Engineering Staff |
Michael R. Bracki, P.E. Michael R. Bracki, P.E.As Co-Founder of Factorial! Inc., Mr. Bracki brings over 11 years of engineering experience in accident investigation, accident reconstruction, failure analysis, product and vehicle testing. He has extensive expertise with on-site accident investigation, scene documentation and evidence mapping using Leica Geo-Systems survey equipment. In addition, Mr. Bracki has completed numerous reconstructions of railway, personal automobile, commercial truck, bus, motorcycle and pedestrian accidents including failure analysis of steering and suspension components.As a certified Crash Data Retrieval (CDR) Technician and Analyst, Mr. Bracki has specialized training and experience in “Black Box” technology for interrogation and interpretation of data from onboard event data recording devices in both automobiles and commercial trucks. Mr. Bracki also has specialized training and experience in both 2-D and 3-D computer simulation of accident sequences. Furthermore, he has completed failure analysis and safety investigations of airport Ground Service Equipment (GSE) including scissor lifts, de-icing trucks, and baggage handling equipment as well as cranes, construction equipment, and personnel lifts. Engineering analysis techniques include photogrammetry and detailed time review and analysis of surveillance video for accident reconstruction. Mr. Bracki is also a well-seasoned motorcyclist with over 19 years of riding experience. Recently selcted for promotion to the rank of Major, Mr. Bracki is an aircraft commander in the 126th Air Refueling Wing where he pilots the KC-135R Stratotanker. He has completed ten over-seas deployments in support of various Operations including Iraqi Freedom, Enduring Freedom, Noble Eagle, and Clean Hunter. He carries a top-secret security clearance and also posseses an FAA commercial pilot certificate with single and multi-engine instrument ratings. Prior to founding Factorial, Mr. Bracki worked as a Senior Staff Engineer at Packer Engineering where his duties included accident investigation and reconstruction, computer simulations of accident sequences, product testing, failure analysis, field investigation and documentation of accident scenes and training of junior engineers. Mr. Bracki was awarded a B.S. in Engineering Mechanics and a M.S. in Civil Engineering with an emphasis in Materials Science from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. His graduate research was focused on analysis of fatigue failure of steel weldments. He is a registered Professional Engineer in the states of Illinois and West Virginia and also has a current NCEES Record on file. Download Curriculum Vitae for Mr. Bracki (PDF) Fred R. Monick, P.E.As Co-Founder of Factorial! With Michael Bracki, Mr. Monick brings nearly 27 years experience in failure analysis, accident investigation and reconstruction, design analysis and product safety testing in the transportation industry and mechanical engineering. He has extensive experience in the investigation and reconstruction of automobile, heavy truck, motorcycle and pedestrian accidents. He has also been involved in railroad accident investigation and aircraft ground collision reconstruction. His training and experience include automotive, motorcycle and heavy truck component failure analysis, including wheel loss, brake failures, engine failures, sudden acceleration and transmission failures as well as power take-off and truck hydraulic system failures. He also has training and experience in the download and analysis of automotive and commercial vehicle data recorders or “black boxes” and in computer aided accident reconstruction. He has extensive background in the analysis of low speed impacts. Prior to founding Factorial!, Mr. Monick was Director of Transportation Engineering for nine years at Packer Engineering in Naperville, IL. Before that Mr. Monick conducted his own private engineering consulting practice. His work included vehicular accident investigation and reconstruction, design and failure analysis and the development of computer programs for vehicle powertrain simulation, angular momentum accident reconstruction and heavy truck downhill braking simulation. Mr. Monick holds three patents related to heavy truck disc brakes. He holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the Illinois Institute of technology and M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is also licensed Professional Engineer in the State of Illinois. Download Curriculum Vitae for Mr. Monick (PDF)
Craig L. Jensen, Ph.D., P.E.As the most recent and welcome addition to Factorial! Inc., Dr. Jensen brings more than 32 years of experience in the field of metallurgy and materials science with more than 15 years of experience in the area of failure analysis and forensic engineering. He has considerable experience involving failure analysis in the transportation industry including automotive and commercial transportation. With more than18 years of experience with Alcoa, Dr. Jensen provides clients with a unique depth of understanding and background on the properties and failure modes of aluminum alloys which are commonly used in the automotive, transportation and aerospace industries. In addition, Dr. Jensen’s industrial experience is valuable in understanding product development and manufacturing processes as they relate to forensic investigations.Prior to coming to Factorial! Inc., Dr. Jensen was a Director in the Materials Engineering Department at Packer Engineering. Before that, Dr. Jensen was employed for more than 18 years by Alcoa at the Alcoa Technical Center near Pittsburgh, PA. With Alcoa, Dr. Jensen participated in product development efforts in the areas of building products and transportation as well as providing failure analysis for Alcoa’s products and processes. Prior to Alcoa, Dr. Jensen was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. He holds a B.S. in Physics from the University of Minnesota and a Ph.D. in Metallurgy from Iowa State University. Dr. Jensen holds six U.S. patents as is a licensed Professional Engineer in the State of Illinois. Download Curriculum Vitae for Dr. Jensen (PDF) |
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