Academic Credentials
  • Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), 2018
  • M.S., Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), 2014
  • Sc.B., Mechanical Engineering, Brown University, 2012
Additional Education & Training
  • OSHA 10-Hour General Industry Training, 2018
Professional Honors
  • National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellow, 2014-2017
  • Elected Member of Sigma Xi - Scientific Research Honor Society, 2011
  • Elected Member of Tau Beta Pi - Engineering Honors Society, 2010
Professional Affiliations
  • American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), 2018-Present
  • ASTM F08 committee on Sports Equipment, Playing Surfaces, and Facilities, 2018-Present
  • ASTM F15 committee on Consumer Products, 2018-Present

Dr. Guttag specializes in aerodynamics as well as solid and structural mechanics using both precision experiments and finite element analysis (FEA). His expertise includes designing and building complex experimental setups using various rapid prototyping techniques including laser cutting, 3D-printing and basic machining. 

Dr. Guttag also has extensive experience in data acquisition and processing using both LabView and Matlab. He has applied his skills working in the sports industry in a research capacity. In addition, he has experience investigating occupational incidents associated with construction and general industry including industrial equipment and machinery.

Prior to joining Exponent, Dr. Guttag worked as a laboratory manager at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), in Lausanne Switzerland. As a laboratory manager, he was responsible for the planning and setup of the early stages of a high end experimental mechanics research laboratory. Before his time at EPFL, Dr. Guttag worked as a graduate research fellow at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. His research was focused at the intersection of aerodynamics and structural mechanics. He explored the effect of surface texture on the aerodynamic drag of bluff bodies. Dr. Guttag designed and built dimpled and grooved cylindrical specimens with surface shapes that could be modified on demand via pneumatic control. He constructed a custom test setup to interface with an existing wind tunnel to perform aerodynamic experiments in which he could simultaneously control the surface shape, measure and change the wind speed, and measure and record the drag on the specimens.

During his Masters work, Dr. Guttag explored concept of controlling the surface shape of composite materials. Using a combination of FEM and physical experiments he studied how distributing stiff particles in soft matrix could affect the local surface shape that resulted from an applied global deformation. His senior thesis at Brown University involved performing simulations of head impacts in football to study traumatic brain injuries.