materials contribute to the limitations and failures of products and systems, and he is especially skilled at diagnosing the root cause of problems and problem solving, and determining the limitations of testing, analysis, and modeling. He often sees key issues and devises approaches that others have missed. He is a combination of statesman, educator, and scientist, and is able to successfully convey, with credibility and confidence, highly technical issues to laypeople. Dr. Fildes has a broad range of experience with materials that includes resins, composites, ceramics, and metals used in automotive, aerospace, electronic, and construction. He also has extensive experience with developing structure-property relationships for real world applications of materials, developing materials processing models including use of artificial intelligence, using electrochemical techniques for characterizing coatings and electronic materials as well as for measuring corrosion, sensors and measurement instrumentation, signal processing, statistics, data analysis, and friction and wear of materials including applying mechanisms of wear to actual situations and developing and applying test methods for real world applications. View Curriculum Vitae.

Jason R. Babcock, PhD - Chemistry and Materials Consulting

Dr. Babcock has formal training in chemistry, physics, mathematics, and materials property analysis. He has specialized throughout his career in the role that materials contribute to the limitations and failures of products and systems. He has substantial experience in a variety of materials, corrosion, measurement instrumentation, materials testing, materials processing and processing equipment, chemistry, R&D practices, and project management. Dr. Babcock has a broad General Chemistry knowledge that is invaluable to understanding the interaction of materials on a molecular level. He has extensive experience designing and building experimental apparatus and performing analytical testing of a wide variety of materials, interpreting the results, and providing detailed reports summarizing the findings. He can provide practical and comprehensive testing that is independent and unbiased. He has practical experience performing a broad range of tests to determine the strength, physical, chemical, and wear properties of metals, ceramics, composites, and plastics. Dr. Babcock is the author of over forty technical papers and holds five patents. View Curriculum Vitae.

Richard J. M. Bidwell, PE - Chemical, Industrial Incident Investigator

Ric Bidwell is a Licensed Professional Chemical Engineer that brings to ITC Expert Services nearly 30 years of multidisciplinary engineering experience. He has fully utilized his diverse hands-on experience in the national and international investigations of fires and explosions involving residential, commercial, chemical industrial facilities and heavy equipment. He has also been responsible for failure analysis and incident investigations relating to industrial and chemical processes or process equipment, chemical exposure, industrial accidents and safety.

Mr. Bidwell has nearly two decades of experience in all engineering aspects of chemical processing and industrial plant operations, including design, maintenance, safety and bulk material handling and transportation. Clients have included major petroleum and chemical producers, fuel gas companies and suppliers, the United States Chemical Hazard and Safety Board (CSB) and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Mr. Bidwell Specializes in:

Fire and Explosion Investigation Natural Gas, LP and Propane Systems Chemical and Industrial Processes Industrial Incident Investigations Chemical Release and Exposure Bulk Material Transportation Incident Investigation

Plumbing, Piping and Pumping Systems Combustion & Heating Equipment Industrial and Commercial Safety Industrial and Heavy Equipment HVAC and Refrigeration Equipment

View Curriculum Vitae.

Kevin Pedersen, CFI, CFEI - Director, Fire Investigations

Mr. Pedersen, an investigator for over sixteen years, has extensive training in fire and explosion investigation techniques and experience in many forensic disciplines. He is certified in fire, explosion and arson investigation, holding both CFI (Certified Fire Investigator) and CFEI (Certified Fire and Explosions Investigator) certifications from the International Association of Arson Investigators (IAAI) and the National Association of Fire Investigators (NAFI), respectively. He is an Illinois licensed Private Detective, a Wisconsin licensed Private Detective, and a trained and accomplished evidence photographer. He has worked on investigations for both civil and criminal cases involving industrial accidents, traffic accidents and fires involving injuries, fatalities and property damage. He has also worked on criminal investigations involving surveillance, assault and battery, and homicides occurring during shootings, cases of arson, and bombings. Mr. Pedersen spent five years as a major crimes investigator for the City of Chicago Police Department in their Bomb and Arson Unit where he investigated over 1,000 incidents involving many major crimes. His experience includes incidents and explosions involving natural gas and propane, as well as residential and industrial fires, and fires in machinery and appliances. View Curriculum Vitae.

John Kulwiec has over 30 years of widely varied experience as a practicing Architect, designing all types of buildings and facilities, including Construction Observation and hands-on construction experience. This makes him uniquely qualified to analyze construction methods.

Areas of Expertise:

Working Drawings

As-Built Drawings

Change Orders

Errors and Omissions

Interpretation of Findings by Other Expert Witnesses

Standard of Care

Copyright Infringement

Dr. Richard F. Lynch has over 35 years of industrial experience in all areas of Metallurgical and Material Forensic Investigations, including 11 years with a major metals producing and processing company. He serves as an Expert Witness / Consultant on Steel, Nonferrous Metals, and Non-Metallic Materials.

As a U.S. patent holder, Dr. Lynch has authored and/or presented over 60 technical papers on the properties and uses of galvanized steel, cast and wrought non-ferrous and ferrous products, pretreatments for painting metallic surfaces, product development and ASTM standards.

Dr. Lynch's client base includes attorneys and companies requiring failure analysis, metallurgical testing, or assistance with end product manufacture, metallurgical processing, casting, galvanizing, zinc production, surface treatments, metallurgical process licensing, international metals research and market research.

Areas of Expertise:

Fracture

Corrosion Failure

Galvanized Steel

Ferrous

Nonferrous

Polymers

Composites

Paint Failure

Standards / Specifications

Failure of Structural Materials, Fabricated Products, Fuel Tanks

Surface Preparation

Metal Pretreatments & Painting of Galvanized Steel

Gordon E. Lakso is available for retention as a consultant and expert in Product Defect Investigations involving Failure of Materials. He has Testified as an Expert more than 125 times.

Mr. Lakso is practiced at (1) looking for pre-existing defects or deficiencies and (2) comparing the use or application of product to its capabilities. In the initial phase of the investigation, he reviews the available information on the failure and recommend tests and examinations necessary to arrive at the root cause for failure from a materials standpoint.

Services Offered:

On-Site Inspection

Scanning Electron Microscopy

Metallography

Optical Microscopy

Hardness testing

Macro-Photography

Field Metallography

David S. Dickey, Ph.D. is an Industrial Mixing Expert. He has more than twenty-five years of experience in Chemical Engineering, Applied Research, and Creative Development for the design of process equipment and applications.

He has extensive engineering experience in liquid mixing applications and equipment and additional experience in solids mixing, heat transfer, distillation and mass transfer, plus combustion, catalytic, and reaction kinetics. Dr. Dickey also has a strong background in computer utilization for design, simulation, analysis and word processing.

Services Offered:

Process Improvement

Pilot Plant Development

Short Courses - Training Seminars

Plant Review

Equipment Specification

Proposal Evaluation

Expert Witness

Engineering Services

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Headquartered in Houston with over 30 U.S. offices plus London, Rimkus Consulting Group, Inc. is a global leader in forensic investigations, forensic engineering, forensic sciences and forensic accounting. Rimkus offers the services of over 300 full-time seasoned professionals with expertise in virtually all technical and business fields. In business for over 25 years, clients include the Domestic and International Insurance Industry, Attorneys, Industrial and Commercial Health, Safety and Risk Managers, and others.

Rimkus takes pride in its professional approach to all assignments. Each assignment is performed under the assumption that litigation will ensue, and appropriate records and evidentiary chains of custody are maintained. Client communications are clear and explanatory to insure that opinions and conclusions are complete and well supported.

Many clients find Rimkus to be their one-stop shopping place for experts. Rimkus offers forensic expert witnesses and forensic consultants in most technical fields, including all areas of Engineering, Construction, Environmental Sciences, Fires and Explosions, Oil and Gas, Forensic Accounting, Business Interruption Claims, Surety, Business Valuations, Business Analysis, Safety and Industrial Hygiene, and Animation. In the forensic engineering arena alone, we offer virtually all disciplines including:

Forensic Mechanical Engineers

Forensic Electrical Engineers

Forensic Civil Engineers

Forensic Structural Engineers

Forensic Chemical Engineers

Forensic Metallurgical Engineers

Forensic Naval Engineers

Complex technical claims often require the use of experts in more than one field to find the right answer. Rimkus brings that to you. Our website features detailed information on our areas of expertise and short CVs of key Rimkus experts in those areas. Give us a try. You'll be glad you did.