Dr. Paul Johnston is the President and Chief Operating Officer of Exponent. Dr. Johnston joined the Company in 1981, was promoted to Principal Engineer in 1987, and to Vice President in 1996. In 1997, he assumed responsibility for the firm’s network of offices. In July 2003, he was appointed Chief Operating Officer and added responsibility for the Health and Environmental Groups. In 2006, he assumed line responsibility for all of the firm’s consulting groups.
Dr. Johnston specializes in the failure analysis of mechanical components and structures, including diesel engines, pipelines, steam generators, offshore platforms, pumps, valves, aircraft, and rocket nozzles. He has investigated the mechanical and structural design of equipment and machinery involved in intellectual property disputes. He also focuses on geotechnical issues related to excavations, soil-structure interaction, slope stability, tunneling, and earthquakes. His expertise further extends to encompass the static and dynamic analysis of structures.
Dr. Johnston was previously a Consulting Assistant Professor in the Civil Engineering Department at Stanford University, and has written two books in the area of finite element analysis. He was a founding board member of the structural design firm, Krawinkler Luth & Associates, Inc. He served six years on the Utilities Advisory Commission of the City of Palo Alto, and also served on the city’s Telecommunications Advisory Panel.