02/08 - Lisa Thomas returns to BRC

 

BRC proudly announces the return of Lisa K. Thomas. For her CV please follow this link.

 

11/07- Improved Image Gallery

BRC has an improved image gallery on our Lab Capabilities page. Highslide JS, an open source image viewer written in javascript, allows images to be loaded first as thumbnails, but gives the viewer the option to expand the image to a higher resolution. Initially the image expands only to meet the users browser window. However, the user has the option to view the images full resolution by selecting the expand button in the lower right hand corner of the image window. Additionally, the expanded image can be minimized, moved, and each image can be cycled through like a slide show. This new gallery allows us to display the quality of imaging done at BRC that was previously unafforded by the constraints of the world wide web.

 

10/07 - Scott Buske Joins the BRC Team

We proudly announce the addition of Scott E. Buske, P.E., to BRC as a Senior Mechanical Engineer. With more than ten years of forensic experience, Mr. Buske has been involved in a range of cases including fires, floods, and mechanical failures. Mr. Buske brings to bear extensive work experience in automated machine design, product manufacture, and failure analysis. He has also been published in ASME, created numerous patented items, and worked with Underwriters Laboratories engineers in the formulation of UL-listed products. He also started a machine enclosure company that designed and manufactured large machine guards that were sold in the United States and Europe.

Mr. Buske's forensic work has focused on fire investigation involving suspected failed appliances and electrical wiring, and water damage claims due to faults in plumbing, fire sprinkler systems, and pump failures. With his work experience in machine guarding, he has conducted numerous machine guarding investigations. For the last 15 years Mr. Buske has been utilizing finite-element analysis to create 3D models and animations that analyze and depict the mechanisms of material failures. These animations have proven useful in illustrating the failure mode, as they visually show stresses developed in a system under load.

He has spent a considerable amount of time in the mountains with his family riding quads, dirt bikes, and snowmobiles. Due to this experience, he has begun to investigate losses involving off road vehicles as well.

 

Please welcome Scott Buske as the newest member of BRC!

08/07 - The R. Brady Williamson Memorial Library

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

R. Brady Williamson was a pioneer in fire safety engineering science. A professor at the University of California, Berkeley from 1968 until his death in 2006, he was at the forefront of the introduction of scientific rigor and realism to fire testing. With a distinguished academic background in physics at Harvard and MIT, his research in product flammability and combustibility led to the seminal creation of the "corner test," a more accurate examination of material flammability in real life situations. BRC's Dr. Bernard Cuzzillo, a student of Prof. Williamson, has undertaken an effort to preserve his legacy with the creation of the R. Brady Williamson Memorial Library. After receiving the donation of his personal research library, Carolyn Schubert, BRC's office manager and in-house librarian, has been working towards preserving the paper documents and transferring them into a digital format. The aim of the library is that, by digitizing the collection, the works will be far more accessible to researchers and fire science engineers around the country, allowing larger discussions within the fire science community and facilitating advancements. More on Dr. Williamson's career and contributions to the field are found here and here.

 

 

01/07 - Society of Forensic Engineers trip to Keck Observatory

The Society of Forensic Engineers took a trip to the Keck Observatory in Hawaii. Dr. Bernard Cuzzillo from BRC was in attendance. Below are photos of the event.