Academic Credentials
  • M.B.A., Business Administration, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 2003
  • Ph.D., Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Case Western Reserve University, 2000
  • M.S., Electrical Engineering and Applied Physics, Case Western Reserve University, 1993
  • B.S., Electrical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, 1993
Licenses & Certifications
  • Professional Engineer, Alabama, #PE51510
  • Professional Engineer ECEE, Florida, #85797
  • Professional Engineer, Illinois, #62058837
  • Professional Engineer, Kansas, #PE25630
  • Professional Engineer, Michigan, #6201057824
  • Professional Engineer, Missouri, #2010036256
  • Professional Engineer, New York, #86510
  • Professional Engineer, North Carolina, #37584
  • Professional Engineer, Ohio, #PE.65142
  • Professional Engineer Electrical, Texas, #105276
  • Professional Engineer, Washington DC, #PE.906421
  • Professional Engineer, West Virginia, #19078
  • IPAF Operator Training Certificate - Static Vertical (1a), Mobile Vertical (3a), Mobile Boom (3b), 06/11/2021 - 05/31/2026
  • Crash Data Retrieval Technician Levels 1 & 2, Collison Safety Institute
  • Certified Fire and Explosion Investigator (CFEI)
  • Certified Vehicle Fire Investigator (CVFI)
  • National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Hot Work Safety Certificate Program
Professional Honors
  • Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society
  • Eta Kappa Nu/IEEE's Award for Outstanding Senior in Electrical Engineering
  • Ohio Aerospace Institute Fellowship
  • Centerior Energy Fellowship
  • General Motors Scholarship
  • Case Alumni Association Scholarship
  • Dean's High Honors
Professional Affiliations
  • Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers — IEEE (senior member)
  • Subcommittee Member for Guidelines for Safe Automation of Chemical Processes, 2nd Edition. Center for Chemical Process Safety, American Institute of Chemical Engineers, Wiley, 2017
  • International Society of Automation—ISA (member)
  • National Fire Protection Association—NFPA (member)
  • Principal Member: Technical Committee on Single Burner Boilers, NFPA 85 Boiler and Combustion Systems Hazards Code, National Fire Protection Association, effective August 2015
  • Alternate Member: ASME CSD-1 Standard, Controls and Safety Devices for Automatically Fired Boilers, effective June 2017
  • Alternate Member: ASME Board on Safety Codes and Standards, effective March 2018
  • American Society of Mechanical Engineers—ASME (member)
  • National Association of Fire Investigators—NAFI (member)
  • Society of Automotive Engineers International—SAE (member)

Dr. Martens applies his expertise as an electrical engineer to the scientific investigation of electrical systems, industrial and machine controls, electronics, and software. With more than 30 years of experience, he has analyzed and investigated control systems, power generation and distribution equipment, electronics, and electrical installations. He has performed incident, fire, and explosion investigations, as well as analyses of intellectual property claims and of system-performance and construction-related claims, including claims arising in large international construction disputes. He is a committee member of several standards-making organizations (NFPA and ASME) and a member of IEEE, ISA, NFPA, ASME, NAFI, and SAE. Dr. Martens is accustomed to working in a dispute-resolution context and has provided testimony in a wide range of adjudicatory venues, including U.S. federal and state courts and international arbitration (SIAC, ICC, LCIA, and SCC).

Embedded Systems

Dr. Martens' work on microprocessor-based and microcontroller-based computer systems (embedded systems) encompasses a host of applications including automobiles, motorcycles, robotic systems, appliances, power wheelchairs, and other mechatronic systems. Dr. Martens' expertise includes system-level analysis, sensor evaluations, electronics and circuit design review, components and component failure analysis, software and firmware (source code) analysis, internet-based system design (IoT), control philosophy, and algorithm development.

Dr. Martens has experience developing, evaluating, and testing electronic automotive systems. Prior to joining Exponent, Dr. Martens managed the embedded control systems group at Delphi Corporation, a leading global supplier of mobile electronics and transportation systems, where he developed several systems for improved vehicle performance.

Industrial Processes and Machine Control

Dr. Martens is active in the field of industrial process control and applies his knowledge of Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs), Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems, Remote Terminal Units (RTUs), and Distributed Control Systems (DCSs) to industrial machine and process control analyses and investigations. He has analyzed industrial process systems and components, including boilers, burners, generators, turbines, water treatment, mills, pipelines, incinerators, and dryers. He has advised clients on the appropriate level of safeguards for safe operation and control, assisted in implementing them, audited installations, evaluated interface and alarm systems, extracted and analyzed historical SCADA/DCS data, and participated in Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT), Site Acceptance Testing (SAT), loop checks, and control-system commissioning. He draws on his accident-investigation experience and knowledge of industry standards to perform process hazard analyses (FMEA, HAZOP, PHA, What-Ifs, and LOPA).

Dr. Martens has analyzed machine controls for cranes, lifts, mining equipment, amusement park rides, robotics, computer vision-based systems, construction equipment, packaging systems, agricultural and farming equipment, food processing equipment, and more. In addition to system-level design philosophy, he has analyzed wiring, sensors and switches, actuators, and control logic.

Electrical Power Systems and Distribution

Dr. Martens' power-systems work spans generation, transmission, and distribution, including fossil-fuel, biomass, hydroelectric, pumped-storage, combined-cycle, and grid-connected battery energy storage (BESS) facilities. He has evaluated specifications, design, workmanship, construction, commissioning, maintenance, and failures of utility, industrial, and commercial systems and equipment. Among the systems and equipment he has evaluated are generators and their controls, e.g., automatic voltage regulators (AVRs) and exciters, turbines, transformers, switchgear, circuit breakers (and generator circuit breakers), motors, protection and relaying, arc-flash and power-quality/harmonics, and automatic transfer/switchover schemes.

Dr. Martens has managed facilities, supervised electricians and tradespeople, performed reviews and audits of electrical installations, and evaluated system design and completeness for facilities ranging from college campuses and high-rise buildings to mines, refineries, airports, and power plants across the United States, Australia, Central and Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and South America. He evaluates emerging power and energy technologies, including grid-connected battery energy storage systems (BESS), solar power and associated electronics, and wind power and their interconnection to the grid.

Fire and Explosions

Dr. Martens has experience assessing wiring, appliances, electrical products, power supplies, batteries, battery-operated equipment, and grid-connected energy storage in the context of evaluating failure modes, fires, and arc-flash events. He has conducted Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)-related investigations for a variety of products, and he has been involved in complex domestic and international fire and explosion investigations, including switchgear fires and boiler/gas explosions. He has evaluated products and appliances in laboratory environments and performed forced-failure testing. Additionally, Dr. Martens has investigated the role of control systems in such incidents, applying his knowledge of hardware and logic (programming) to understand control system responses before and during fires and explosions.