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"EDRs take to the road"
Automotive Engineering, October 2006
Although event data recorders (EDRs) - commonly referred to as "black boxes" in the media - have been installed for decades in aircraft and railroad locomotives to record key operating parameters and to provide vital performance data for analyzing crash events, they have only recently been discussed as a possible standard component for all future motor vehicles.
Featuring Bruce E. Ketcham of Exponent, Inc.
"Business On A Warmer Planet"
BusinessWeek, July 17, 2006
Rising temperatures and later winters are already costing millions. How some companies are adapting to the new reality.
Click here to read the article.
Featuring Kristie L. Ebi, Ph.D., M.P.H. of Exponent, Inc.
"Total Knee and Hip Replacement Surgery Projections Show Meteoric Rise by 2030"
American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Public Education & Media Relations, March 24, 2006
The demand for total joint replacement is expected to increase so dramatically in the next 25 years that there may not be enough orthopaedic surgeons to perform the surgeries, as indicated by results from recent research on the topic. As presented at the 73rd Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), the study projects the number of hip and knee replacement procedures that will be performed in the United States through the year 2030.
Click here to read the press release.
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Featuring Steven M. Kurtz, Ph.D. of Exponent, Inc.
"New knees, hips are hot items"
Chicago Tribune, March 24, 2006
As many Americans live longer and exercise more--and many others become increasingly obese--the number of artificial joints that will be needed to replace damaged knees will jump 673 percent by 2030 to 3.48 million a year, a new study said. The need for artificial hips will climb 174 percent over the same period to 572,000 a year, said Steven M. Kurtz of Exponent Inc., an engineering and scientific consulting firm. The study is to be presented Friday at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons' annual meeting at McCormick Place in Chicago.
Click here to read the article.
Featuring Steven M. Kurtz, Ph.D. of Exponent, Inc.
“Perry Mason, Meet Your Expert Technology Witness”
The New York Times, October 4, 2005
Lawsuits over who can profit from ideas and innovation are increasingly a foundation of the technology industry. As a result, competition that once played out in the marketplace is now routinely carried on in the courtroom. That has touched off a quiet race among companies to assemble teams of expert witnesses - the technical specialists and technology-savvy economists who will help sway judge and jury on the intensely complex merits of a patent case.
Click here to view the full article
“Vacuum Effect Could Slow LNG Tanker Spills: Study”
Platts LNG Daily, September 13, 2005
A spill, from a large hole in an LNG vessel potentially caused by a terrorist attack, would be much slower than predicted by most models, an expert said at an LNG conference here Tuesday. That’s because most models don’t take into account the so-called “glugglug” effect of vacuums that are created in sealed tanks when liquids spill out, slowing down the spills until air bubbles travel through the liquids and re-pressurize the vacuums, said Harry Kytomää, director of thermal science and engineering at Exponent.
Featuring Harri Kytomää, Ph.D., of Exponent
“First 330 bomb-seeking robots will start rolling off the line next week”
European and Pacific Stars and Stripes, August, 19, 2005
The first of 330 of the newest robots designed to help soldiers find roadside bombs from a safe distance will start rolling off the assembly line next week, said Ken Zemach, whose company designs the robots.
Click here to view the full article
Featuring Ken Zemach, Ph.D., and Bill Cohen, Ph.D., of Exponent
“Terror Watch on Tappan Zee Bridge”
The Journal News, New York, July 24, 2005
On the evening of the July 7 London bombings, the Rockland Sheriff's Marine Unit was escorting the ferry from Haverstraw to Ossining when an urgent call came over the radio: suspicious vessel at the Tappan Zee Bridge.
Click here to view the full article.
Featuring Vijay Saraf, Ph.D., P.E., of Exponent
“When F.D.A. Says Yes, but Insurers Say No”
New York Times, July 6, 2005
The work that medical device makers put into winning approval for new products does not necessarily persuade insurers to pay for them once they hit the market.
For more information, read the New York Times article.
Featuring Steven M. Kurtz, Ph.D., of Exponent
"It's Not Logical - It's Fun"
Contra Costa Times, June 24, 2005
Exponent statistician Michael Orkin discusses the odds in California's Mega Millions lottery.
Featuring Michael Orkin, Ph.D., of Exponent
Click here to view the full article (free registration required).
"Shooting for the Moon"
San Francisco Chronicle, June 22, 20005
Californians are buying up tickets for the 12-state Mega Millions jackpot of $42 million. Exponent statistician Dr. Michael Orkin discusses the odds of winning.
Featuring Michael Orkin, Ph.D., of Exponent
Click here to view the full article.
"J&J's New Device For Spine Surgery Raises Questions"
Wall Street Journal, June 7, 2005
It sounds like an excellent answer for persistent back pain: an artificial disk, placed between the bones of the spine, that helps the body move naturally. After decades of research by doctors, Johnson& Johnson became the first to market an artificial disk in the U.S. last October, and surgeons are flocking to a J&J training center in Cincinnati to learn how to implant it. Now a vigorous debate has emerged among doctors about the durability of the J& J device and its effectiveness compared with older "fusion" surgery, in which the bones of the spine are fused together. Some surgeons are predicting that a wave of patients will suffer complications over the next 10 to 15 years and need to have the device, called Charite, removed.
Featuring Steven M. Kurtz, Ph.D., of Exponent
"New Portable Surveillance Receivers 'Arm' Israeli Troops"
MIT Technology Review, March 14, 2005
A new communications technology that delivers video to a receiver one-fifth the size of normal is allowing Israeli troops to see what enemies may be lurking just over the next hill or around the next corner.
Click here to read the full article.
Featuring Roger L. McCarthy, Ph.D., P.E., of Exponent
"Costs Make Employers See Smokers as a Drag"
The Los Angeles Times, January 28, 2005
The perceived rising health care costs associated with employee smoking habits has led some companies to force their employees to quit smoking and hire non-smokers.
Click here to read the full article. (Website registration required)
Featuring Michael Halpern, M.D., of Exponent
"Phelps Dodge Hires Experts For Damage Assessment"
TheDay.com, January 12, 2005
Phelps Dodge Copper Products Co. has hired an international engineering firm frequently featured on the History Channel to assess fire and structural damage at the company's Yantic plant. Exponent Inc. has engineering teams to assess industrial fires and structural damage ranging "from simple performance failures to major disasters," according to the firm's Web site. Engineers from the company appear frequently on the History Channel's "Modern Marvels," which includes segments on engineering disasters.
"Don't Judge a Crimp by its Cover"
Connector Specifier, October 2004
In over ten years of manufacturing, a problematic pattern began to emerge for five different models of portable electrical appliances. The appliances were returned for service to the manufacturer with electrical failures. Initially, the exact cause was unknown despite preliminary investigations by the manufacturer. When the recurring failures became associated with a fire hazard, however, the manufacturer immediately assembled an engineering team to look in to the cause of the failures.
Click here to view the full article. (Registration (free) may be required.)
Featuring Scott G. Davis, Ph.D., Andrew Diamond, Will Gans, Peter C. Hinze, Ph.D., and Harri K. Kytomaa, Ph.D., of Exponent
"Signals Mixed on Hands-Free Phone Safety"
Los Angeles Times, October 5, 2004
Recent cell phone studies sponsored by Plantronics, at the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, the American Enterprise Institute and the Brookings Institution, University of Utah, and sponsored by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have different findings about hands-free cell phone use. Legislation on the issue is pending in many states.
Click here to read the article. (registration required)
Featuring Ibraheem Al-Tarawneh, Ph.D., of Exponent
"Rapid Equipping Force Speeds Technology to Frontline Troops"
Defend America, August 6, 2004
Located in a modest workshop on Kandahar Airfield, a unique group of individuals is bringing such modern technology directly to battlefield commanders. A mix of soldiers and civilians bring together conventional knowledge, military skill and creative genius to add an unconventional twist to the military acquisition process. Known as Rapid Equipping Force, REF, this team is dedicated to getting equipment to the soldiers in a fraction of the four to five years it normally takes by building, buying and fielding equipment outside the normal military process.
Click here to read the full article.
Featuring Kenneth D. Zemach, Ph.D., and Al Qualls of Exponent
"Want concrete answers? It's really a civil matter"
Chicago Sun-Times, July 29, 2004
Wear and tear are causing concern at one of big league baseball's shrines. Concrete is crumbling at Chicago's venerable Wrigley Field.
Featuring Julie Rapoport, Ph.D. of Exponent
"The Chronicle 200"
San Francisco Chronicle, May 4, 2004
Exponent made the Chronicle 200, an annual survey of the region's largest public companies in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Click here to read the full article.
"Non-tech companies held steady"
San Jose Mercury News, April 12, 2004
While Silicon Valley's economy continued to sputter last year, non-technology businesses -- power generators, retail chains and employee placement firms -- climbed to steadier financial ground. Sales for the region's crop of non-technology companies in the Silicon Valley 150 rose 11 percent in 2003, more than double the 5 percent sales increase the group reported in 2002. That matched the overall sales results for the tech-dominated SV150. Sales were also up last year for Exponent, a science and engineering consulting firm where revenue rose 21 percent. Growth for the Menlo Park company has been consistent for several years, said Michael Crawford, an analyst with B. Riley & Co.
Click here to read the full article.

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Television/Radio/Web

"Full report of a pipeline integrity analysis of the Camisea Project in Peru"
Inter-American Development Bank, June 7, 2007
The Inter-American Development Bank has released the full report of a pipeline integrity of the gas transportation system prepared by Exponent, Inc.
Click here for the full report.
"Science of Brick"
MegaStructures, National Geographic Channel, November 2, 2006
Science of Brick takes viewers on a exploration of some of the greatest brick structures on the planet, such as the awe-inspiring Great Wall of China and the legendary Markets of Trajan in Rome and shows us the step-by-step process of transforming a brick into a rock hard building material.
Featuring Roger L. McCarthy, Ph.D., P.E., of Exponent
"Global warming: It's already 'too late'"
The Ross Report, San Francisco Chronicle, September 27, 2006
Despite measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, an emerging consensus believe it is "too late," according to private insurance companies as well as environmental groups.
Click here for more information.
Featuring Kristie L. Ebi, Ph.D., M.P.H. of Exponent
"Alcoa Fjardaál Study Shows Alcoa Building One of the Most Environmentally-Friendly Smelters in the World"
Alcoa: Iceland, April 26, 2006
Alcoa announced that Iceland’s National Planning Agency had released the environmental impact assessment for Alcoa’s Fjardaál smelter project in Iceland, one of the largest private-sector investments in the country’s history. In addition to completing the environmental impact assessment, Alcoa employed Exponent, a leading engineering and science consulting firm, to perform a risk analysis of the project to assess any possible impact from emissions on human health, animal life and vegetation. This was the first time that a risk analysis was conducted in Iceland in conjunction with an environmental impact assessment. The results showed negligible impact on human health and animals as well as negligible impact to vegetation outside of the project’s dilution zone.
Click here for more information on the Alcoa: Iceland website.
"Independent Panel Commissioned by Guidant Issues Report and Recommendations"
Guidant, March 21, 2006
The Independent Panel first convened in August 2005 by the Chair, Dr. Robert J. Myerburg, at the request of Guidant Corporation, issued its Report on findings and recommendations regarding surveillance and communications surrounding the performance of life-sustaining implantable cardiac devices. An Exponent Scientist was one of the 12 members of the Panel. The Panel's report in its entirety and background information regarding the Panel can be viewed at www.guidant.com/panel/.
Featuring M. Jane Teta, Dr.PH., M.P.H. of Exponent
"Silent, But Deadly"
Discovery Health Channel, March 21, 2006
Arthur Miller, Ph.D., Senior Managing Scientist, Food & Chemicals Practice, is featured on Silent But Deadly, an upcoming episode of Dr. Know, Discovery Health Network’s medical myth-busting series. In the segment on food safety, Dr. Miller is interviewed by host Paul Trotman, M.D. (Dr. Know) and proves false the myth that consumers can rely on their visual and olfactory senses as a warning that pathogenic bacteria contaminate food. The television show airs on March 21st at 8:30 pm EST.
Featuring Arthur Miller, Ph.D. of Exponent
"Firefighters Warn of Holiday Fire, Medical Dangers"
CBS 5, San Francisco, December 2, 2005
While recent rains have drenched the summer's wildfire season into the past, Bay Area firefighters would like to remind citizens to be vigilant about house fires during the holidays. The winter holiday season is a dangerous time of year for fires, accidents, suicides and abuse, according to Menlo Park Fire District spokesman and Division Chief Harold Schapelhouman.
Click here to read the full article.
"Robots that do a Soldier's Work"
CNET News, March 2005
Images of the MARCbot in use.
(Image 1 | Image 2)
Featuring Exponent's MARCbot
"Modern Marvels: Engineering Disasters 15 "
The History Channel, December 8, 2004
A series of construction errors causes a devastating flood that brings Chicago to a standstill. A deadly accident traps hundreds in a smoke-filled Alpine tunnel, with no ventilation. Three boilers explode on a Mississippi riverboat resulting in thousands of deaths and earning the disaster the title of the worst in maritime history. Two buildings, halfway around the world from each other, collapse from the same type of shoddy construction methods--14 years apart. And a cockpit warning system malfunctions, causing a fiery, fatal crash before the jetliner ever takes off. We interview design and construction experts as we investigate what went wrong. And we talk with rescue personnel, eyewitnesses, and victims as we visit the tragedies' sites to see what improvements have been implemented to insure against these kinds of disasters.
Click here to visit the program's web site.
Featuring Lee V. Dickinson, Ph.D., P.E. and Piotr D. Moncarz, Ph.D., P.E. of Exponent
"Modern Marvels: Engineering Disasters 11"
The History Channel, October 26, 2004
Join us for look into five engineering disasters... A dangerous cloud of gas explodes into Cleveland's worst fiery industrial disaster in 1944, killing 128 people. A dance competition turns deadly at the new Kansas City Hyatt in 1981, when a skywalk gives way and kills 114. In 1995, neighbors gaped at the spectacle of a $1.5-million San Francisco Bay area mansion breaking into bits as it fell into a massive sinkhole during a rainstorm. In 1931, one of the worst "natural" disasters ever occurred in the Yangtze River basin when six huge flood waves swept down the river destroying the insufficient dams and levees and killing at least 145,000 people.
Click here to visit the program's web site.
Featuring Harri K. Kytömaa, Ph.D., Roger L. McCarthy, Ph.D., P.E., and Piotr D. Moncarz, Ph.D., P.E. of Exponent
"Modern Marvels: Engineering Disasters 10"
The History Channel, October 19, 2004
Disasters investigated include: the 1984 Union Carbide debacle in Bhopal, India, where a toxic chemical release killed 3,800 people and left 11,000 with disabling respiratory ailments; and the 2003 sudden collapse of a 10-story parking garage at the Tropicana in Atlantic City, New Jersey that killed four and injured 20. We find out why a series of structures in Hutchinson, Kansas mysteriously caught fire and exploded in 2001; and examine the 1933 construction of a canal ordered by Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin that later proved to be nearly useless and cost many lives. And we get to the bottom of a maritime mystery, when a tanker carrying non-explosive materials in San Francisco Bay blew up in 1983.
Click here to visit the program's web site.
Featuring Roger L. McCarthy, Ph.D., P.E. of Exponent
"Second Interview: Dr. John Osteraas"
Tech Nation with Dr. Moira Gunn, September 21, 2004
Dr. Gunn speaks with with Dr. John Osteraas, a structural engineer formerly with FEMA's Urban Search and Rescue Program. He'll take us back to Oklahoma City and the World Trade Center, both subject's in National Geographic's new series, Seconds from Disaster.
Click here to listen to the interview
Featuring John D. Osteraas, Ph.D., P.E., of Exponent
"Seconds from Disaster"
National Geographic Channel, August 31, 2004
"Seconds from Disaster" deconstructs, moment-by-moment, what happened before, during, and after real-life disasters. The show blends advanced Computer Generated Imaging, re-enactments, archival footage, forensic science, dramatic eyewitness accounts, and expert testimony, to recreate the chain of events leading up to infamous disasters. The preview episode analyzes the April 19, 1995 bombing and collapse of the Murrah Building in Oklahoma City.
Click here to find out more about the show.
Featuring John D. Osteraas, Ph.D., P.E., of Exponent
"Wrigley Field Faces Aging Issues"
National Public Radio, July 31, 2004
Wear and tear are causing concern at one of big league baseball's shrines. Concrete is crumbling at Chicago's venerable Wrigley Field.
Listen to the segment from Weekend Edition - Saturday
Featuring Julie Rapoport, Ph.D. of Exponent

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