Academic Credentials
  • Ph.D., Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, 2010
  • M.S., Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, 1998
  • B.S., Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, 1996
Licenses & Certifications
  • Professional Engineer Metallurgical, California, #1990
  • Professional Engineer, Colorado, #PE.0038980
Additional Education & Training
  • Level 4 - O2 Analyze In-House, WHA International, Inc., 2016
  • Plastics Fracture Analysis, Society of Plastics Engineers, 2007
  • Plastics Failure Analysis/ Prevention & Testing, Society of Plastics Engineers, 2007
  • Galvanizing Technology, American Iron and Steel Instituted (AISI), 2000
  • Steelmaking, Casting and Hot Rolling, U.S. Steel Research, 1998
Academic Appointments
  • Adjunct Lecturer, Materials Science & Engineering Department, University of Washington, 2008
Professional Affiliations
  • ASM International, The Materials Information Society (ASM)
  • National Association of Corrosion Engineers (NACE)

Dr. Templeton is a Metallurgical / Materials Engineer that specializes in failure analysis and failure investigation of complex structures, equipment, components, and devices. He has specific expertise in fractographic examination, fracture mechanics, corrosion analysis and assessment, engineering analysis, as well as materials characterization, defect detection, and degradation mechanism identification for a large variety of materials. 

Dr. Templeton excels at explaining complex scientific concepts and analysis methodologies to any level of academic understanding. He has extensive experience providing litigation support and testimony in complex legal matters. He has an advanced academic and theoretical background combined with practical metals production and quality control experience in manufacturing environments.

Dr. Templeton regularly acts as the lead investigator for large complex failures across a diversity of industries, equipment, and components. Highlight projects include multiple off-shore oil rig failures, a nitric acid plant explosion, the I-5 Skagit River bridge collapse, a hops extract plant explosion, multiple pipeline bursts and failures, a wind turbine failure and fire, and innumerable plumbing component failures. In addition, Dr. Templeton has extensive experience in materials analysis for construction defect claims involving a variety of building system components and large financial losses. He has been the lead testifying expert for structural materials failures that led to injury and loss of life. He has investigated many piping and pipeline leaks, ruptures, and explosions that led to significant property damages and financial impacts. Dr. Templeton also has specific experience in sprinkler pipe system failure investigations and corrosion assessments.

Academic achievements include investigation and characterization of aqueous corrosion processes and resultant corrosion oxide morphologies on steel bolt fracture surfaces, fundamental research into causality and mitigation techniques to prevent primary water stress corrosion cracking in alloy 600 components, and optimization of hard magnetic properties in Nd-Fe-B magnets through controlled chemistry annealing experiments on nano-crystalline amorphous alloys.