011158 Consulting Senior Electrical Engineer
Description
Senior Electrical Engineer has over 35 years of investigative experience in accident investigations, evaluations, damage assessments and fire investigations involving electrical distribution, construction, farm, medical, and computing equipment, as well as appliances and power tools.
Cases investigated have ranged from residential wiring and small appliances to automotive systems, large industrial machinery, shipboard equipment, electric power generating equipment, and electrical distribution systems including transformers and substation equipment. Issues addressed have included operation of electrical distribution network protection, electrocutions, burns and shocks, and NEC/NESC and OSHA requirements. He has also served as a consultant to other forensic investigators and accident re-constructionists in complex cases.
Qualified as an expert in over 20 different courts, including local and federal courts.
With a total of over forty years of college level teaching experience and professional interaction with experts in other fields of engineering and science, this expert retired after 38 years from a tenured professorship at the U. S. Naval Academy. He has authored numerous papers regarding electrical equipment for use aboard U.S. Navy vessels (both classified and unclassified documents). He has also authored or co-authored six published papers relating to electrical/electronic engineering test design for electrical and electronic components exposed to unusual ambient conditions.
He is a Certified Fire and Explosion Investigator (CFEI). Certification is based upon experience plus time-limited, proctored, written examination.
Academic Background
- University of Maryland, BS EE – 1959
- University of Maryland, MS EE – 1962
- University of Maryland, PhD EE – 1968
Continuing Education/Training
- Electrical Fire Investigation, University of Wisconsin, 1982
- Grounding of Electrical Distribution Systems, Electrical Design Institute, NC State Univ., 1983
- Computer System Power Supply Design, Electrical Design Institute, NC State Univ., 1985
- Electrical Fire Investigation, Extension School, Univ. of Delaware, 1988
- Fire and Explosion Investigator Training, National Association of Fire Investigators Seminar, 1989
- Lightning Protection Seminar, Baltimore Section of IEEE, 1992
- AC Electrical Systems in Boats, ABYC Seminar, Tampa, FL, 1993
- Development of Power Electronics Curricula, NSF Seminar, Orlando, FL, 1993
- Switch Mode Power Supply Design Seminar, APEC 2000, New Orleans, LA, 2000
- LabVIEW Basics, King of Prussia, PA, 2000
- Teaching Power Electronics Courses, NSF Seminar, Tempe, AZ 2002
- Fire and Explosion Investigator Training, NAFI Seminar, Sarasota, FL, August 2002
- Investigating and Litigating Utility Contact Accidents, Clapp Research Associates, Myrtle Beach, SC, May 2006
- Fire and Explosion Investigator Training, NAFI Seminar, Sarasota, FL, August 2007
- NFPA 70, National Electrical Code 2008, NFPA Seminar, Baltimore, MD, October 2007
- NFPA 70E, Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace, NFPA Seminar, Orlando, FL, December 2007
Professional Registration
- Registered Professional Engineer, State of Maryland
- Certified Fire and Explosion Investigator, NAFI
Professional Experience
RTI Group, LLC, Annapolis, MD, Consulting Senior Electrical Engineer, 2011 – present
U.S. Naval Academy 1968 – 2006. Professor of Electrical Engineering. Served as Electrical Engineering Department Chair, 1991- 1993. Served as civilian Associate Chair to military Chairs from 1993 to 2006. Courses taught, with associated laboratories, ranged from electrical and electronic circuits, computer electronics, and computer interfacing, to electric power generation, distribution, and utilization.
- From 1979 through 1990, served as instructor for the electrical machinery, power distribution, and power electronics course required of all electrical engineering majors. Updated older laboratory experiments and developed new experiments to demonstrate basic power electronics concepts.
- From 1995 through 2006, served as instructor and coordinator for the capstone Electrical Engineering Senior Design Project sequence, supervising over 100 different student design projects. In response to evolving ABET (Accrediting Board for Engineering and Technology) requirements, developed classroom materials to address non-technical concerns in engineering that included codes and standards, safety, and human factors in engineering.
- In addition to teaching duties, for 20 of the past 30 years, performed research funded by the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (Washington, D.C.) and the Naval Surface Warfare Center (Annapolis, MD) to determine susceptibility of electronic components to environmental stresses and the effects of unique electrical loads on shipboard electrical distribution systems, including system stability, generator control and stability, and fault analysis. Have presented papers at various professional society meetings, including International Measurement and Test Technology Conference, and Nuclear and Space Radiation Effects Conferences.
IIT Research Institute 1968 – 1977. Communications Systems Analyst (part-time position). Performed modeling and test design for co-sited communications equipments with associated analyses.
University of Maryland 1966 – 1968. Electrical Engineering Instructor, Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering, College Park, MD (Main Campus). Taught courses in electrical and electronic circuits and computer programming.
Johns Hopkins University – Applied Physics Lab 1963 – 1966. Control Systems Engineer. Performed design and analysis of missile autopilots and other control systems. Programmed analog and digital computers for system simulations and developed circuit design procedures using operational amplifiers.
U.S. Naval Ordnance Laboratory 1961 – 1963. Instrumentation and Test Engineer. Developed test procedures, obtained data from accelerometer and sonar sensors, and analyzed results for various electrical/electronic systems.
Professional Associations
American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), Member
Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), Life Member,
- IEEE Instrumentation and Measurement Society, Member
- IEEE Industrial Electronics Society, Member
- IEEE Power Engineering Society, Member
National Association of Fire Investigators (NAFI), Member
Maryland Fire and Explosive Investigators Association (MFEIA), Member
National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), Electrical Section Member
Honors and Awards
- Meritorious Civilian Service Award, 1992
- Superior Civilian Service Award, 2002
- Superior Civilian Service Award, 2006
- Professor Emeritus, 2008