Dr. Thomas Read, PhD, Principal, Read Consulting, LLC
Areas of Expertise: Glass
Professional License
Registered Professional Engineer: Certificate No. MFOO2174, State of California
Summary of Expertise
- 1. Over 25 years of experience as a consultant to attorneys in metal, plastic, glass and ceramic failure analysis, OSHA worker safety, products liability, intellectual property, factory safety and other litigation. This includes numerous depositions and court appearances.
- 30 years of manufacturing experience in processing, process and product introduction, plastic food packaging, wine bottling, part design, machine safety, machine design, quality control, electronics and materials engineering.
Accident Reconstruction
User and Worker safety, Product Liability and equipment design (Includes device safety, factory safety and machine guards)
Failure Analysis (Includes both materials and design)
- Glass Damage Failures: Jars, Bottles (Wine and Champagne), Safety Glass, Windows, Windshields, Dishes etc.
- Polymer (Plastic)Degradation and Failures: Ladders,Packaging, Chairs, Medical Devices, Bottles, Bungee Cords,
- Metallurgical Failures: Bolts,Cables, Welds, Pipes, Gears, Prosthetics, Ladders, Implants, Cutting Blades etc
- Ceramic and Porcelain Failures: Fired ceramics, Grinding Wheels, Cutoff Blades and Structural Ceramics.
- Corrosion Failures: Galvanic, General; this includes materials selection and electronic devices.
- Manufacturing Defects: Any manufactured Item.
- Wood Failures: Chairs, Ladders, Stairs, Window Leaks etc (Includes deterioration from rot).
Manufacturing Expertise: Includes Patents, Tooling, Processing, Product Design, Factory Safety (Machine Guards), Quality Control, Quality Verification, Reverse Engineering and Factory Procedures
Professional Experience
1975 — Present Engineering Consultant in private practice with attorneys and insurance adjusters. Litigation-related practice includes plaintiff and defense clients in approximately equal numbers. Included are numerous depositions and trial appearances.
2001- 2001 Senior Metallurgical Engineer and Safety Engineer
Rheodyne, Inc.Rohnert Park,CA
1993 — 2001 Chief Metallurgist
Komag Materials Technology Inc.,Santa Rosa,California
1988 — 1993 Senior Thin Film Project Engineer
Deposition Sciences Inc.,Santa Rosa,California
1984 — 1988 Thin Film Circuit Engineer, Safety Engineer andand Reliability Engineer
Microwave Technology Inc.,Fremont,California
1975 — 1984 Project Engineer, Safety Engineer and Project Manager
Hewlett Packard Co.,Santa Rosa,California
1974 — 1975 Senior Project Engineer
Optical Coating Laboratories Inc.,Santa Rosa,California
1972 — 1974 Senior Process Engineer
Corning Glass Works, Coming ,New York.
Glass finishing Engineer: Process development and glass failure analysis.
1969 -1972 Engineering Consultant
Failure Analysis Associates,Stanford,California. Aided engineers with failure analysis.
Academic Degrees
- Stanford University, Ph.D. Materials Science and Engineering, 1972
- Stanford University, MS Materials Science, 1969
- University of Pennsylvania, BS Metallurgical Engineering, 1965
- Diploma, Tercer Curso Panamericano de Metalurgia Nuclear,Buenos Aires,Argentina, 1968