OUR PEOPLE
John Martens
Ph.D., M.B.A., P.E., CFEI, CVFI
Office Director and Principal Engineer
Office: +1-312-999-4201
Mobile: +1-630-215-5590
Academic Credentials
- M.B.A., Business Administration, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 2003
- Ph.D., Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Case Western Reserve University, 2000
- B.S., Electrical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, 1993
- M.S., Electrical Engineering and Applied Physics, Case Western Reserve University, 1993
Licenses & Certifications
- Professional Engineer, Alabama, #PE51510
- Professional Engineer, Washington DC, #PE.906421
- Professional Engineer ECEE, Florida, #85797
- Professional Engineer, Illinois, #62058837
- Professional Engineer, Kansas, #PE25630
- Professional Engineer, Michigan, #6201057824
- Professional Engineer, Missouri, #2010036256
- Professional Engineer, North Carolina, #37584
- Professional Engineer, New York, #86510
- Professional Engineer, Ohio, #PE.65142
- Professional Engineer Electrical, Texas, #105276
- Professional Engineer, West Virginia, #19078
- Certified Fire and Explosion Investigator (CFEI)
- Certified Vehicle Fire Investigator (CVFI)
- Crash Data Retrieval Technician Levels 1 & 2, Collison Safety Institute
- IPAF Operator Training Certificate - Static Vertical (1a), Mobile Vertical (3a), Mobile Boom (3b)
Professional Honors
- Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society
- Eta Kappa Nu/IEEE's Award for Outstanding Senior in Electrical Engineering
- Ohio Aerospace Institute Fellowship
- Centerior Energy Fellowship
- General Motors Scholarship
- Case Alumni Association Scholarship
- Dean's High Honors
Professional Affiliations
- Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers — IEEE (senior member)
- Subcommittee Member for Guidelines for Safe Automation of Chemical Processes, 2nd Edition. Center for Chemical Process Safety, American Institute of Chemical Engineers, Wiley, 2017
- International Society of Automation—ISA (member)
- National Fire Protection Association—NFPA (member)
- Principal Member: Technical Committee on Single Burner Boilers, NFPA 85 Boiler and Combustion Systems Hazards Code, National Fire Protection Association, effective August 2015
- Alternate Member: ASME CSD-1 Standard, Controls and Safety Devices for Automatically Fired Boilers, effective June 2017
- Alternate Member: ASME Board on Safety Codes and Standards, effective March 2018
- American Society of Mechanical Engineers—ASME (member)
- National Association of Fire Investigators—NAFI (member)
- Society of Automotive Engineers International—SAE (member)
Dr. Martens applies his expertise as an electrical engineer to the scientific investigation of electrical engineering systems, controls, and software. He has experience with a multitude of technologies centering on electricity, electronics, and controls. Dr. Martens has analyzed control systems, electronics, and electrical equipment as part of incident investigations, intellectual property claims, fires and explosions investigations, system performance analysis, and construction-related claims. Dr. Martens is a committee member of several standards-making organizations (NFPA and ASME), and is a member of IEEE, ISA, NFPA, ASME, NAFI, and SAE. Dr. Martens has provided testimony in various adjudicatory venues such as federal and state court and international arbitration.
EMBEDDED SYSTEMS
Dr. Martens' work on microprocessor-based and microcontroller-based computer systems (embedded systems) encompasses a host of applications including automobiles, robotic systems, appliances, power wheelchairs, and other mechatronic systems. Dr. Martens' expertise includes system-level analysis, sensor evaluations, electronics and circuit design review, components and component failure analysis, software, and firmware (source code) analysis, internet-based system design (IoT), control philosophy and algorithm development.
Dr. Martens has experience developing and testing electronic automotive systems. Prior to joining Ä¢¹½tv, Dr. Martens managed the embedded control systems group at Delphi Corporation, a leading global supplier of mobile electronics and transportation systems, where he developed several systems for improved vehicle performance.
INDUSTRIAL PROCESSES AND MACHINE CONTROL
Dr. Martens is active in the field of industrial process control and applies his knowledge of Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs), Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems, and Distributed Control Systems (DCSs) to industrial machine and process control analyses and investigations. He has analyzed industrial process systems and components, including boilers, burners, generators, turbines, water treatment, mills, pipelines, incinerators, dryers. He has advised his clients regarding the appropriate level of safeguards necessary for the safe operation and control of their systems, assisted them in implementing those safeguards, audited their installations, evaluated interface and alarm systems, and participated in Factory Acceptance Testing, Site Acceptance Testing, and control system commissioning. He draws from his accident investigation experience and his knowledge of industry standards to perform process hazard analyses.
Dr. Martens has analyzed machine controls for cranes, lifts, mining equipment, amusement park rides, robotics, computer vision-based systems, construction equipment, packaging systems, agricultural and farming equipment, food processing equipment, and more. In addition to system-level design philosophy, he has analyzed wiring, sensors and switches, actuators, and control logic.
ELECTRICAL POWER SYSTEMS
Dr. Martens' work on electrical power systems has encompassed a wide range of technologies including fossil fuel-based and biomass-based electric power generation and hydroelectric generation. He has evaluated specifications, installations, workmanship, construction, maintenance, and failures of industrial, commercial, and utility power generation and distribution systems and components. He has experience managing facilities, working with electricians, analyzing electrical systems and switchgear equipment failures and fires in a variety of environments, including utilities, industrial settings, underground and surface mining, water treatment facilities, and more.
FIRE AND EXPLOSIONS
Dr. Martens has experience evaluating wiring, appliances, electrical products, power supplies, batteries, battery-operated equipment and more in the context of evaluating failure modes and fires. He has conducted Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)-related investigations for a variety of products. He has been involved in complex domestic and international fire investigations. Further, he has experience evaluating products and appliances in laboratory environments and performing forced-failure testing. Additionally, Dr. Martens has investigated and explored the role of the control systems in such incidents. He applies his knowledge of hardware and logic (programming) to understand control system responses prior to and during fires and explosions.
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