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DAVID A. PAPE, Ph.D., P.E., CFEI SUMMARY
Dr. Pape has over 30 years of professional mechanical engineering experience in consulting practice, as a tenured professor, and in manufacturing organizations. Dr. Pape has a broad background in mechanical design and analysis, including design of nuclear pressure vessel components and large reciprocating compressors, mechanical vibration testing and analysis, and non-destructive testing.
Dr. Pape has conducted forensic investigations to determine the cause and origin of failures or incidents involving vehicle systems and components, plumbing systems and components, material failures, machinery systems and consumer products. He has also evaluated industrial accident and safety issues and investigated vehicle collisions and reconstructed vehicular accidents. Dr. Pape has prepared numerous reports that document causes of failure to assist in resolving claims and legal disputes, and has provided deposition and trial expert testimony.
Dr. Pape’s forensic investigations have included the following types of equipment, devices, and machinery:
Workplace injuries - Scaffolding, hummus grinder, salt spreader, saw blades, milling machines,
automated parking system.
Appliance failures - Water leaks: Dishwashers, washing machines, refrigerators, icemakers.
Fire cause: Dishwashers, stoves, exhaust fan, boilers, dehumidifiers.
Plumbing components - Hoses, valves, coupling nuts, fittings, etc..
Plumbing material failures - Plastics (PVC, CPVC, ABS, PEX, etc.) Metals (copper, steel, cast
iron, etc.).
HVAC failures (residential) - Water heaters, boilers, heat pump/AC units.
Industrial equipment failures - Cooling tower, metal recycling shredders, wood grinders, mobile
oil derrick, turf sweeper, hydraulic lift platform.
Vehicle component failures (passenger and commercial) - Brakes, steering,
transmission/driveshafts.
Failure of sprinkler systems (wet, dry, and deluge) - Component failures (sprinkler heads), and
sprinkler piping - CVPC, PEX, steel.
Miscellaneous failures - Pallet rack failure, boat lifts, golf cart, sump pumps. Heavy equipment failures - Front loader boom, dump body, dump truck lifts.
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PROFESSIONAL REGISTRATIONS & CERTIFICATIONS
Registered Professional Engineer - (Mechanical)
Virginia License No. 048346 North Carolina License No. 037308
Maryland License No. 39661 Michigan License No. 6201057113
Arizona License No. 52123 District of Columbia License No. 906114
South Carolina License No. 28782 West Virginia License No. 19236
Accreditation Commission for Traffic Accident Reconstruction, ACTAR # 2535 Crash Data Retrieval Tool User Certification, Bosch
Commercial Vehicle Event Data Recorder Downloads
Accident Investigation I and II, Northwestern University Traffic Institute Accident Reconstruction II, Northwestern University Traffic Institute
National Association of Fire Investigators, International - Certified Fire & Explosion Investigator
EDUCATION
Ph.D. - SUNY at Buffalo - Civil Engineering, concentrating in engineering mechanics, stress analysis, and mechanical behavior of materials.
M.S. - University of Akron - Civil Engineering, concentrating in solid mechanics and stress analysis.
B.S. - Clarkson University - Civil Engineering, concentrating in structural design and analysis.
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIP:
American Society of Mechanical Engineers
AWARDS:
Elected to Tau Beta Pi, National Engineering Honor Society
Elected to Phi Kappa Phi, National Honor Society for Academic Excellence Elected to Chi Epsilon, National Civil Engineering Honor Society
CMU College of Science and Technology Outstanding Teaching Award, 2007
Alfred University Kruson Award for Excellence in Teaching, Honorable Mention, 1997 Graduate Research Assistantship, SUNY at Buffalo
Graduated with Distinction, Clarkson University
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:
FORCON INTERNATIONAL - Conducts forensic investigations and provides expert witness
testimony regarding various types of mechanical equipment and machinery including vehicles, consumer products, plumbing components, HVAC, compressors, and more.
RIMKUS CONSULTING GROUP, INC. - Principal Consultant - Forensic Division
Performed vehicle accident reconstruction and vehicle component failure evaluation as well as design, failure, and safety evaluations of various personal and commercial products, systems and components, including mechanical equipment and machinery, plumbing components, and HVAC systems.
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DRESSER-RAND COMPANY - Solid Mechanics Specialist, Advanced Engineering Department
Provided mechanical design and manufacturing support for centrifugal and reciprocating compressors. Conducted failure analyses for various compressor components. Lead a corporate task force responsible for implementing concurrent engineering principles in the design, manufacturing, and engineering divisions. Wrote software and set up efficient procedures for the pre- and post-processing of finite element models. Supervised and performed numerous finite element analyses.
BABCOCK AND WILCOX COMPANY - Stress Engineer, Components and Technology Division
Mechanical design of components and systems for nuclear, solar, and fossil power generation projects. Performed stress analysis of pressure vessel components for static, dynamic, pressure and thermal loadings using classical calculations and finite element software. Prepared ASME code stress reports for each project. Developed special purpose software for company use.
VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY - Adjunct Faculty, Department of Mechanical
Engineering - Responsible for teaching EGRM 300, Mechanical Systems Design, a required junior level class with an enrollment of 130 students.
CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY - Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Chair,
Department of Engineering and Technology
Administration of Electrical Engineering (BSEE) and Mechanical Engineering (BSME) programs, including course assignments and scheduling, curriculum and program development, faculty recruitment and mentoring, student recruitment and advising, assessment and accreditation, and development of community college articulation agreements. Supervised staff of 20 full time faculty and approximately 20 part time instructors both at the main Mt. Pleasant campus as well as through an off campus program. Responsibilities include budget, course scheduling, curricular development, articulation agreements, program assessment, faculty recruitment, promotion, and tenure, and personnel administration. Recruited industrial representatives and established an Engineering Advisory Board.
Taught courses in Engineering Statics, Mechanics of Materials, Machine Design I and II, Senior Capstone Design I and II, Measurements and Instrumentation, Solid Mechanics Laboratory. Conduct research on vibration and modal analysis applied to damage and flaw detection, uncertainty quantification, stiffened plate analysis, fatigue design approaches.
SAGINAW VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY - Professor (with tenure) and Chair, Department of
Mechanical Engineering - Implemented EC2000 criteria and hosted successful ABET accreditation visit. Responsible for overseeing all day to day activities of the Mechanical Engineering Department, including budget management, lab development and equipment purchases, curriculum development, program assessment, course assignments and scheduling, faculty and staff recruitment. Provided overall coordination and administration of the interdisciplinary Master of Science in Technological Processes program, including scheduling classes, managing the
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admission system, interfacing with the graduate admissions office, coordinating with other colleges, and interfacing with industry.
Taught courses in Mechanics of Materials, Principles of Engineering Materials, Solid Mechanics Laboratory, Engineering Materials Laboratory, Manufacturing Processes and Systems, Engineering Statics, Finite Element Analysis, Engineering Measurements, Fracture and Fatigue Analysis, product design and development. Faculty advisor to SAE Supermileage Team, supervising the design, fabrication, and testing of the high mileage vehicle. Research on nonlinear behavior of thin stiffened plates and finite element modeling of piezoelectric materials.
ALFRED UNIVERSITY - Associate Professor (with tenure) and Chair, Division of Mechanical
Engineering - Responsible for overseeing all day to day activities of the Mechanical Engineering Division, including budgeting, curriculum enhancement, course assignments and scheduling, as well as long range planning. Involved in two successful ABET accreditation visits. Taught undergraduate and graduate courses in Computer Aided Design, Statics, Dynamics, Mechanics of Materials, Solid Mechanics Laboratory, Machine Design, Mechanical Vibrations, Senior Design Project I, II, Advanced Mechanics of Materials, Finite Element Analysis, Introduction to Composite Materials, Continuum Mechanics. Faculty advisor to SAE Mini-Baja Team, supervising the design, fabrication, and testing of the off road vehicle. Research on computer aided engineering and design, particularly finite element and boundary element modeling of piezoelectric materials and devices, and in vibration and modal analysis applied to damage and flaw detection.
STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK AT BUFFALO - Lecturer, Research Assistant, Teaching
Assistant - Research on shape optimization problems using boundary element methods. Developed new boundary element method for body force problems. Taught courses in statics, dynamics, and numerical methods.
CORNELL UNIVERSITY - Research Assistant, Department of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics
Investigated computer/sensor interfacing, ultrasonic wave propagation, and finite element solutions of eddy current problems.
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
• Adhikari,S., Srikantha Phani, A., and Pape, D.A., "Random Eigenvalue Problems in Structural
Dynamics: An Experimental Investigation" Proceedings 50th AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures, Structural Dynamics & Materials Conference, 4-7 May 2009, Palm Springs, CA , American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Paper 2009-159741.
• Pape, D.A., and Adhikari, S., "A Statistical Analysis of Modal Parameters for Uncertainty
Quantification in Structural Dynamics", Proceedings, SEM IMAC XXVI Conference, February 2007.
• Pape, D.A., and Fox, A., "Deflection Solutions for Edge Stiffened Plates," Proceedings,
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• Pape, D. A., "Sonic Detection of Manufacturing Flaws in Ceramic Components", Chapter 22
in Nondestructive Evaluation of Ceramics, Ceramic Transactions, Vol. 89, ed. by C.H. Schilling and J.N. Gray, Published by the American Ceramic Society, 1998.
• Pape, D. A., "Sonic Flaw detection", Chapter 25 in The Science of Whitewares, ed. by V.E. Henkes, G.Y. Onoda, W.M. Carty, Published by the American Ceramic Society, 1996. • Pape, D. A., Carlson, W.B. and Fowler, S.A., "Design of an Electroceramic Actuator for Control
of Radical Saw Blade Vibration", Proceedings, 12th International Modal Analysis Conference, 1994, pp. 1101-1106.
• Pape, D. A., "Selection of Measurement Locations for Modal Analysis", Proceedings, 12th
International Modal Analysis Conference, 1994, pp. 34-41.
• Pape, D. A., "A Modal Analysis Approach to Flaw Detection in Ceramic Insulators",
Proceedings, 11th International Modal Analysis Conference, 1993, pp. 35-40.
• Pape, D. A., and Banerjee, P.K. "Treatment of Body Forces in 2D Elastostatic BEM using
Particular Integrals," January, 1988 ASME Journal of Applied Mechanics, Volume 54, No. 4, pp. 866-871.
• Pape, D. A., Henry, D.P. and Banerjee, P.K. "A New Axisymetric BEM Formulation for Body
