Academic Credentials
  • Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, Purdue University, 2023
  • MSME, Mechanical Engineering, Purdue University, 2021
  • B.S., Mechanical Engineering, Purdue University, 2018
Professional Honors
  • STLE Captain Alfred E. Hunt Best Paper Award, 2023
  • Young Presenter Award, Rolling Element Bearing Section, STLE Annual Meeting 2023
  • Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers Chicago Section Scholarship, 2022
  • Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers Chicago Section Scholarship, 2021
Professional Affiliations
  • American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), 2019 - Present
  • Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers (STLE), 2019 - Present

Dr. Russell's background is in mechanical engineering with a focus on the tribology of industrial machinery.  He has experience in the design and operation of custom test fixtures to investigate the fatigue, friction, lubrication, and wear of bearings, gears, and other machine components.  He also has expertise in the analysis and simulation of lubricant flow in rolling element bearings. Dr. Russell has applied his expertise in the bearing, lubrication, automotive, aerospace, agriculture, turf care, and nuclear industries.

Test stands constructed by Dr. Russell have ranged from relatively simple fixtures for the evaluation of mechanical properties of materials to fully custom apparatuses for the detailed investigation of in-situ component behavior.  Additionally, Dr. Russell has experience in the operation of manufacturing equipment including manual and CNC mills, lathes, waterjet cutters, laser cutters, and 3D printers.  He is experienced in the use of LabView, Matlab, Python, and C for data collection, data analysis, custom test operation, and the simulation of tribological phenomena.

Prior to joining Exponent, Dr. Russell was a Research Assistant in the Mechanical Engineering Tribology Laboratory (METL) at Purdue University.  His Ph.D. research was focused on experimentally and analytically characterizing the lubrication mechanism of ball bearing cages.  He constructed a one-of-a-kind test rig for the study of ball bearing cage friction and developed a series of models of cage performance including cage pocket lubrication, external drag force, and dynamic motion in a full bearing.  In addition to his thesis research, Dr. Russell assisted with projects studying lubricant viscosity at high pressure, lubricant behavior in anerobic environments, and the friction and wear behavior of nickel-based superalloys at elevated temperature. Experimental techniques employed by Mr. Russell include single and multi-axis sensing, thin-film pressure sensing, standard and high-speed videography, computer vision, optical profilometry, viscometry, and the operation of various commercial tribological test stands.

Dr. Russell also served as a Journal Assistant to the Editor in Chief of the ASME Journal of Tribology from 2022-2023, where he provided production support to the journal and aided in the distribution of articles to a worldwide network of technical experts across the field of tribology.

Dr. Russell's publication on the Bearing Cage Friction Test Rig received the Captain Alfred E. Hunt Best Paper award from the Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers (STLE) in 2023.  He was awarded the Young Presenter Award in the Rolling Element Bearing Section at the STLE annual meeting in 2023 and received the STLE Chicago Section Student Scholarship in 2021 and 2022.