Academic Credentials
  • Ph.D., Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, 2014
  • B.S., Mechanical Engineering, University of North Florida, 2010
Licenses & Certifications
  • Professional Engineer Metallurgical, California, #1984
  • Professional Engineer, Colorado, #PE.0053856
  • Professional Engineer Metallurgical, Oregon, #105131PE
  • American Welding Society Certified Welding Inspector (CWI)
Professional Affiliations
  • American Society of Mechanical Engineers—ASME
  • American Society of Metals — ASM International
  • American Welding Society—AWS
  • National Association of Corrosion Engineers — NACE
  • Heat Treating Society—HTS
  • International Metallographic Society—IMS
  • Society of Carbides & Tool Engineers
  • Materials Research Society — MRS

Dr. Kennett specializes in failure analysis, failure prevention, materials science, physical and mechanical metallurgy, assessment of engineering structures, and fracture mechanics. He received his Ph.D. in metallurgical and materials engineering from Colorado School of Mines and his Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from University of North Florida.

Dr. Kennett has experience with a wide range of applications and industries, including oil and gas pipelines, refineries and operations, power generation equipment, mining equipment, mineral processing, raw material production, automotive safety equipment, off-road vehicles, surgical devices, medical implants, and microelectronics. In these industries, Dr. Kennett specializes in applying fundamental engineering principles along with industry best engineering practices to direct- and root-cause failure analyses. Routinely in these investigations, a range of industry standards must be considered and applied to help provide an independent finding that can be used to support dispute resolution between multiple parties.

Many of Dr. Kennett's investigations are focused on weldments in pressurized systems (pipes, vessels, pipelines) and structural steel systems. He has extensively investigated the performance of the steel weldments under in-service conditions. Dr. Kennett is a Certified Welding Inspector and applies this inspection-based background on many of his investigations. As part of these investigations, Dr. Kennett has extensively reviewed and evaluated the applicability of many major industry standards and codes related to welding and pressure equipment including AWS D1.1, API 570, API 574, API 579, API 1104, ASME B31.1, ASME B31.3, ASME BPVC Sections, as well as other international standards applicable to his work on international disputes published by the DNV, NZS/AS, ISO, DIN, and ESO. In addition to his welding and pressure equipment work, Dr. Kennett has investigated bolting related failures both in on- and offshore applications and has performed extensive failure analyses on these matters.

Throughout his career, Dr. Kennett has extensively studied material characterization methods and their application, the mechanical behavior of materials, high- and low-temperature performance of metals, machine design, product life assessment, and product design. Additionally, he continues to research the effects of processing on the microstructure and subsequent mechanical properties/performance of commercial grades of steel.

Before joining Exponent, Dr. Kennett conducted his Ph.D. dissertation work at the Colorado School of Mines (CSM) in the Advanced Steels Processing and Products Research Center. During his studies at CSM, he studied the effects of the martensitic packet size, block size, lath size, dislocation density, and alloy precipitation on the mechanical properties of martensitic steel. To investigate these effects, he performed extensive characterization using optical microscopes (OM), scanning electron microscopes (SEM), focused ion beam microscopes (FIB), transmission electron microscopes (TEM), and X-ray diffractometers (XRD). During his time at CSM, he also studied the microstructure of CoCrMo hip implants, ferrite-pearlite steels, carburized steels, and cold sprayed copper and aluminum systems. In addition to his studies, he was responsible for the operation, maintenance, training, and data interpretation of different mechanical testing techniques and equipment, including the Gleeble® advanced thermo-mechanical simulator. The Gleeble® is a research tool that can be used to simulate high heating and cooling rates and elevated temperature deformation and perform controlled heat treatments to create specific microstructures.

Dr. Kennett also has experience with machine design, specifically the design and implementation of custom machines used for unique testing scenarios, such as helping develop a rolling sliding contact fatigue machine. This machine is currently located at CSM and is still actively used by graduate students. In addition to mechanical design, Dr. Kennett has experience with the design, implementation, and optimization of closed and open-loop control systems. These systems were developed and used for 6-axis robotic arms and underwater remotely operated vehicles.