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Staff

Principia was founded in 2005 by engineers from Exponent, Inc. Our venture is driven by the desire to focus on the fundamental practice of failure analysis and accident reconstruction. We offer the highest level of technical consulting services specializing in failure analysis, the analysis of root causes of accidents and product failures.
   
Yomi Agunbiade, P.E.
CEO / Senior Engineer

Yomi specializes in engineering analysis, management of complex infrastructure projects, and executive management. He brings 18 years of design, construction and executive-level leadership experience in the public sector.

His skills include project scheduling, cost estimating, logistics and planning, financial analysis, contract negotiation, dispute resolution, organizational development and management, public speaking and public relations.

Yomi’s public sector experience ranges from engineering design to infrastructure project and construction management to the executive leadership of one of the largest departments in the City and County of San Francisco.

Craig Brozinsky, Ph.D.
Senior Scientist

Dr. Craig Brozinsky is a Human Factors scientist with Principia. His areas of expertise include driver and pedestrian behaviors related to visibility, expectation, distraction, and response time. In the context of warnings and safety information, he analyzes injury databases to determine risks associated with consumer products and activities. He evaluates slips and falls and is a Certified XL Tribometrist.

Casey Bryden
Senior Engineer

Mr. Casey Bryden is an Senior Engineer with Principia. He works predominantly on vehicular accident reconstruction, as well as mechanical design failure analysis. Mr. Bryden specializes in motorcycle accident reconstruction, and mechanical failure analysis of bicycle and motorcycle design. He is involved in collection of field data as well as digital data acquisition for measurement and analysis of acceleration and vehicle speed. He also has expertise using computer simulation software for accident reconstruction and analysis.

Prior to working at Principia, Mr. Bryden was an engineer with Boster, Kobayashi and Associates as a consultant for accident reconstruction. Prior to that Mr. Bryden worked as a design engineer in the motorcycle industry for 7 years, as well as a test engineer in the bicycle industry for 2 years. Mr. Bryden has been working in the field of accident reconstruction since 2018.

Sajal Chirvi, Ph.D.
Senior Engineer

Dr. Sajal Chirvi is a Biomedical Engineer with expertise in human injury mechanisms, causation, and tolerance; occupant kinematics; and accident reconstruction. She has a robust background in experimental design, medical record analysis, and simulation tools. In conjunction with biomechanics, she performs accident reconstruction to determine the configuration and severity of accidents. She has extensively published on human injury risk curves for the cervical spine, lumbar spine, and lower extremities for under-body loading. Additionally, she has studied and published the effects of age, sex, and padding (e.g., boots, helmets) on injury tolerance.

Before transitioning to forensic sciences, Sajal led impactful research initiatives at the Medical College of Wisconsin, where she advanced the understanding of musculoskeletal injury tolerance, developed injury risk curves, and contributed to the Army’s Soldier Protection mission. Her expertise spans injury biomechanics, finite element modeling, statistical analysis, and human-material property definitions. Notably, she co-authored a grant to study the mechanism of cumulative damage from repetitive low-level insults to the head in traumatic brain injury (TBI) research. Her extensive research experience, combined with a track record of securing significant funding, has made her a key player in advancing scientific understanding of injury mechanisms, particularly in the context of under-body loading.

Stormy Cotton
Admin
Daniel Desautels, M.S., P.E.
Principal Engineer

Mr. Desautels is a Mechanical Engineer specializing in accident reconstruction and failure analysis of mechanical systems. His areas of expertise include vehicle dynamics, instrumentation and testing, and electronic data recording systems. He is proficient in digital data acquisition for measurement and analysis of acceleration, vehicle speed, and component displacement.

He is also an ACTAR-certified Accident Reconstructionist and has expertise using computer simulation software for accident reconstruction and analysis. He has Technician and Analyst level certifications for the Bosch CDR system and has significant experience retrieving and/or analyzing electronic “black box” data from passenger vehicles, heavy trucks, trains, onboard vehicle camera systems, and other data recording systems.

Jason Droll, Ph.D.
Principal Scientist

Dr. Jason Droll is a human factors scientist specializing in the analysis of decisions and behavior, most commonly during driving, bicycling, or walking. He has been a forensic consultant since 2008 and has been retained hundreds of times, and has testified on issues addressing visibility, attention, reaction time, memory, and the role of expectation.

Benjamin J. Ewers III, Ph.D., P.E.
Principal Engineer

Evaluation of Human Surrogate Models for Rollover

Ben, one of the founders of Principia, is a Mechanical Engineer specializing in the biomechanics of human injury and accident reconstruction. He has experience investigating a wide range of accidents and injuries including automotive accidents, occupational injury, and recreational activities.

Dezaray Flores
Admin
Maria Friesen
Admin
Stephen Harper, B.S., P.E.
Senior Engineer

Mr. Harper is a Mechanical Engineer specializing in accident reconstruction and failure analysis of mechanical systems. He has expertise using computer simulation software for accident reconstruction and analysis. He has experience retrieving and analyzing electronic “black box” data from passenger vehicles and heavy trucks.

John Manning
Forensic Animator

Mr. Manning is a 20+ year veteran of the 3D visualization field, and has contributed graphics and animation work to a multitude of projects, ranging from conceptual product design visualizations, technology tutorials, demonstrative exhibits, and more.

Working closely with engineers, scientists, and subject matter experts, John is proficient in grasping complex technologies and scenarios, and creating 3-Dimensional visuals and presentations that help others – judges, juries and laymen – understand pertinent issues in a wide range of cases.

John is an active member of Autodesk’s User Advisory Board and ACM-SIGGRAPH (Association for Computing Machinery – Special Interest Group on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques).

Jace Priester
Forensic Animator

Jace is a Forensic Animator who specializes in creating physically accurate and photorealistic 3D models and animations. With a versatile skill set and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, he can also perform video analysis, motion tracking, line of sight analysis, vehicle dynamics, software development, and software and data file format reverse engineering. Jace is adept at using PhotoModeler, Agisoft Metashape, and Blender. He has also functioned as a consulting software developer for the Blender Foundation. He uses a variety of other software as well to stay on the forefront of modeling and animation techniques.

His prior work as an Accident Reconstructionist means he brings expert insight into his projects. Constantly anticipating needs and clearly communicating how models and animations can be used to effectively convey information. Not constrained to a single field, he has produced work for automotive accidents, workplace accidents, medical offices, and for slips, trips and falls.

Alene Riley
Admin
Eric Rossetter, Ph.D., P.E.
Principal Engineer

Using HVE to Simulate a Nine Vehicle Accident Involving a Heavy Truck

Dr. Eric Rossetter is a Mechanical Engineer and one of the founders of Principia. His areas of expertise include automotive handling, vehicle systems, electronic control systems, electro-mechanical systems, vibration, and acoustics. Dr. Rossetter specializes in accident reconstruction and failure analysis of mechanical systems. He is proficient in digital data acquisition for measurement and analysis of acceleration, vibration, and acoustics. He also has expertise using computer simulation software for accident reconstruction and analysis.

Catherine Silva
Admin
Shannon Wilson
Associate Engineer

Ms. Shannon Wilson is a Mechanical Engineer with Principia. She works predominantly on vehicular accident reconstruction, mechanical and structural failure analysis and product liability analysis. She is involved in digital data acquisition for measurement and analysis of acceleration and vehicle speed, production of final written report, and expert witness testimony.