Our Team

Mr. Rapperport is the president of Rapperport Associates, Inc., an engineering consulting company providing comprehensive services in fire and explosion investigation, metallurgical and structural failure analysis and accident reconstruction. With degrees in mechanical engineering from Cornell University and materials science from Stanford University, Mr. Rapperport is well suited to address a wide range of technical issues including fire and explosion investigation, failure analysis, materials science and structural design.

Rapperport Associates provides comprehensive fire investigation services including cause and origin investigation, fire modeling and testing as well as fire protection evaluation and assessment. We can perform complex computer modeling to predict hazards such as radiant heat flux, fire growth, smoke production, fire plume and ceiling jet temperatures and velocities, toxic species production and depth of the hot upper layer. We can model fire growth, steady-state burning and decay for intact and impaired sprinkler system activation. The computer models can also be used to study the effects of ventilation changes, and thus, changes in interior environment conditions as the interior and exterior fire suppression activities are conducted.

Rapperport Associates has been retained on cases totaling billions of dollars in losses since inception in 1974. We have an extraordinarily talented technical group with impeccable credentials. Our team of distinguished engineers and scientists is drawn principally from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University and University of California Berkeley and many have doctorates. We combine state-of-the-art computer modeling and laboratory testing with clear and compelling graphics to solve complex technical problems and present the results in an understandable manner.

Mr. Parent’s background in the thermosciences, mechanical engineering, and electrical engineering, combined with his longstanding experience in the design of high-technology products, is ideal for the investigation of fires and explosions and for failure analysis. He has more than 35 years of experience as an engineering practitioner and has investigated more than forty fire, explosion, and failure cases.
Mr. Parent is a named inventor on more than 22 patents and has been a Registered Professional Engineer for more than 35 years. He provides expert engineering services and testimony relating to fires and explosions, product failures, product safety, product liability, patents and intellectual property.
Mr. Parent holds a Master of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford and a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Northeastern University. His broad range of skills include product design, mechanical design, heat transfer, fluid mechanics, stress and failure mechanics, thermodynamics, computational methods, controls, design of electrical systems, design for safety, and failure analysis.

Education

Experience

• Rapperport Associates, Lexington, MA, 2013 – Present
  Engineering consulting and project management relating to fire and explosion investigations, and product failures.
• President, Parent Technology Group, LLC, Gray, ME, 2012 – Present
  Engineering consulting relating to patents, intellectual property, product design and process automation.
• VP Sales and Innovation, Marca Coating Tech., LLC, Scarborough, ME, 2009 – 2011
  Sales, engineering development and intellectual property protection of vacuum coating machines and technologies. (Formerly D2 Inline Solutions, LLC)
• President, D2 Inline Solutions, LLC, Scarborough, ME, 2001 – 2009
  Development, intellectual property protection and reduction to practice of new production processes for coating plastic parts. (Spin-off from D2 Systems)
• President, D2 Systems, Gray, ME, 1998 – 2001
  Engineering consulting relating to patents, intellectual property, product design and process automation.
• Dir. of Engineering, Dir. of Tech. Development, First Light Tech., Saco, ME 1991 – 1998
  Design and development of patented DVD manufacturing processes. Design and development of optical disc production machinery.
• Vice President of Engineering, Chapman Corp, Portland, ME, 1985 – 1991
  Design of patented static elimination equipment.
• Senior Engineer, GTE Products Corporation, Standish, ME, 1982 – 1985
  Design of high-power heater devices for industrial, automotive and home applications.
• Member of Technical Staff, Bell Telephone Laboratory Whippany, NJ, 1979 – 1982
  Design of digital tape backup systems. Responsible for magnetic tape and head.

Dr. Eischen is a Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at North Carolina State University. He has over thirty years of experience in mechanical engineering, including mechanical engineering design, strength of mechanical components, and solid mechanics.

Areas of competency:

Mechanical engineering design, machine design, failure analysis, fracture mechanics, fatigue, finite element stress analysis, mechanical behavior and testing of materials, patent analysis. Dr. Eischen has published over 50 technical articles.

Teaching:

Mechanical Engineering Design Lab, Solid Mechanics, Strength of Mechanical Components, Analysis for Mechanical Engineering Design, Fracture Mechanics, Advanced Solid Mechanics

Education:

PhD Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University, 1986
MS Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University, 1981
BS Engineering (concentration in Civil Engineering), UCLA, 1978

Registered Professional Engineer, California, Mechanical M21276

Jeff Drake studied industrial design at the Philadelphia College of Art (now University of the Arts) and received a Bachelor of Industrial Design degree from Syracuse University in 1979.

Jeff is a Demonstrative Evidence Specialist with over 30 years of experience providing litigation support including design and production of legal graphics and scale models for use in court. Jeff’s approach to design of trial exhibits includes a thorough understanding of the available evidence and often requires a comprehensive reconstruction of the site or situation in order to produce the most accurate & effective presentation possible. Fire and explosion cases continue to be a specialty.
Demonstrative Evidence design and production services are provided to attorneys, insurance companies, investigators, engineers and other technical experts.

Dr. Rich brings a diverse background to the field of engineering with research and development experience in combustion, bioengineering and mechanical design in both the academic and private sector. Dr. Rich is an Adjunct Professor of thermal fluid sciences at Santa Clara University, conducts post-Doctoral research in the Combustion and Fire Processes Laboratory at the University of California, and provides engineering support to the private sector in support of product design, legal issues and infrastructure development. Dr. Rich has background as a Rescue Captain and Paramedic with the San Francisco Fire Department which brings a pragmatic and disciplined approach to his work. His work there included authorship of municipal disaster plans and training of top-level city administrators in implementing them, which developed skills in leadership and project management.

Dr. Rich’s primary area of expertise is development of experimental platforms for the study of fire and combustion phenomena including research into material flammability, internal combustion engine performance, building smoke control and studies of vehicle emissions. Methods include IR thermometry, particle image velocimetry, laser induced fluorescence, continuous mass loss measurement, high speed and IR videography, engine dynamometers, gas sampling, and a range of analog and computer measurement techniques. Work in engine performance, includes mini rotary engine research, piezo-ceramic spark ignition technology and emissions and alternative fuels research. This work includes development of alternative fuels and mitigation of engine pollutants and particulate emissions using a number of innovative methods like ammonia treatment, water injection, biofuels, particle traps, afterburning, and radio isotope tracing of particulates. NASA sponsored fire safety research investigated flame propagation rates of through porous media in microgravity and investigation of the mechanisms governing ignition delay and flame spread of materials, particularly composites, intended for use on spacecraft. Building studies include scale modeling and laser imaging of building smoke flows, particularly for innovative ventilation schemes. In bioengineering, projects include tumor ablation with combustion catalytic probes, heat transfer mechanisms and energetics of birds and measurements of the shear strength of post-operative bone.

Current Positions

• Principal Engineer, Reax Engineering Inc., Berkeley, CA
• Post-Doctoral Researcher, University of California, Berkeley, Combustion and Fire Processes Laboratories
• Adjunct Professor, Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, CA

Experience

• Reax Engineering Inc. Berkeley, CA Founding Partner and Principal Engineer
  • Development of experimental programs in support of product development, thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, heat transfer, instrumentation, control, and data acquisition
  • Fire litigation support – analysis, modeling, and theory, fire inspections/investigations
  • Computer fire modeling: forensic fire reconstruction, prediction of heat release rate via fire growth modeling, fire timeline recreation, time to untenability/incapacitation by smoke or heat, calculation of smoke detector and sprinkler activation times, onset of flashover
  • Ignition and flame spread of materials, evolved species, heat transfer and deformation.
• University of California, Berkeley Post-Doctoral Researcher
  • Development of carbon neutral fuels from cellulosic feedstock
  • Scale model and laser imaging of building smoke flows for innovative ventilation (under floor, natural) systems and validation of FDS models
  • Combustion testing and modeling to characterize fuels and measure energy efficiency of specially developed stoves for use in developing countries (http://darfurstoves.org/)
• Arup Fire San Francisco, CA Fire Protection Specialist
  • Worked in conjunction with engineering teams, architects, and approving authorities, to develop integrated fire safety strategies for buildings and transportation systems.
  • Applied current fire safety procedures including performance-based design supported by analytical and numerical models.
  • Developed and currently manage a wind tunnel research program investigating smoke flow in large structures subject to wind pressures.
• University of California, Berkeley Graduate Student Researcher
  • Served as experimental lead on Forced Ignition and Flame Spread Test (FIST) project, a NASA funded research program to assess flammability of materials in terrestrial and reduced gravity conditions. This work included three tours on NASA’s microgravity research aircraft.
  • Responsibilities included experimental program development and management, cost control and collaboration with engineering groups at NASA’s Glenn Research Center, Cleveland.
• Independent technical consultant for fire-related litigation and research Berkeley, CA
  • Conducted laboratory experiments, numerical modeling, deposition review, and background research in support of fire related litigation, particularly cause and origin. Projects included vehicle, industrial and residential structure fires including the urban wildland interface. Fire causes included electrical failure, liquid fires, self-heating to ignition, and mechanical failure.
  • Developed exhaust emission mitigation technologies for several engine types including use of biodiesel and water and ammonia injection technologies.
• San Francisco Fire Department San Francisco, CA Paramedic/Rescue Captain
  • Provided 911 emergency services and community disaster training to the County of San Francisco with the San Francisco Department of Public Health and Fire Department.
  • Implemented a federally funded multi-agency program to manage causalities of nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons and wrote the SFFD Prehospital Medical Disaster Plan.
• Journal Referee / Peer Review
  • Fire Safety Journal
  • Fire Science and Technology
  • Fire Technology
  • Mediterranean Combustion Symposia
  • Proceedings of the Combustion Institute

Dr. Moussa has been the Technical Director of the BlazeTech Corporation, an engineering consulting firm since 1987. For over two decades, he has worked in combustion, fire and explosion in a variety of applications and industries covering R&D, testing of hazardous materials and polymer flammability, fire detection/suppression systems, identification and quantification of new risks, plant audit and safety assessment, accident investigation, and simulation and computer modeling. His forte is bridging the gap between theory and practice to provide innovative and cost- effective solutions to new, one-of-kind problems. He has published one book and over 150 papers and reports.
Previously, he was Senior Consultant at Arthur D. Little, Inc. for ten years, a Research Associate at MIT for two years, and a Visiting Scientist at Factory Mutual Research Corporation for one summer. He received a B.S.M.E. with Distinction from Stanford University in 1971, and the M.S./Ph.D. from MIT (in 1972-76, with both dissertations on fires). He is a registered professional engineer in Massachusetts. Examples of his work are:

• Aircraft and subway systems: Dr. Moussa reviewed the flammability, smoke and toxic properties of existing and candidate materials for seats and panels. He modeled fire growth on a train and passenger escape from a disabled train in a tunnel and evaluated the emergency response systems. He quantified the relative benefits of incorporating an exit shaft, a standpipe, or ventilation fans.
• Airport facility: Dr. Moussa investigated a fire involving the incineration of Volatile Organic Compounds emitted from the regeneration of lubricating oils. He designed an improved incinerator tailored to the intermittent nature of the operation.
• Department of Transportation: Dr. Moussa compared the risks associated with Expandable Launch Vehicles and a variety of industrial and transportation activities. The analysis covered handling, transport, storage and launch operations of liquid hydrogen/oxygen, RP-1, hypergolics and solid propellants.
• Gas Research Institute: Dr. Moussa conducted a city-wide survey of common devices that could ignite a vapor cloud of natural gas. He tested the ignition potential of cigarettes, traffic and street lights, automobiles, doorbell relays, etc.
• Major LNG import terminal: Dr. Moussa estimated a probability of overfilling an LNG tanker truck. Using fault-tree analysis, he related this probability to the failure rates of equipment such as level gages, pressure sensors (etc.) and to operator errors. He identified likely failure modes and means to mitigate them.
• US Army: Dr. Moussa tested a unique electrochemical pad containing magnesium. The effectiveness of major Class D Fire Agents was evaluated. Also, hydrogen (produced by the water-magnesium reaction) was measured and the potential build-up of flammable gas in ventilated enclosures was modeled. The MSDS for this device was revised to incorporate the results of this study.
• Dr. Moussa investigated the fire hazards posed by closely spaced storage racks in warehouses. The burning of large vertical surfaces was tested (singly and in pairs to confine radiation) and was modeled successfully.
• US Coast Guard: Dr. Moussa participated in designing the world’s largest (10,000 gals) LNG spill fire test of its time. Both pool and vapor fires were tested. He analyzed and interpreted the data, identifying salient features of these fires.
• Bureau of Mines: Dr. Moussa assessed hazards associated with coal and metal mining: gob, rib and electrical fires, coal pile self-heating and methane/coal dust explosions. He evaluated safety measures such as rock dusting, oxygen masks and fire curtains.
• US DOT Transportation Systems Center: Dr. Moussa assisted in a study of practical means to improve fire safety in existing and new rail transit vehicles and buses. The project identified fire protection countermeasures in design, operations and training to prevent ignition, contain a fire, or facilitate passenger evacuation.
• Oil/LNG/LPG operations: Dr. Moussa carried out risk analysis studies covering oil/LNG/LPG operations, and shipments of hazardous materials by various transportation systems for a number of commercial clients. He modeled consequences of accidents, developed fault trees and risk profiles, and discussed risk acceptability.
• NASA: DR. Moussa compared the crash fire hazards of aircraft fueled by liquid hydrogen, liquid methane and Jet A. He reviewed historical data to identify the locations and amounts of fuel release. For each release and fuel, he analyzed the potential consequences such as pool fire, fireball and explosion.
• Dr. Moussa has provided technical assistance in the litigation of natural gas explosions, electrical wiring fires, insulation fires, aircraft fires, heating and power generation equipment, and self-heating of coal piles.

Dr. Moussa has been listed in American Men of Science and Who’s Who in the East. He served as chairman of the ASME FACT Division. He is a member of ASME, AIAA, and Combustion Institute and of the honorary societies Phi Beta Kappa, Tau Beta Pi and Phi Eta Sigma. He has received several honors, including the William Littlewood Memorial Lecture Award by SAE/AIAA, Engineer of the Year by AIAA NE Section, best papers by SAE and ASEI, AIAA Distinguished Lecturer and several ASME citations. His forewarning about the risks of aircraft fuel tank fire/explosion prior to the TWA800 and the Concorde disasters has led to him being interviewed by the New York Times, several European newspapers, CBS and BBC.