Academic Credentials
  • Ph.D., Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Virginia, 2025
  • B.S., Mechanical Engineering, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, 2019
  • B.S., Mechanical Engineering, Texas A&M University, 2018
Academic Appointments
  • Representative to the Graduate Studies Committee, School of Engineering and Applied Science, University of Virginia, 2022–2023
  • Representative to the Graduate Engineering Student Council, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Virginia, 2022–2023
Professional Honors
  • Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Distinguished Fellow, University of Virginia, 2021–2025
  • Chairperson's Fellow, University of Virginia, 2021
  • Cum Laude Graduate, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, 2019
  • National Defense Scholarship, Republic of Ecuador, 2014–2019
Professional Affiliations
  • Member, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), 2024
  • Member, Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES), 2022
  • Member, American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), 2018
  • Member, Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering (SAMPE), 2018
  • Member, Material Advantage, 2015

Dr. Rodriguez Saenz is a mechanical (B.S.) and aerospace (Ph.D.) engineer with expertise in mechanical design and testing, battery and electric mobility systems, product compliance and regulatory standards, and intellectual property litigation. He supports matters involving mechanical characterization, product teardown and benchmarking, design reviews, failure analysis, and field evaluations for clients across the consumer electronics, electric mobility, and consumer products industries.

Dr. Rodriguez Saenz's technical expertise includes mechanical testing protocols, advanced imaging and analysis techniques, compliance frameworks (including UL 4200A, EU CE marking, and North American safety standards), and field evaluation methodologies. In addition to his technical skill set, he has experience supporting intellectual property and litigation matters, including patent infringement analyses for automotive components, sports equipment used in professional athletics, and consumer product liability investigations. His work also includes large-scale photovoltaic installation damage assessments, expert report development, and preparation of technical documentation for commercial litigation proceedings.

Before joining Exponent, Dr. Rodriguez Saenz earned his Ph.D. at the University of Virginia in collaboration with Rolls-Royce North America. His doctoral research focused on the experimental and computational study of axisymmetric inertial particle separators for gas turbine engines. Through this work, he developed subject matter expertise in multiphase flow, computational fluid dynamics (CFD), particle tracking, particle image velocimetry (PIV), flow visualization, and gravimetric testing. He also served as a consultant to Honeywell Aerospace Technologies, supporting projects in centrifugal separation, multiphase flow, and particle separation, including leading the design of a custom centrifugal particle separator test rig for auxiliary power unit (APU) development.

Prior to graduate school and joining Exponent, Dr. Rodriguez Saenz worked as a mechanical design engineer at a regional brake manufacturing company. During his tenure, he led the design and implementation of more than 20 specialized tooling and machinery infrastructure projects. He also served as interim production supervisor during the height of the COVID‑19 pandemic, overseeing a 40+ person production line and coordinating just-in-time manufacturing to meet export deadlines across South America and the Caribbean.