Academic Credentials
  • Ph.D., Physics and Electrical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), 1995
  • E.E., Electrical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), 1991
  • S.M., Electrical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), 1989
  • S.B., Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), 1987
Licenses & Certifications
  • Certified Cardiovascular Industry Representative (CCIR)
  • Certified Laser Safety Officer (CLSO)
  • Qualified for Welding and Electrofusion of Gas Pipe by the State of Alabama
Professional Affiliations
  • Standards subcommittee member: ANSI Z136.9 - "Safe Use of Lasers in Manufacturing Environments
  • Standards subcommittee member: ANSI Technical Subcommittee 1 (TSC1) - "Biological Effects and Medical Surveillance of the Accredited Standards Committee (ASC Z136) on Laser Safety
  • Optical Society of America—OSA (member)
    • Committee member for OSA's 2007 conference on Optical Fiber Communications
    • Committee member for OSA's Bragg Gratings, Photosensitivity, and Poling topical conference for 1999, 2001, 2003
    International Society for Optics and Photonics Engineers—SPIE (member)
  • Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers—IEEE
  • Certified Cardiovascular Industry Representative (CCIR)

Dr. Brennan's formal education is in electrical engineering and physics, with considerable experience and training in biomedical applications of optics, spectroscopy, LEDs, and lasers, especially in the cardiovascular, cosmetic, oncology, urology, and gastroenterology fields. Dr. Brennan also has several years of experience making optical fiber, waveguides, light pipes, and optical fiber components, primarily for use in optical telecommunication systems, as sensors, and in laser machining systems. Other areas in his diverse experience include high voltage transmission studies, electro-mechanical systems & controls, microwave radar analysis, and software systems.

During Dr. Brennan's tenure at Exponent, he has assisted various companies with mergers and acquisitions from a technology assessment standpoint. Typical projects have involved scouting a given technology space for potential acquisition targets, evaluating the intellectual property, and assisting in placing a monetary value on key targets. Often alternative product and technology development plans are established with costs and timelines, which are used to assist engagement discussions. Dr. Brennan has also served as an intermediary to form a firewall between separate organizations engaged in technology licensing. His product development experience has been utilized to assist companies in making products in regulated arenas through activities such as establishing development programs, quality systems, and regulatory strategies. He has also been tasked to reach into Exponent's wide expertise to help companies address multi-disciplinary challenges. 

Some specific projects where Dr. Brennan has been involved include complex medical devices, which often involve hardware, software, optics, and control systems, some of which have been implantable or communicate wirelessly. Dr. Brennan has also led projects involving medical radiation sources, e.g. x-ray, lasers, and LEDs, for diagnostic, cosmetic, and surgical applications, and he has also assisted organizations with radiation sources in consumer devices, such as LIDAR, laser machining, and scanning remote sensors, and checked for compliance with various regulatory standards. Dr. Brennan has also been involved in evaluating electrical shock incidents, fire investigations, monopolar and bipolar electrosurgical equipment (RF ablation), wearable technology, and smart clothing. 

Prior to joining Exponent, Dr. Brennan served as the Chief Science Officer at Prescient Medical, Inc., which was devoted to identifying and treating atherosclerotic plaques that are prone to rupture. Dr. Brennan is the author of several seminal works concerning the use of Raman spectroscopy for analyzing human coronary artery and is a recognized expert in optical fibers and devices. He has pioneered several technology platforms and built IP portfolios protecting them. He served as the Vice President of Research & Development for Raydiance, Inc., where he designed and commercialized their first femtosecond-duration pulsed laser systems for medical, industrial, and defense laser machining applications. Prior to that, Dr. Brennan worked with several laboratories and institutions, including 3M Company as a Sr. Research Scientist where he helped build their Optical Components program from fledgling acquisitions. He has experience at several additional laboratories including Lincoln Laboratory, Academisch Ziekenhuis (Leiden, Netherlands), the MIT High Voltage Laboratory, the MIT Continuum Electromechanics Laboratory, and the MIT Harrison Spectroscopy Laboratory. 

Dr. Brennan has published over 75 journal and conference papers, 5 book chapters, and has been granted 34 patents (with several more pending). Dr. Brennan received the S.B., S.M., and E.E. degrees in Electrical Engineering from M.I.T., and received a Ph.D. in Physics and Electrical Engineering from M.I.T. He also studied cardiovascular pathophysiology at the Harvard Medical School in Cambridge, Massachusetts.