Aeronautical / Aerospace / Aerodynamics Engineering Expert Witnesses: 4

Jason S. Kiddy, PhD, PE, CFEI, is a principal at Aither Forensics Engineering, LLC, a forensics consulting firm located in Maryland. Dr. Kiddy spent over 20 years in various industries prior to becoming a full-time expert witness. He has broad industry experience in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from which to draw extensive knowledge on a wide variety of topics. Dr. Kiddy holds eight U.S. and four foreign patents. His work experience includes the following industries:

Oil and Gas - Aircraft and Helicopter Design - Marine Structures - Telecommunications  

Dr. Kiddy has expertise in mechanical design, mechanical systems, hydraulics/pneumatics, plumbing / HVAC systems, corrosion, codes and standards, and warnings / instructions. He also has substantial experience in intellectual property matters ranging from invention disclosures, patent prosecution, and continuing through IP disputes. From a product design standpoint, Dr. Kiddy's experience includes all aspects of a product life cycle such as early stage R&D, product development and qualification, manufacturing, quality control, and failure analysis.  

Litigation Support - Dr. Kiddy regularly assists both plaintiff and defense parties with extremely competitive rates, timely service, and expert advice. As an expert witness, he has supported dozens of matters including opining on such topics as: product liability, construction defects, industrial equipment, premise maintenance and liability (slips, trips, and falls), and heavy equipment.

Areas of Expertise

Mechanical Systems Product Liability Premise Liability Plumbing Equipment Warnings and Instructions Codes and Standards Heavy Equipment Manufacturing Processes Slips, Trips and Falls High Pressure Systems Industrial Equipment

Fire Origin and Cause Hunting Equipment Construction Defects Intellectual Property Transducer and Sensor Design Shock and Vibrations Quality Control Systems Electro-Optics and Optical Sensing Thermal Testing Failure Analysis Product Life Cycle

John Hoschette, BSEE, MSEE is an Electrical Engineer and Engineering Manager with over 25 years of experience at companies such as Smiths Medical, Lockheed Martin, Honeywell, Loral, Alliant Techsystems and Rockwell Collins. This has provided him exposure to the engineering methods of organizations nationwide and an acute understanding of all aspects of an engineering career.

Mr. Hoschette has managed engineering groups as large as 125 people with overall responsibility for business operations, employee salary administration, hiring, termination and career development. He has been involved in cases of employee termination for drugs, layoffs, harassment, non-performance and violation of company business ethics issues.

His primary responsibility as an engineering manager when dealing with employee issues has been to enforce company policies and procedures to ensure fair and lawful handling of employee discipline and terminations cases when necessary. This involves coordination of Human Resources and Legal Counsel to ensure company liability is minimized.

Mr. Hoschette's technical work encompasses developing the next generation mission computers for the F-35, P-3, F-16 and F-22 jet fighter aircraft and his technical expertise is Optical Data Networking. His career has covered designing, testing, and fielding of advanced electronics in areas such as: developing infrared sensors for night vision, laser sensors for weapons, helmet mounted displays and fiber channel networks.

Mr. Hoschette is also an author of two books, “Career Advancement and Survival for Engineers” and “The Engineers Career Guide." He has also been adjunct professor and instructed career development courses for engineers at Tufts University in Boston, Santa Clara University and University of Minnesota.

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Dr. James Rice has over 35 years of technical and managerial experience in both industry and academia. He has a strong technical background in broad areas of mechanical engineering ranging from fluid mechanics and heat transfer to basic design. Dr. Rice’s primary expertise is in computational methods and simulation in mechanical engineering. His mechanical engineering practice has focused in particular on the development and application of these methods to a diverse range of applications in industry, and has also used these methods in his litigation support activities.

Dr. Rice has extensive experience as an expert witness in patent litigation involving issues in Mechanical Engineering. Over the last ten years, he has provided litigation support in more than 30 cases including approximately 25 patent cases. This experience has included the preparation of numerous expert reports, depositions, and trial testimony for both plaintiff and defense attorneys. His litigation support activities have also included testing and analysis as required to support his opinions.

Dr. Rice is the author of over 30 technical publications and has consulted for over fifty companies. He has conducted over 200 seminars and short courses in the U.S., Europe, and the Orient, and has been an invited speaker at international engineering conferences.

Expertise:

Computational Methods Heat Transfer / Thermodynamics Turbomachinery Combustion Fluid Mechanics

Finite Element Analysis Mechanical Design Intellectual Property Prior Art Review Infringement & Invalidity

Industries and Applications:
Automotive:
Vehicle Aerodynamics Passenger Compartment Flow Underhood Flow & Heat Transfer Intake & Exhaust Manifolds Intake & Exhaust Valves Engine Cooling Jackets	Power Steering Components Cooling Fans Fuel Delivery Systems Ejectors Control Valves Torque Converters
Power Generation:	Electronics:
Valves Fossil & Nuclear Heat Exchangers Thermal Stratification Separation Systems Combustion Systems	Enclosures Heat Sinks Natural / Forced Convection Hard Drive Flow Motors
HVAC:	Turbomachinery:
Duct Systems and Components Valves, Fittings Flow & Temperature Distribution Particle Dispersion	Pumps Compressors Blowers Fans
Aerospace:
Aerodynamics Wind tunnels Rotor Loads

Rapperport Associates, Inc., provides exceptional capability in Failure Analysis, Fire and Explosion Investigation, Accident Reconstruction, Structural Analysis, Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Metallurgy and Materials Science. We have provided superior technical support for litigation since 1974, and possess an extraordinarily talented technical team with impeccable academic and industrial credentials and proven analysis capability. Our team of distinguished scientists and engineers is drawn principally from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.) and Stanford University. AREAS OF EXPERTISE:

Failure Analysis Structural Design Analysis Metallurgical Failures Finite Element Stress Analysis Fracture and Fatigue Analysis Scanning Electron Microscopy Corrosion

Accident Reconstruction Automobiles / Trucks Biomechanics / Injury Mechanism Off-Road Vehicles Occupant Motion Aircraft Animation

Fire & Explosion Analysis Cause and Origin Electrical Gases, Liquids and Dust Industrial Processes

Safety Machine and Industrial Safety Machine Guarding Construction Failures Slips, Trips, Falls

Engineering

• Mechanical
• Structural / Civil
• Metallurgy
• Materials Science
• Aeronautics and Astronautics
• Electrical