Experts
Our Expert Team
Dr. Dave Curry
Principal Consultant
Dr. Dave Curry is the Principal Consultant for Curry Human Factors & Safety. He holds graduate and undergraduate degrees in Experimental, Human Factors, and Cognitive/Perceptual Psychology, and graduate degrees in both Industrial Engineering and Business. His experience includes over 40 years work in accident investigation, product design and development, operational testing and analysis, and both laboratory and field research in the control/display, aviation, and surface vehicle arenas.
He consults on all aspects of human factors, applied human performance, ergonomics, and safety. Areas of particular expertise include: human-machine interface design and evaluation, human capabilities and limitations in applied environments, industrial ergonomics, instructions and warnings, perception/vision/visibility, slips/trips/falls, the evaluation of equipment/facilities/structures from a human use standpoint, and safety-related issues in general. He is recognized as an expert in operator-vehicle interaction and is a both a Certified Human Factors Professional (CHFP) and a Certified Safety Professional (CSP). He is the author of over sixty technical papers, research reports, and book chapters dealing with various aspects of human factors, industrial ergonomics, safety, and accident investigation. He has been awarded four U.S. patents, as well as numerous industry awards for the design of new products. He has and does serve as a member of national standards-making committees for a variety of organizations (e.g., ANSI, ASTM, and SAE.) He has provided expert testimony in both State and Federal courts across the country, and has acted as the lead investigator in over 500 projects over the past 20+ years.
Dr. Curry spent over 25 years in the US Air Force and Air Force Reserve, retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel. While in uniform, he worked with the Air Force Research Laboratory, primarily in the areas of display technologies, aircrew training, and pilot-vehicle interface design.
Mary Pappas
Client Relations Manager
Mary Pappas is the Client Relations Manager for Curry Human Factors & Safety and is a critical component to our success. She has over two decades of experience in project management across multiple diverse industries, and is highly skilled in meeting the unique needs of attorney/insurance clients, including scheduling, production of materials, supporting research, project scheduling, and coordination among multiple clients or consultants working on the common projects. She takes great pride in providing outstanding client support, making herself available even outside of normal business hours to ensure that projects are successfully completed with all client needs met.
External Consultants
Curry Human Factors & Safety often works with other professionals that are experts within their own fields. The individuals listed below are some of our most frequent collaborators. We can also assist you in finding experts in other fields. Just ask us!
Dr. John Meyer
Mechanical Engineering Consultant
Dr. John Meyer is a Mechanical Engineering consultant affiliated with Curry Human Factors & Safety. His expertise is focused on all aspects of mechanical engineering and conducts engineering investigations into accidents, incidents, mishaps, and machine failures of all kinds. He has directed hundreds of investigations over the past two decades involving a widely diverse range of items including aircraft, industrial equipment and machinery, automobiles and other vehicles as well as consumer products.
Besides accident causation, Dr. Meyer is skilled in the areas of engineering design, failure analysis, loading, vibration, fatigue, equipment performance, photogrammetric analysis, and examination of forces, mechanics, kinematics and thermodynamics in relation to design, structural integrity, strength, and durability.
Dr. Meyer has degrees in both mechanical engineering and physics. He has Ph.D. and S.M.M.E. in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), as well as a B.S. in physics from Bethel College. He is a licensed professional engineer in the states of Illinois and Alabama.
Jeff Williams
Labatory & Technical Services
Jeff Williams provides laboratory and technical services including failure reconstruction and product reliability testing, prototype development, fixture design and creation, courtroom models and displays, sales and trade show displays, CAD drawings, CNC machining and 3D printing. Jeff field support in the areas of on-site laser scanning, total station surveys, drone photo-and videography, photography, and video documentation/editing.
He has a varied technical services background with experience in failure analysis, testing, design and construction of fixtures, scale models and displays. He also has extensive experience contributing as a team member of several research projects. He designed and fabricated test fixtures for three NASA funded SBIR projects, two of which were flown on board the NASA microgravity jet. The third project was a ground-based fixture that used radioactive materials as a containment for high-temperature heating experiments. He has worked on building and designing prototypes for the Department of Defense, US Department of Agriculture, Department of Energy and the US Marine Corps. He has also performed testing on firearms, railroad equipment, industrial fixtures, automobiles, construction equipment, forklifts, aircraft, watercraft, retail displays, consumer products and new inventions. In addition to nearly 40 years of industry experience, Mr. Williams holds a degree in Business from the University of the Ozarks.
Marc Edgcombe
Accident Reconstruction
Marc Edgcombe was first introduced to Accident Investigation and Reconstruction in 2009 when he attended and participated in his first Michigan Association of Traffic Accident Investigators (MATAI) Conference. During that conference, he remotely operated a full scale vehicle at 55 miles per hour for a live crash test. Since that conference, Mr. Edgcombe has been instrumental in the design, construction, and piloting of every remotely controlled crash vehicle MATAI has used in their live crash test conferences. Marc is a current member of MATAI and continues to attend both Spring and Fall conferences for continued education and research. Marc is also a licensed Private Pilot and ACTAR Accredited.
James Idema
Transportation Safety & Regulations; Load/Cargo Securement & Safety; Vehicle Mechanical Defects & Safety
James Idema has acquired nearly three decades of experience in the trucking and transportation industry, while also acquiring in-depth knowledge of heavy hauling, permits, construction work zones, maintenance/mechanics and dock operations. Mr. Idema’s knowledge and experience encompasses federal and state regulatory compliance, driver hiring/firing/training, shipper standard of care, loading and unloading, cargo/load securement, fleet operations, safe and prudent practices and driver standard of care. Mr. Idema is also State Certified in Heavy Duty Brakes, Heavy Duty Steering, and Heavy Duty Suspension. This is all merged with his vast background in the realities of fleet operations and management.
William Baareman
Transportation Safety & Regulations; Transportation/CMV Operator Industry Standards
Bill Baareman has over 18 years of experience in the trucking industry with an extensive knowledge of regulatory compliance, driver training, and commercial motor vehicle equipment. Bill has gained his expertise as a “trucking safety expert” from his knowledge and experience in the “driver’s standard of care” and his career as a State of Michigan Certified Commercial Driver’s License Instructor. Bill also possesses a vast knowledge and expertise of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regulations, along with the state and local regulations, governing the commercial motor vehicle industry. Bill has earned his designation as an OSHA safety expert through the extensive training he has completed, throughout the years, on federal and state OSHA regulations, his experience in managing and overseeing OSHA compliance as an Operations Manager and has successfully completed an entire overhaul of a company’s warehouse and fleet operations to become, and remain, in compliance with all federal and state OSHA regulations. Bill is knowledgeable and experienced in the practices of properly loading and unloading, as well as forklift safety.
Bobbi Jo Hill
Transportation Safety & Regulations
Bobbi Jo has acquired over two decades of experience in the trucking and transportation industry, while also acquiring in-depth knowledge of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, fleet management, safety consulting, Federal and State audit procedures, and Safety Management Plans (SMPs), for both State and Federal level audits. Mrs. Hill’s knowledge and experience encompasses federal and state regulatory compliance, driver hiring/firing/training, loading and unloading, cargo/load securement, fleet operations, safe and prudent practices and driver standard of care. Mrs. Hill also holds a Class A CDL, with passenger, school bus and tanker endorsements. This is all merged with her vast background as a State of Michigan CDL Training and Testing Instructor and as a State of Michigan CDL Skills Test Examiner.
We Provide A Clear & Concise Analysis
We present our analyses in a clear, readily understandable form to clients, attorneys, and juries. Our goal is to have decisions regarding the projects and cases we are involved in made based on a thorough understanding of the scientific and technical issues involved, not on appeals to emotion or theory.