Exponent, Inc.

Quality 0.50 · 0 views · Updated 2 months ago

American company

title: "Exponent, Inc." type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["university-spin-offs", "consulting-firms-established-in-1967", "engineering-consulting-firms-of-the-united-states", "international-engineering-consulting-firms", "companies-listed-on-the-nasdaq", "companies-based-in-menlo-park,-california", "multinational-companies-headquartered-in-the-united-states", "1967-establishments-in-california", "companies-in-the-s&p-400"] description: "American company" topic_path: "engineering" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exponent,_Inc." license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American company ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox company"]

FieldValue
nameExponent, Inc.
logoExponent logo.svg
image149 Commonwealth Drive.jpg
image_captionHeadquarters in Menlo Park
native_name_lang
former_nameFailure Analysis Associates, Inc. (1967–1988)
The Failure Group, Inc. (1989–1998)
traded_as
industryResearch
predecessor
successor
founded, in Palo Alto, California, U.S.
foundersAlan Stephen Tetelman
Bernard Ross
Marsh Pound
John Shyne
Sathya V. Hanagud
defunct
hq_location_cityMenlo Park, California
hq_location_countryU.S.
num_locations_year
area_served
key_peopleCatherine F. Corrigan (CEO)
production_year
revenue_year
income_year
net_income
net_income_year
aum
assets_year
equity_year
owner
members_year
num_employees1,313 (December 30, 2022)
num_employees_year
slogan
module
website
::

| name = Exponent, Inc. | logo = Exponent logo.svg | logo_size = | logo_alt = | logo_caption = | logo_padding = | image = 149 Commonwealth Drive.jpg | image_size = | image_alt = | image_caption = Headquarters in Menlo Park | trading_name = | native_name = | native_name_lang = | romanized_name = | former_name = Failure Analysis Associates, Inc. (1967–1988) The Failure Group, Inc. (1989–1998) | type = | traded_as = | ISIN = | industry = Research | fate = | predecessor = | successor = | founded = , in Palo Alto, California, U.S. | founders = Alan Stephen Tetelman Bernard Ross Marsh Pound John Shyne Sathya V. Hanagud | defunct = | hq_location = | hq_location_city = Menlo Park, California | hq_location_country = U.S. | coordinates = | num_locations = | num_locations_year = | area_served = | key_people = Catherine F. Corrigan (CEO) | products = | brands = | production = | production_year = | services = | revenue = | revenue_year = | operating_income = | income_year = | net_income = | net_income_year = | aum = | assets = | assets_year = | equity = | equity_year = | owner = | members = | members_year = | num_employees = 1,313 (December 30, 2022) | num_employees_year = | parent = | divisions = | subsid = | slogan = | module = | website = | footnotes =

Exponent, Inc. is an American engineering and scientific consulting firm. Exponent has a team of scientists, physicians, engineers, and business consultants which performs research and analysis in more than 90 technical disciplines. The company operates 20 offices in the United States and five offices overseas.

History

Founding and leadership

Failure Analysis Associates (FaAA) was founded in April 1967 by then Stanford University professor Alan Stephen Tetelman along with his colleagues Bernard Ross, Marsh Pound, John Shyne and Sathya V. Hanagud with $500 in capital.

At the time of FaAA's founding, Ross was also an engineering program manager at SRI International (then the Stanford Research Institute) (1965–1970). While en route to the site of a Navy jet crash investigation, Tetelman was killed on September 25, 1978, in the PSA Flight 182 air crash over San Diego between a PSA jet liner and a private Cessna airplane that claimed the lives of 144 people. He was forty-two years old.

Ross assumed the presidency of Failure Analysis Associates after the accident. Tetelman was a world-renowned expert in fracture mechanics and co-authored a textbook titled "The Principles of Engineering Materials" with Craig R. Barrett (former CEO of Intel) and Stanford professor, William D. Nix, published by Prentice-Hall in 1973.

In 1982, Roger McCarthy assumed the leadership of FaAA, becoming chief executive officer in 1982 until 1996, and chairman of the board in 1986 until 2005. McCarthy joined FaAA in 1978 and became a director and vice-president in 1980.

In 2004, McCarthy was elected to the National Academy of Engineering.

Michael R. Gaulke served as the chief executive officer of Exponent Inc. from June 1996 to May 28, 2009. He is currently chairman of the board of directors. Mr. Gaulke served as president of Exponent Inc. from March 1993 to May 22, 2007. Mr. Gaulke first joined Exponent Inc. in September 1992 and served as its executive vice president and chief financial officer.

In 2008, Oregon State University inducted Mr. Gaulke into its Engineering Hall of Fame.

Paul R. Johnston was the chief executive officer at Exponent Inc. from May 28, 2009 – May 31, 2018. Johnston was president of Exponent Inc. from May 2007 until July 2016. Johnston joined Exponent in 1981 and served as its Principal Engineer since 1987 and vice president since 1996. Johnston has co-authored a book titled "Structural Dynamics by Finite Elements" published by Prentice-Hall in 1987. On May 31, 2018, Johnston stepped down from the position of chief executive officer to be an executive chairman.

Catherine F. Corrigan was named president of Exponent, Inc. on July 29, 2016. Corrigan joined Exponent's Philadelphia office in 1996, was promoted to principal in 2002 and to corporate vice president in 2005. Corrigan was promoted to group vice president to lead the Transportation Group and joined the company's operating committee in 2012.

On May 31, 2018, Corrigan was appointed to chief executive officer.

Incorporation

Failure Analysis Associates was founded as a partnership, incorporated in 1968 in California and reincorporated in Delaware as Failure Analysis Associates, Inc. in 1988.

In 1989, McCarthy reincorporated Failure Analysis Associates, Inc. in Delaware under a holding company, The Failure Group, Inc. and took The Failure Group, Inc. public in 1990. The company changed its name to Exponent, Inc. in 1998.

Company activities

Exponent has been involved in the investigations of many well known incidents including the now debunked report aired on Dateline in 1993 about fires and explosions involving sidesaddle fuel tanks on Chevrolet C/K trucks, the disputed Consumer Reports finding on Suzuki roll-over safety, the 2009–2010 Toyota vehicle recalls, the crash of American Airlines Flight 587 among many other aviation accidents, and the Exxon Valdez oil spill. The Federal Emergency Management Agency also hired Exponent to examine the Oklahoma City bombing damage aftermath, specifically the damage to the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. NASA hired Exponent in 1986 to determine the causes of the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster.

In 2003, Exponent was hired by the U.S. government to investigate the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. In 2017, Samsung hired Exponent to determine cause of thermal runaway of the Note 7 Phone batteries.

Exponent has ISO 9001 accreditation, indicating independently audited and certified quality management practices. The company also is certified for battery, energy storage and compliance testing.

Neutrality

The quality and neutrality of reports produced by the company have been called into question on various controversial topics. Common points of critique include corporate denialism and that, for industrial clients, only favorable reports are seemingly produced. Examples include Exponent arguing in 2001 that dioxins do not cause cancer. These questions of conflict of interest have been disputed. The type of work that Exponent performs is contractually highly confidential—until their clients decide otherwise. Thus, while Exponent may issue reports that are both favorable and unfavorable to its clients, Exponent's clients have the option of releasing only the favorable reports, creating the appearance of bias.

According to the Los Angeles Times, "Exponent's research has come under fire from critics, including engineers, attorneys and academics who say the company tends to deliver to clients the reports they need to mount a public defense." Exponent's executive chairman responded that such criticism is a "cheap shot", responding "Do we tell our clients a lot of what they don't want to hear? Absolutely." but that they also often come up with results not favoring their clients. No concrete examples were however provided for the paper. In 2009, the Amazon Defense Coalition criticized an Exponent study commissioned by the energy company Chevron that dumping oil waste didn't cause cancer because Chevron's largest shareholder was a director on Exponent's board. The firm was also criticized for assisting industry efforts to reduce chromium regulation.

Notable projects

Partial listing of notable projects:

Research areas

Exponent's services are concentrated on multiple practices and centers, including:

References

References

  1. "Exponent Celebrates 39 Years of Engineering & Scientific Excellence". www.je.st.
  2. "Prof. Sathya V Hanagud resume". [[Georgia tech]].
  3. "A California Firm Searches for a Cause in the Rubble of the Kansas City Hotel Disaster". [[People Magazine]].
  4. "Bernard Ross". [[Exponent, Inc]].
  5. "University of California: In Memoriam, 1980". [[University of California]].
  6. "Media Credits". www.craneprocon.com.
  7. (February 2022). "WHAT WENT WRONG: MACHINE FAILURES 1977". [[YouTube]].
  8. (1973). "The Principles of Engineering Materials". [[Prentice-Hall]].
  9. "2nd Korybalski Lecture Features Roger McCarthy". [[University of Michigan]].
  10. "Michael R. Gaulke". [[Oregon State University]].
  11. (April 2023). "Paul R. Johnston". [[Business Week]].
  12. (1987). "Structural Dynamics by Finite Elements". [[Prentice-Hall]].
  13. "Exponent, Inc. (EXPO) Names Catherine Corrigan CEO and Paul R. Johnston as Executive Chairman". StreetInsider.com.
  14. "Exponent Appoints Dr. Catherine Corrigan to President".
  15. "10-K SEC Filing". sec.edgar-online.com.
  16. Hakim, Danny. [https://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/09/business/suzuki-resolves-a-dispute-with-a-consumer-magazine.html "Suzuki Resolves a Dispute With a Consumer Magazine"], ''The New York Times'', 9 July 2004.
  17. Bensinger, Ken. (February 18, 2010). "Toyota calls in Exponent Inc. as hired gun". [[Los Angeles Times]].
  18. Thomas, Ken. (March 8, 2010). "Toyota disputes critic who blames electronics". [[Associated Press]].
  19. "[Infographic] Galaxy Note7: What We Discovered".
  20. [https://web.archive.org/web/20100304092815/http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?ticker=EXPO:US EXPONENT INC (EXPO:US): Company Profile - BusinessWeek]
  21. (March 2007). "Secret ties to industry and conflicting interests in cancer research". American Journal of Industrial Medicine.
  22. (2006). "Selected science: an industry campaign to undermine an OSHA hexavalent chromium standard". Environ Health.
  23. "Case: Side Saddle Gas Tanks". Wadsworth.com.
  24. (April 12, 1996). "Suzuki Sues Magazine for Critical Samurai Review". [[Los Angeles Times]].
  25. (November 12, 2001). "Airliner Crash". [[PBS]].
  26. "MEET THE MEMBER - Russ Westmann". [[American Society of Civil Engineers]].
  27. "Exxon Valdez Oil Spill". [[Exponent, Inc]].
  28. "Oklahoma City Bombing". [[Exponent, Inc]].
  29. "Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster". [[Exponent, Inc]].
  30. "Exponent: The Company That Failure Built". failuremag.com.
  31. "Kansas City Hyatt Regency". [[Exponent, Inc]].
  32. "Affidavit by the CEO of Failure Analysis Associates". assassinationweb.com.
  33. "JFK Assassination". [[Exponent, Inc]].
  34. "Multimedia". [[Exponent, Inc]].
  35. "World Trade Center". [[Exponent, Inc]].
  36. (May 6, 2015). "Investigative report concerning footballs used during the AFC Championship game on January 18, 2015".
  37. "[Infographic] Galaxy Note7: What We Discovered". [[Samsung]].

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

university-spin-offsconsulting-firms-established-in-1967engineering-consulting-firms-of-the-united-statesinternational-engineering-consulting-firmscompanies-listed-on-the-nasdaqcompanies-based-in-menlo-park,-californiamultinational-companies-headquartered-in-the-united-states1967-establishments-in-californiacompanies-in-the-s&p-400