Academic Credentials
  • Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University, 1998
  • M.S., Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University, 1994
  • B.Sc., Mechanical Engineering, University of Engineering and Tech, Peshawar, 1989
Licenses & Certifications
  • 40-Hour Hazardous Waste Operation and Emergency Response Certification (HAZWOPER)
  • Certified Fire and Explosion Investigator (CFEI)
  • Certified Vehicle Fire Investigator (CVFI)
  • Fire Investigation 1A (Cause and Origin), California Office of State Fire Marshal (CA)
  • Fire Investigation: Techniques of Fire Investigation (1B), California State Fire Marshall (CA)
Academic Appointments
  • Adjunct Professor / Lecturer, Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Stanford University
  • Instructor, California Conference of Arson Investigators
  • Instructor, Alameda County DA's Arson Task Force
  • Teaching Assistant, Stanford University, School of Engineering
Professional Honors
  • The Centennial Teaching Award, Stanford University, 1995-1996
  • Government of Pakistan's Scholarship for Doctoral Studies Abroad, 1992-1994
  • President of Pakistan's Award for Academic Excellence, 1989
  • Valedictorian and Gold Medal Recipient, Engineering University, Peshawar, 1989
  • University Divisional Scholarship, 1984-1989
Professional Affiliations
  • The Combustion Institute (member)
  • American Society of Mechanical Engineers (member)
  • Pakistan Engineering Council (member)
  • National Fire Protection Association (member)
  • Technical Committee on Motion Picture and Television Industry (member)
Languages
  • Punjabi
  • Urdu

Dr. Kemal specializes in analyzing thermal failures involving infrastructure, consumer and commercial products, industrial equipment and processes. His responsibilities include the analysis and investigation of fires, explosions, and detonations in industrial, commercial, residential, medical, transportation, and wildland sectors. 

Dr. Kemal also provides design support for products and processes aimed at improving thermal performance for safety, efficiency and reliability. He has led numerous large-loss complex failure and product recall investigations to determine the root cause of failures and has helped develop applicable fixes and risk assessments. In performing his duties, Dr. Kemal carries out work related to combustion, thermodynamics, gas dynamics, macro- and micro-scale heat transfer, feedback control of complex dynamic plants and micromachining. He studies air-breathing propulsion systems and stationary gas turbines and has experience in applying advanced control techniques to optimize the performance of such plants. He has designed and built a CMOS-compatible micromachined sensor for the measurement of pollutant emissions in combustion exhausts. Dr. Kemal also maintains an interest in international environmental law and policy and authored the first ever draft of fire laws for the government of Pakistan.

Prior to joining Exponent, Dr. Kemal was a Research Assistant in the High Temperature Gas Dynamics Laboratory at Stanford University. As part of his graduate work, he taught numerous classes on thermodynamics, gas dynamics, and combustion, at both graduate and undergraduate levels. He performed independent peer reviews of research proposals and of publications in the Combustion Institute's journal Combustion and Flame. He also worked as an independent consultant for Alzeta Corporation and for NASA Ames. Before joining Stanford, he worked in Pakistan as a Programmer and Operator of CNC machines (Spinning Machinery Company, Lahore); as a Management Trainee (ICI Soda Ash Plant, Khewra); and as a Production Engineer (Career Telephone Industries, Islamabad, a subsidiary of Siemens AG).

Dr. Kemal holds an appointment as an Adjunct Professor / Lecturer in the School of Engineering at Stanford University where he teaches the course Techniques of Failure Analysis during the spring quarter.