Academic Credentials
  • Ph.D., Chemical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, 1999
  • B.S., Forest Resource - Pulp and Paper Science, University of Washington, 1993
Licenses & Certifications
  • Professional Engineer Chemical, California, #6329
  • Professional Engineer, Georgia, #PE036505
  • Professional Engineer Chemical, Maine, #PE12065
  • Professional Engineer, Ohio, #PE.74253
  • 40-Hour Hazardous Waste Operation and Emergency Response Certification (HAZWOPER)
  • Certified Fire and Explosion Investigator (CFEI)
  • Confined Space Entry (29 CFR 1910.146)
  • Fire Investigation 1A (Cause and Origin), California Office of State Fire Marshal
Professional Honors
  • Frank Lees Medal, Safety & Loss Prevention Special Interest Group, Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE), 2017
  • Golden Key National Honor Society, University of Washington
  • Xi Sigma Pi Forestry Honor Society, University of Washington
  • University of Washington Kyosti V. Sarkanen Scholarship, 1992
  • Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry (TAPPI) Engineering Division Scholarship, 1992
  • TAPPI Paper and Board Manufacture Division Scholarship, 1992
Professional Affiliations
  • American Institute of Chemical Engineers – AIChE (Senior Member, Member of Safety & Health Division)
  • AIChE Boston Section – Ichthyologists (Member)
  • American Society for Testing and Materials — ASTM
  • • Member of Committee E06 on Performance of Buildings
  • • Vice-Chairman 2012-2018 and Member of Committee E27 on Hazard Potential of Chemicals
  • • Member Committee F15 on Consumer Products
  • • Member Committee F27 on Snow and Water Sports
  • American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers – ASHRAE (Member)
  • IAAI, Massachusetts Chapter – MAIAAI (Member)
  • National Association of Fire Investigators – NAFI (Member, CFEI)
  • National Fire Protection Association
  • • Principal Member: Committee on Foam responsible for NFPA 11 Standard for Low-, Medium-, and High-Expansion Foam
  • • Principal Member: Committee on Liquefied Petroleum Gases responsible for NFPA 58 Liquefied Petroleum Gas Code
  • • Chair: Committee on Agricultural Dusts responsible for NFPA 61 Standard for the Prevention of Fires and Dust Explosions in Agricultural and Food Processing Facilities
  • • Alternate Member: Committee on Explosion Protection Systems responsible for NFPA 67 Guide on Explosion Protection for Gaseous Mixtures in Pipe Systems, NFPA 68 Standard on Explosion Protection by Deflagration Venting, and NFPA 69 Standard on Explosion Prevention Systems
  • • Principal Member: Committee on Combustible Metals and Metal Dusts responsible for NFPA 484 Standard for Combustible Metals
  • • Principal Member Committee on Electrical Equipment in Chemical Atmospheres responsible for NFPA 496 Standard for Purged and Pressurized Enclosures for Electrical Equipment, NFPA 497 Recommended Practice for the Classification of Flammable Liquids, Gases, or Vapors and of Hazardous (Classified) Locations for Electrical Installations in Chemical Process Areas, and NFPA 499 Recommended Practice for the Classification of Combustible Dusts and of Hazardous (Classified) Locations for Electrical Installations in Chemical Process Areas
  • • Principal Member: Committee on Fundamentals of Combustible Dusts responsible for NFPA 652 Standard on Combustible Dusts
  • • Principal Member Committee on Wood and Cellulosic Materials Processing responsible for NFPA 664 Standard for the Prevention of Fires and Explosions in Wood Processing and Woodworking Facilities
  • • Nonvoting Member: Technical Correlating Committee on Combustible Dusts responsible for NFPA 61, 91, 484, 652, 654, 655, 660 and 664.
  • Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry – TAPPI (Member)

Dr. Myers applies chemical engineering principles to analyze industrial processes and to investigate and prevent incidents involving chemical releases, fires, and explosions. His investigations include incidents involving chemical, agricultural and industrial facilities, the warehousing and transport of hazardous chemicals, commercial and residential structures, vehicles, batteries and energy storage systems, consumer products, and burn injuries. 

Dr. Myers has investigated incidents involving a wide range of combustion equipment including candles, torches, heaters, ovens, furnaces, and boilers. His work in these investigations has included determining origin and cause, experimentally measuring properties of materials, numerical modeling, and evaluation of products and facilities with current and historical regulations, codes, and guidelines. Dr. Myers has investigated fires and explosions on multiple continents.

Dr. Myers has conducted engineering analysis and experimental testing involving chemical reactions, heat and mass transfer, fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, fires, and dust and gas explosions. He has testified as an expert witness in state and federal courts.

Dr. Myers is a member of several NFPA technical committees responsible for standards related to the prevention and mitigation of fires and explosions He performs dust hazard analyses (DHAs), risk analyses and assists clients in developing mitigation methods.. Dr. Myers evaluates the design and efficacy of fire and explosion protection systems including foams (AFFF), inerting, venting, suppression, isolation, and flame arrestors. He is a member of the ASTM committee responsible for the development of standards to determine the ignition and flammability properties of gases, vapors, and dusts clouds and oversees testing in Exponent's Combustible Dust Testing Laboratory.

Dr. Myers has a particular interest in the stability of chemicals and chemical mixtures and their reactivity hazards. He has investigated incidents involving self-heating or thermal runaway of chemicals and the unintentional reactions of incompatible chemicals. Dr. Myers has developed test methods for assessing self-heating and the hazards of reactive chemicals. He has analyzed the effects of specific chemicals on the integrity of materials including composites, metals, paper, plastics, and wood.

Prior to joining Exponent, Dr. Myers was a Graduate Student Researcher at the University of California, Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. He has also worked in process engineering and process control in the pulp and paper industry.