Engineering (General) Expert Witnesses: 91

Anthony S. Boom is an Electrical Engineer and Escalator Controls Expert Witness with over 35 years in the escalator business. Currently providing expert witness services though Cetek, Inc., he spent the last three decades working as an Electrical Engineer with Montgomery Escalator and KONE R&D, escalator division.

Three patents Mr. Boom received while working at Montgomery and at KONE include one for Safety Switch and Method of Checked Redundancy, utilized in all of the current transit escalator safety circuits; an Apparatus and Method for Variable Torque Braking of Escalator and Moving Walkways; and a Method and Conveyor System for KONE Sleep Mode Controller.

Litigation Support - Mr. Boom offers expert witness services to attorneys representing plaintiff and defense. Services include expert witness testimony, written or oral affidavits, site inspections, technical investigations, technical review documentation, etc. 

Areas of Expertise:

Electrical Engineering Escalators Vertical Transportation Electrical Controls Escalator Control Circuitry Logic Escalator PLC Control Software Program Logic

Escalator Brake Control Escalator Braking Systems Escalator Safety Escalator Safety Circuits Moving Walkways National Electrical Code

Background Experience and Accomplishments:

• Designed and developed many custom escalator electrical controls. He also designed and wrote the code for Montgomery Escalator and KONE escalator controls, including the controls for the Trans 180 escalator platform (the ES373’s model).
• Developed diagnostic guides for escalator controllers and braking systems and technical bulletins for all aspects of the escalator electrical control system.
• Oversaw the CSA certification of the escalator control and brake systems.
• Supervised and trained electrical and mechanical engineers.
• Provided tech support to KONE personnel regarding Otis controls and performed power studies on a variety of Otis escalators. 

Selected Case Experience:

• 2022: Escalator at department store, PA: Alleged injury on escalator.
• 2023: High rise transit escalator, NY: Ongoing.
• 2023: Public transportation escalator, NY: Ongoing.  See CV for Full List

Gregory J. Cahanin, CP works in the Fire Protection Engineering field. Over 40 years of experience in the application of sound engineering principles work to produce results in litigation cases. He is nationally recognized as a Life Safety and Fire Protection expert. He performs fire origin and cause, fire alarm, fire sprinkler, kitchen suppression, fire wall and compartmentation failures, and slip and fall forensic investigations.

Gregory J. Cahanin Fire & Code Consulting has been based in St. Petersburg, FL for over 25 years.

Background - Mr. Cahanin served as a Senior Life Safety Engineer with the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), the organization that writes Fire Protection Codes and Standards. He was staff liaison for building construction standards and the Fire Prevention Code. Special project work included support of the International Division of NFPA in a survey of fire protection for all oil production facilities of LaGoven SA in Venezuela; an evaluation of the existing airport terminal in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil; and a code comparison study for the National Institute of Building Sciences. Mr. Cahanin investigated multiple fatality fires for NFPA and his reports are nationally published and peer reviewed. Mr. Cahanin holds Professional Grade Membership in the Society of Fire Protection Engineers. Mr. Cahanin has earned three undergraduate degrees in Fire Science and Fire Protection and a Master in Public Administration.

Litigation Support - Mr. Cahanin regularly testifies in fire cases offering opinions on the origin and cause of fires in addition to component failures in construction, fire sprinkler systems, kitchen suppression systems and product failures. He is nationally published on fire protection requirements in the building code as a contributing editor on the 2006 edition of the International Building Code (IBC) Commentary where he edited the sections on fire-resistance rated construction. He currently serves on code committees with both the NFPA and ICC. Mr. Cahanin holds a NALA paralegal certification and is well versed in Civil Procedure, interrogatory, expert report writing, and trial procedures. 

Mr. Cahanin meets the professional qualifications of NFPA 1033, Standard for Professional Qualifications for Fire Investigator as documented in a Florida Declaratory Statement held by no other fire expert in the state of Florida. Investigations of note include the Warwick. R.I. Station Nightclub Fire in 2003 with 100 fatalities. In Wyatt v. Security Alarms Co., Inc. key testimony on the failure of a Viking automatic fire sprinkler established a product liability that resulted in a $1.4M dollar jury award for Wyatt in Oklahoma. Mr. Cahanin's services are available to plaintiff and defendant attorneys. Case work can include site investigation, materials testing, thorough reporting, depositions, and trial testimony.

Areas of Expertise:

Fire Origin and Cause Determination Kitchen Fire Suppression Systems Fire Hazard Analysis Fire Sprinklers Fire-based Construction Defects CPVC Sprinkler Pipe Failure

Fire Walls and Compartmentation Life Safety Egress & Compliance Fire & Building Code Compliance Explosion Analysis and Cause Fire Alarm Failures Walking Surface Slip Trip & Fall

View Cahanin Fire & Code's Consulting Profile.

Peter Crosby has over 45 years experience in the Medical Devices Industry. He has served as  CEO of six medical device companies (public and private) in four countries, and has been a member of the board (including chairman of the board) of over 10 companies. Mr. Crosby is an accomplished entrepreneur and company builder, and has brought many medical device products to the world market. He is an inventor on over 50 US patents and applications.

Education includes a Bachelor of Engineering (Electrical) and Master of Engineering Science (Biomedical Engineering).

Litigation Support - Mr. Crosby has served as an expert  in many cases including product liability, intellectual property (patent disputes including infringement, validity, IPR and ITC), alleged misappropriation of trade secrets, fiduciary duty of directors, and commercial contracts disputes (including commercially reasonable efforts"). 

Product Expertise:

Implantable Devices Cochlear Implants Cardiac Pacemakers Implantable Defibrillators Artificial Hearts and LVADs

Neurostimulation Devices In Vitro Diagnostics Medical Device Software Patient Monitoring Imaging / Ultrasound and X-Ray)

View Peter Crosby's Consulting Profile.

Dr. Rolf Biernath, PhD, Chemical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, and BChE, Georgia Institute of Technology) has over 35 years of experience in the Chemical Industry with a concentration on Polymer Science and Engineering and Material Science Fracture Mechanics. He worked in Materials and Processes at 3M for 31 years in senior technical roles developing materials, processes, and systems. His 58 US patents span a broad range of scientific and engineering disciplines.

Litigation Support - Dr. Biernath is a Patent & Civil Liability Expert Witness having worked with in-house and outside attorneys in prior art searches. He's drafted claims and strategized claims in a variety of fields. He has written Expert Reports for Civil Liability, including material failure analysis, computer simulation, and manufacturing assessment. He is known for his ability to explain complex technical problems simply.

Areas of Expertise:

Adhesives and Tapes Polymer Engineering Failure Analysis and Prediction Electronic Displays (LCD, ePaper) Light Sources (LEDs, LASERS) Short-Wave InfraRed (SWIR) imaging

Applied Physics Metrology Optical Sensors Optical Films Mid-IR Sensors and Emitters Physics-based Digital Twins, Computer Modeling

Background Experience - Dr. Biernath has 58 Issued US Patents on new products and processes, including:

• Industrial Adhesives and Tapes – materials selection, development, automation, and tape application processes
• Electronic Materials – epoxy thermoset adhesives & application process, high speed electronic connectors
• Electronic Displays and optical display films, outdoor digital displays
• Microreplication and textured adhesives and processes, microfluidics, e-Paper
• Signage – retroreflective signage, license plate recognition, ADAS, and Human Invisible, Machine-Readable Coding System
• IoT and IIoT / Automatic and predictive selection and replacement

Dr. Biernath has expertise in stresses in planar systems due to a range of causes including, thermal expansion mismatch, humidity and solvent uptake or loss, and cure shrinkage. He understands assembly processes for tapes and adhesives including interpreting Technical Data Sheets, Application Data Sheets, developing test methods, and selecting materials.

View Biernath Consulting, Inc.'s Business Consultant Profile.

Carl Berkowitz, PE, Ph.D., AICP, is a Transportation and Traffic Engineering expert with almost 50 years of expertise. He's held various managerial and administrative positions in the transportation industry, government, private, and academic sectors.

Dr. Berkowitz has extensive multi-modal experience in planning, design, engineering, safety, security, construction, maintenance, operations, and management. He has written and edited numerous reports, studies, articles, and columns for major publications, journals, newspapers and scholarly periodicals.

Background Experience:

• Transportation and Traffic Engineering Consultant, 1988 - Present
• New York City Department of Transportation, New York, 1970 – 88
• New York State Office of Planning Coordination, New York, 1967 - 70
• New York State Department of Transportation, Babylon, NY, 1963 - 67
• New York City Transit Authority, New York, 1962 - 63

Litigation Support - Dr. Berkowitz has served as a litigation consultant since 1997.  He has the background and experience to make him ideally suited to contribute important information at every stage in the litigation process. Dr. Berkowitz is able to explain complex issues in layman terms, suggest strategies, investigate and uncover facts, perform literature reviews, research, and prepare safety evaluations. He has been deposed / testified over 50 times in the last 5 years.

Accident Investigation & Reconstruction Slip Trip & Fall Pedestrian & Bicycle Safety Railroad Safety Bus & Truck Safety Biomechanics & Human Factors Student Safety FELA & OSHA Accessibility / ADA Parking Lots & Garages

Construction Safety Elevators & Escalators Equipment & Machinery Traffic Engineering Traffic Lighting / Visibility Transportation Engineering Transportation Safety Transportation Rules & Regulations Terminals Walking & Working Surfaces

Richard F. Beaubien, PE, PTOE is a Professional Traffic Operations Engineer and Managing Director at Beaubien Engineering. He was previously Transportation Department Head at Hubbell, Roth & Clark, Consulting Engineers for more than 23 years. Mr. Beaubien's employment experience includes 5 years as a highway engineer with the Federal Highway Administration and 14 years as the traffic engineer for the City of Troy, Michigan. Mr. Beaubien is a past International President of the Institute of Transportation Engineers and the past President of the Intelligent Transportation Society of Michigan. He currently chairs the Metro Detroit Traffic Incident Management Coordinating Committee. Richard Beaubien is a registered professional engineer in several jurisdictions.He has been certtified by the Transportation Professional Certification Board as a Professional Traffic Operarations Engineer and a Road Safety Professional.   His litigation support services are available to attorneys for both Plaintiff and Defense. He has testified in court several times. Specialty Areas:

Municipal Traffic Engineering Transportation Planning Traffic Engineering Highway Design Road Traffic

Traffic System Operations Road Safety Intelligent Transportation Systems Traffic Incident Management

View Richard Beaubien's Consulting Profile.

Michael Nranian, JD, MBA, MS has over 30 years experience focusing in Product Development, Intellectual Property, Patent Litigation, Legal and Technical Compliance, and Product Liability Litigation. He is a licensed attorney in Michigan, Texas, & the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Mr. Nranian is a Six Sigma Black Belt, Professional Engineer, & Certified Project Management Professional. He has an in-depth background and education in Law, IP, Electrical, Chemical & Computer Engineering, & Business. He has testified extensively as an expert witness in depositions, hearings, and trials in state & federal courts.

Mr. Nranian conducts Product and Technology Analysis, Patentability & Prior Art Research,and provides Technology & Litigation Support for Intellectual Property. His litigation background includes patent infringement / non-infringement under literal infringement and the doctrine of equivalents, patent validity / invalidity, prior art, & file-wrapper estoppel, for both ITC and Federal cases, including Inter Partes reviews. He conducts analysis of patents and products, prepares claim charts, & expert witness reports. This includes testimony and document preparation for cases before state, and federal court jurisdictions, and the International Trade Commission and the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.

Mr. Nranian is thoroughly familiar with all 101, 102, 103, 112, and other enablement and prior art arguments. His experience includes Technology Standards Boards and Licensing Authorities, Antitrust / DOJ, Technology Development and Transfer, Patents, Trademarks, Trade Secrets, and Copyrights, Licensing, Unfair Competition/Trade, False/Deceptive Advertising, & Lanham Act Actions, & Class Actions.

His 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 29 years of experience in Automotive Safety Systems, Sensors, Seatbelts, Airbags / Curtains, Seats, Diagnostic Systems, Crash Recorders, Crash Pulse Analysis, System Diagnostic, Fault Codes, Structure (including roof-crush and door) and front, side & roll-over systems (including sensing and algorithm development) for domestic and international corporations. He is thoroughly familiar with all regulatory (including FMVSS), and corporate due-care requirements, & preemption arguments, occupant kinematics, & injury causation.

Architectural Forensics Consulting is a team of highly skilled professionals is committed to delivering exceptional services in Architectural Forensics. They are a trusted forensic and consulting company with over 50 years of combined professional experience throughout the US. ArchiForensics offers a range of expert witness, building-related claim defense, building enclosure commissioning, architectural review consulting, and due diligence actions for property acquisition.

Litigation Support - Architectural Forensics Consulting opines on professional practice issues, Architect’s standard of care, contract dispute, breech of duty, and other practice areas often encountered in claims involving the Architect’s performance or construction related issues. With years of experience and a team of experts who are actively practicing Architects with current AIA, NCARB, BECxP, and CSI accreditations, they provide top-notch analysis and reporting to help clients make informed decisions about their particular case or project.

Areas of Expertise:

Building Design and Construction Architectural Review Construction Defects Building Enclosure Failure Property Condition Assessments ADA Evaluations Water Infiltration

Roof Failure Window Failure Microbial Growth / Mold Failure Analysis Slip Trip & Fall Moisture / Condensation Issues Flood Damage, Building Inspection

Dan Weekes, AIA, NCARB, BECxP, CxA+BE, has over 25 years of Architectural and Engineering Building Envelope and consulting project management as well as litigation and deposition proceedings.

Mr. Weeks is responsible for many different types of investigations, forensic evaluations, and providing consulting services surrounding all areas of building design and construction. His focus is serving as an expert witness, building enclosure evaluations and commissioning, water infiltration investigations, architectural review consulting, property condition assessments, ADA evaluations, and construction administration services associated with construction and design.

As a licensed Architect, he also has experience with the design of new facilities and the implementation of repair programs to existing residential, commercial, and institutional facilities.

Jim Stutzman, AIA, NCARB, CSI has over 45 years of exceptional Building Construction and Investigative Design work with an emphasis on expert litigation cases and design coordination.

Mr. Stutzman is a Forensic Architect providing forensic analysis of building related claims, moisture intrusion claims, component problem and failure analysis, standard of care evaluation, dispute resolution, construction products liability, investigative analysis, reconstruction, cost-impact analysis and supporting documentation, timelines, and exhibits supporting claims for losses and remedy determination in courtroom and private settlements.

Forensic consulting services are focused on defense attorneys, insurance companies, financial institutions, developers, municipalities, and private clients.

View Architectural Forensic Consultants Business Consulting Profile.

Ole E. Haaland, PE, has thirty four years experience in Power Production, Design, Construction, and Commissioning, with 30+ years managing people and projects. Mr. Haaland's experience is in conventional, nuclear, and alternate fuel power plant mechanical and electrical systems. He has performed as Project Manager, Construction Manager, and Commissioning Manager for several Greenfield power projects.

Mr. Haaland held a senior reactor power operator's license and a number of senior engineering positions at the New York Power Authority prior to joining ANNA. Mr. Haaland received his BSME from the New York Institute of Technology and is a registered professional engineer in many states. He was recently elected to the EGSA Board of Directors for 2015-2017.

Litigation Support - Ole Haaland conducts root cause analysis investigations for counsel representing Plaintiff and Defense. When needed, he provides expert witness testimony for power plant design, construction, and operational failure issues and for parties involved in contract disputes.

Areas of Expertise:

Switchgear Voltage Regulators Turbine Generators Control Systems Hydro Generators Diesel Generators

Condensate Polishers Feed Water Heaters Main Condensers Moisture Separators Electrical Breaker Failures Operational Failures

View Ole Haaland's Consulting Profile.

Wayne J. Seiler, PhD, PE, is a Principal Engineer with All About Pavements Inc (API), with responsibility for Airport, Highway, and Port Pavement engineering and construction projects. With over 38 years of pavement engineering expertise, he is a Registered Professional Engineer in Minnesota, Illinois, North Carolina, Florida, Virginia, Maryland, and Mississippi.

Dr. Seiler has conducted pavement evaluations and developed numerous pavement designs for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of airports throughout the United States during his 38 year career. As a project manager, he has completed pavement evaluation, rehabilitation design, and pavement management work for several commercial airports, including BWI, Charlotte International Airport, Portland International Airport, Pittsburgh International Airport, O'Hare International Airport, Raleigh-Durham International Airport, Dayton International Airport, Wichita’s Mid-Continental Airport, and Montreal’s Mirabel and Dorval International Airports. These studies were accomplished through extensive records review, thorough investigations, pavement condition index surveys, nondestructive deflection testing, remaining life analyses, rehabilitation design using FAA procedures and more advanced mechanistic analyses, and life cycle cost comparisons.

In 2017, ASCE’s Transportation & Development Institute awarded Dr. Seiler with their national Airfield Pavement Practitioner Award. This award honors and recognizes practicing engineers employed in the airfield pavement engineering profession with demonstrated leadership and achievement in airfield pavement projects.

Litigation Support - Dr. Seiler has provided expert witness and expert consultant services to assist in the investigation of Pavement Failures that have occurred shortly after construction. Engineering services include data collection with Nondestructive Deflection Testing equipment and the use of local geotechnical laboratories at the project site.

To assist in legal case resolution, API owns two Falling Weight Deflectometers that can be used to successfully gather forensic data to complement his pavement expertise. Dr. Seiler recently helped the Cities of Concord and Manchester New Hampshire defend permitting fees that charge utility companies for constructing deep utility cuts that reduce the life of roadways in their cities. The case was successfully defended all the way to the New Hampshire Supreme Court after appeals by the prosecution.

View API's Consulting Profile.

Dr. Adam K. Aleksander, PhD, PE, CSP, has over 40 years of experience in the areas of Mechanical Engineering, Human Factors, and Safety Engineering. He combines both academic credentials and active work in industry to provide a grounded perspective in Product Liability, Industrial Incidents, Warnings, and OSHA related issues. He is also a VP of an Energy Services firm, with over 35 overseas assignments related to forensic services, power utility issues, and equipment failures.

Dr. Aleksander has been a practicing engineer since 1972, focusing his Manufacturing, Consulting and Forensic investigations on Problem Definition and Root Cause Analysis of complex problems in confidential issues. His firm has experience encompassing an enormous variety of claims, from large $45 million dollar dam claims, to environmental clean-up claims, to small road construction claims. His litigation services often involve reconstruction, perception reaction studies, warnings, equipment operation, mechanical failures, industrial accidents, skiing, and bicycling injuries.

As an Expert Witness, Dr. Aleksander has worked with many clients, including plaintiff's and defendant's attorneys, both civil and criminal, attorneys representing corporations, corporations in the power utility area, and corporations that produce products. His services are also available to insurance executives with complex claims issues that involve industrial or utility related losses. Dr. Aleksander has been retained over 125 times in a wide range of technical investigations.

Litigation Expertise:

• Product Liability - Design, Manufacturing and Marketing Defects, Involving Damage, Injury or Fatality
• Equipment Failures - Proximal Cause of Failure with Contributing Factors
• Human Factors, Visibility, Ergonomics, and General Research Issues - Product Usability, Warnings, Instructions, Perception, Reaction Time, Visibility and Conspicuity Issues
• Construction, OSHA, and Safety Engineering - Regulatory and Safety Issues
• Industrial Projects
• Power Utility - Service and Equipment Failures

View Dr. Aleksander's Consulting Profile.

Dr. Amin Terouhid is a Principal Consultant with Adroit Consultants, LLC. He leads a vibrant consulting practice on Construction Claim matters especially in the areas of delay analysis, loss of productivity, claims for changes, construction defects, and injury cases.

Litigation Support - With extensive experience working on several large and mega construction projects internationally and throughout the United States, Dr. Terouhid is a recognized expert in preparing and investigating construction claims. He has served numerous times (in more than 100 cases) in the capacity of a consulting expert.

Dr. Terouhid is currently (Feb 2022) involved in one international arbitration case for a multimillion-dollar claim in the court of London and three other cases, including a construction delay and loss of productivity claim for a megaproject in New York, a construction injury case, and a slip and fall case in the United States.

Areas of Expertise:

Civil Engineering / Industrial Engineering Forensic Schedule and Delay Analysis Construction Safety Slip and Fall/li> Construction Injury Concrete Inspection

Construction Standard of Care Construction Simulation and Modeling Construction Inspection Loss of Productivity Critical Path Method (CPM) OSHA

Dr. Terouhid is a Professional Engineer (P.E.) in the states of New Jersey, New York, and Texas and has been examined and certified by Project Management Institute (PMI) as a Project Management Professional (PMP) and Risk Management Professional (PMI-RMP), by the Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineering (AACE International) as a Planning and Scheduling Professional (PSP) and a Decision and Risk Management Professional (DRMP), and by SAVE International as a Certified Value Specialist (CVS). Amin was a recipient of the 2018 AACE International Technical Excellence Award.

Dr. Terouhid is the author of five AACE International recommended practices (RPs) that are used as guidelines with valuable reference information practitioners around the globe.

William R. Acorn is founder of Acorn Consulting Services, LLC, an engineering firm. As a consulting mechanical engineer, Bill provides project analysis, forensic reconstructions and litigation support services relating to the design, delivery, and functioning of high-tech manufacturing facilities, semiconductor fabrication facilities, institutional laboratories, data centers, health care facilities and a variety of commercial buildings. He is a recognized expert in the evaluation of deficiencies in HVAC systems, cleanrooms, piping systems, refrigeration systems, construction defects, building and fire code compliance, and patent and trade secret disputes. He represents both plaintiffs and defendants.

Bill has more than 40 years of experience as a professional engineer and is a recognized expert in assessing, evaluating, remediating and providing testimony on complex project design, construction and operational matters. His consulting expertise has been influential in shaping approaches to code compliance and life safety in semiconductor and similar advanced technology facilities.

Certifications and Designations:

• Registered as a Professional Mechanical Engineer in the States of Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Utah and Washington.
• Registered with the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying NCEES (Certificate No. 6999)
• Fellow in the HVAC industry leading organization ASHRAE
• Visiting lecturer at the Arizona State University Del E. Webb School of Construction in Tempe, AZ
• Advisor to CREATE, ACE – Alliance for Construction Excellence and the IAB – Industry Advisory Board, all affiliated with ASU

Building Systems Analysis:

HVAC and Refrigeration Process and Power Piping Plumbing Systems Standard of Care in Design and Construction

Chemical Exposures in the Workplace Cleanroom Design and Performance Codes and Standards Patent and Trade Secret Disputes

Litigation Support: Bill’s pragmatic approach to both forensic and litigation consulting as well as project consulting is based on more than 40 years of real-world experience as a design professional, mentor and forensic analyst, as well as many years as an instructor in professional and academic settings. Represented both plaintiffs and defendants in a variety of jurisdictions throughout the US and Asia. Bill’s ability to explain complex issues to non-technical audiences, including juries, mediators and judges, is a key to successfully solving your litigation challenges.

• Forensic Analysis
• Strategic Litigation Consulting
• Trial Demonstratives
• Expert Testimony

Acorn Consulting Services

Consulting Services: Services range from peer review to conceptual design to development of strategies and programs for expedited project delivery.

Bill frequently acts as an owner’s agent and mentor, functioning as an extension of the owner’s project team. On other projects, Bill serves as a subject matter expert assisting project delivery firms in their development of viable solutions and review of construction documents.

As a project consultant, Bill assures the project gets off to the right start and provides his expertise through completion and operation to maximize return on investment.

Consulting Expertise Includes:

• Project Design and Management Consulting
• Forensic Analysis and Litigation Consulting
• Mentoring & Advanced Education

Professional expert in the field of Electromagnetics and Compatibility (EMC) with nearly 45 years working in applied engineering design, testing, certification, education and consulting.  Author of five books on EMC design and application making this complex field easy to understand, "EMC Made Simple". 

Major focus is on engineering principles in all facets of electrical engineering regardless of end use environment. Patent infringement, biological harm, disruption of services are his expertise.

Accomplished safety leader with extensive experience in construction, general industry, manufacturing, marine, oil and gas, and transportation safety practices. A Certified Safety Professional (CSP) with proven expertise in interpreting and implementing safety standards across various sectors. Skilled in safety program development, risk management, and regulatory compliance, including OSHA standards. Recognized for contributing to successful outcomes in OSHA investigations and legal cases.