Sam Lawton

When you work at Exponent, you collaborate with world-leading experts across multiple fields. You always learn something new — and you have opportunities to bring something new to the team. 

Helping Clients Achieve

Exponent is an engineering and scientific consulting firm. When companies have a problem, and they can't fix it — or they can't fix it in time — they come to us.

We can answer our clients' questions very quickly with our insights, from diagnosis or pre-product design, right through to solving and fixing the problems.  

I trained as a polymer chemist during my Ph.D. at Warwick University in the United Kingdom, and then after that, because polymer chemistry is ubiquitous in the world and opens so many avenues, I ended up working in renewable energies, energy storage, research, and development.

At Exponent, I work specifically on energy storage and battery problems, so when energy devices go wrong, they come to me in the EMEA (Europe, Middle-East and Africa) region. 

A Whole New Level of Problem-Solving

One of the projects we worked on recently was an energy storage project — a huge battery. Projects of this size are interesting. You're not just looking at one relatively small device. You are looking at lots of smaller components that work together. You're trying to locate the problem and to solve issues on a much bigger scale. 

This is one of the challenges that the world will face in the next few decades as we move to electrification. Bigger problems can have bigger consequences, and they require a different way of thinking.  At Exponent, we must employ a whole new approach to problem solving, from diagnosing where the problem issues are, where the initiation sites are, and identifying the correct root-cause for the problem allows us to provide the most suitable solution. 

Every Day Is Different

Week to week at Exponent, you never really know what is coming at you. You're always pushing yourself to learn new things and solve new problems.

Your days are never the same. You are not spending all day sitting in the office. You could be in the lab, on a site inspection, running experiments at an external facility, writing reports, networking at conferences, or engaging with clients. 

Our Breadth of Expertise 

Two of the important aspects of Exponent are that we are both multidisciplinary and global. When we are approached with a problem, we don't always know how it will evolve during our analysis. We may need to build a project team with an electrical engineer, battery expert, and a materials or polymers expert. We may also need someone who understands how clients and end users behave and interact with that product, Exponent has experts across all these fields and many more to draw on allowing us to provide a quick and accurate diagnosis which results in an effective solution.  

It always amazes me that no matter what question you have, there's someone here who can answer it.

We have offices around the globe and a network of partner labs to help us objectively solve scientific problems. It is important to have the best people and resources to draw on because getting it right — and responding very quickly — matters to our clients. 

Support at Work, and Beyond 

As a young person in science, I really appreciate that Exponent puts a lot of effort into pushing my career forward and developing my skills. For example, the company sponsored my Chartered Scientist qualification (CSci) this year, which was a big milestone for me. They also helped me with the application process in terms of answering the questions and reviewing the personal development programs.  

In addition to opportunities for career motivation and professional development, there are the consulting benefits of a personal and work life balance.

Outside of Exponent, there are a whole bunch of things I enjoy doing. I have recently joined the tag rugby team, which is great fun. It is great to be outside exercising, especially in the summer. I also enjoy theater and live music, which are also good ways to unwind and spend an evening.