Ai-Daiwa, Ltd. v. Apparent, Inc. et al

Filing 54

ORDER re 53 Statement re Failure to Agree on Court-Appointed Expert, filed by Ai-Daiwa, Ltd. Signed by Judge Vince Chhabria on 5/15/2014. (knm, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 5/16/2014)

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CHI-HUNG A. CHAN (SBN 104289)
LAEL D. ANDARA (SBN 215416)
MICHAEL D. KANACH (SBN 271215)
ROPERS, MAJESKI, KOHN & BENTLEY
1001 Marshall Street, Suite 500
Redwood City, CA 94063-2052
Telephone:
[phone]
Facsimile:
[phone]
Email:
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
Attorneys for Plaintiff
AI-DAIWA, LTD.
JACQUELINE DESOUZA, (SBN 133686)
DESOUZA LAW OFFICES, PC
1615 HOPKINS STREET
BERKELEY, CA 94707
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Attorneys for Defendants
APPARENT INC, APPARENT ENERGY INC.,
APPARENT SOLAR INC., AND XSLENT
ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES, LLC; APPARENT
SOLAR INVESTMENTS (II), LLC
ERRONEOUSLY SUED HEREIN AS APPARENT
SOLAR INVESTMENTS, LLC and Counter
claimants APPARENT INC and APPARENT
ENERGY INC

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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AI-DAIWA, LTD.,
Plaintiff,

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CASE NO. CV13-4156 VC

v.

JOINT STATEMENT: RE FAILURE TO
AGREE ON COURT-APPOINTED EXPERT

AND ORDER

APPARENT, INC., a Delaware Corporation;
APPARENT ENERGY, INC., a Delaware
Corporation; APPARENT SOLAR, INC., a
Delaware Corporation; APPARENT SOLAR
INVESTMENTS, LLC, a Hawaii limited
liability company; XSLENT, LLC, a Delaware
limited liability company; XSLENT ENERGY
TECHNOLOGIES, LLC, a Delaware limited
liability company; and DOES 1-10 inclusive,
Defendants.

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JOINT STATEMENT RE COURT-APPOINTED
EXPERT
CV13-4156 VC

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AND RELATED CROSS ACTION

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I.

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INTRODUCTION
At a Case Management Conference, held on April 7, 2014, the Honorable Yvonne
Gonzalez Rogers ordered the parties to meet and confer to provide recommendations for (1) an
expert to serve as a Joint Court Appointed Expert related to the solar power microgrid inverters or
“MGi devices” (the “Products-at-Issue”), and (2) protocols and procedures for the expert’s
opinion related to the Products-at-Issue, including their design, manufacturing, and testing. The
Parties filed a Stipulation on April 9, 2014, and requested more time to select an expert. (Docket
No. 43.) On April 30, 2014, the Honorable Vince Chhabria denied the Stipulation and ordered
the Parties to file a Stipulation for Court-Appointed Expert by May 14, 2014, which included the
name of a particular person the parties agree should be appointed to serve as a technical expert or
two names if the parties cannot agree. (Docket No. 47.) The Parties are unable to agree to the
proposed experts, each of whom is an engineer at Exponent.

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II.

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PROPOSED COURT EXPERT
Plaintiff’s Section:
On April 9, 2014, Plaintiff proposed two experts from Exponent, John Loud, P.E., CFEI,
and Mark McNeely, P.E., CFEI. Defendants proposed one expert, also from Exponent, Ray
Huang, Ph.D., P.E., CFEI. Attached hereto as Exhibit A, B, and C are the professional profiles
from the Exponent website for Loud, McNeely, and Huang, respectively. Their proposed rates
for this matter are as follows: Loud ($495), McNeely ($310), and Huang ($295).
All three are experts at Exponent in Electrical Engineering & Computer Science and have
experience in this field of technology, however, only the experts Plaintiff proposed have
experience providing expert reports in Federal Court.
Loud, a Principal Engineer is the most experienced of the three. Loud has been deposed
numerous times. McNeely and Huang are Managing Engineers. McNeely has been at Exponent

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JOINT STATEMENT RE COURT-APPOINTED
EXPERT
CV13-4156 VC

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since 2002, and has experience testifying and has written numerous expert reports, pursuant to
Federal Rules, as has Loud. McNeely has relevant experience regarding solar power
infrastructure, solar panels, and solar arrays, as stated on his profile, and has performed analysis
of microinverters and related software. McNeely has slightly more experience relevant to the
subject matter of this case, but, more importantly, Plaintiff anticipates that this expert’s analysis
and report could be dispositive of key issues in this case and a lack of experience will be of
utmost concern, considering any expert will likely be deposed.
Huang has been at Exponent since approximately 2010. Huang informed Plaintiff’s
counsel that he has little to no experience drafting reports or testifying in court. Plaintiff objects
to Huang being the lead Court-Appointed Expert based on the fact that he is the least experienced
and most junior of the three proposed experts. Plaintiff finds it incumbent to have an expert
familiar with communicating these complex technical issues and concepts consistent with the
Federal Rules. Both McNeely and Loud have more experience than Huang with respect to
reports and testifying. Defendants have failed to articulate why McNeely or Loud would not be
appropriate experts for this case and have only provided Huang’s name.
Based on the foregoing, Plaintiff proposes McNeely as the lead Court-Appointed Expert.
Plaintiff has confirmed that McNeely is amenable to discussing his qualifications with the Court.
He can be contacted at [phone].
Ironically, despite Defendant’s contention that Loud is the least qualified of these experts,
both McNeely and Huang would concede that Loud is the most experienced and they both often
report to him associated with work in this field. Rather than dispute this fact, Plaintiff has offered
McNeely as Plaintiff’s proposed expert, and have articulated to Defendants several times why
Plaintiff would object to Huang serving in this lead role. Although Plaintiff does not object to
Huang working with McNeely or Loud, Plaintiff objects to Huang being the lead and testifying
expert on this matter.
Defendants’ Section:
At the initial case management conference on April 7th, both parties’ stipulated to a Court-

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JOINT STATEMENT RE COURT-APPOINTED
EXPERT
CV13-4156 VC

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appointed expert to resolve discovery issues by conducting joint testing. The Court asked the
parties to agree on an expert or each submit a name for the Court to select. (See, Docket No. 41
minute order confirming action taken at CMC.) Pursuant to the Court’s order, the parties agreed
to the scope of joint testing but could not agree to an expert. Defendants proposed Ray Huang,
Ph.D., P.E., CFEI as the Court-appointed expert. The Plaintiff proposed Mark McNeely, P.E.,
CFEI or John Loud, P.E., CFEI, although the Court asked for one expert to be submitted by each
party. All experts work at Exponent. When neither party accepted the other’s proposed expert,
Defendants proposed listing Dr. Huang and Mr. McNeeley (whom the plaintiff’s counsel
identified as their proposed choice) as two experts for the Court’s choice and offering to provide
additional information to support their choices. Plaintiff’s counsel refused stating that he could
not accept Dr. Huang as the Court-appointed expert regardless of the stipulation Plaintiff’s
counsel entered into. Instead, Plaintiff’s counsel elects to submit both Mr. McNeeley and Mr.
Loud as well as argument against Dr. Huang. With regret, Defendants are forced to respond.
The Defendants propose Dr. Huang based on his higher education and on his specialty
which is described as “specializing in supplier and manufacturer quality, reliability as well as
product failure and compliance analysis in the area of analog/digital consumer electronics both at
component and system level.” (See, Exhibit C, Dr. Huang’s professional profile.) Dr. Huang’s
specialty focuses on root cause of failures of power supply electronics. A solar microinverter is a
power supply used in a solar energy system. Dr. Huang’s specialty encompasses the claims made
in this litigation, to wit., whether defects in the microinverter were due to Apparent’s poor design,
either by configuration or selection of components, or AI-Daiwa’s poor workmanship. These are
questions that Dr. Huang addresses in his area of work.
Mr. McNeeley has described experience with power supplies, design, and component
failure analysis, but his stated area of specialty is in radio frequency analysis (See, Exhibit B.),
indicating less direct focus to the issues in this case than Dr. Huang. Mr. Loud’s specialty is with
large power components and devices (such as transformers) and electrocutions caused by such
devices. (See, Exhibit A.) This case presents no issue relating to electrocutions or large power

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JOINT STATEMENT RE COURT-APPOINTED
EXPERT
CV13-4156 VC

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components. Contrary to statements made in the Plaintiff’s section above, Defendants’ counsel
has explained on more than one occasion that a comparison of each person’s specialties and
experience indicates Dr. Huang is better suited for this assignment.
The Plaintiff’s counsel also states that Dr. Huang has ‘little to no experience’ with regard
to drafting expert reports and testifying regarding matters of specialized knowledge, as with
regard to expert opinion. Dr. Huang has not provided trial testimony but he has been identified as
an expert on several occasions, provided deposition testimony, and written several expert reports
individually as well as part of a team with regard to state and federal litigation. Dr. Huang may be
contacted by the Court at [phone].

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III.
STIPULATION OF THE PARTIES RELATING TO THE SCOPE OF JOINT TESTING
The Parties by and through their counsel of record stipulated at the Initial Case
Management Conference to joint testing by a Court-appointed expert. While the Parties are
unable to stipulate to the specific expert, they submit the following stipulation as to the standards
and scope of joint testing.
A. STANDARDS
The Federal Rules of Evidence allow a court to appoint an expert either “on its own
motion or on the motion of any party.” Fed. R. Evid. 706(a). Rule 706(a) provides:

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The court may appoint any expert witnesses agreed upon by the parties, and
may appoint expert witnesses of its own selection … A witness so appointed
shall be informed of the witness’ duties by the court in writing, a copy of
which shall be filed with the clerk, or at a conference in which the parties shall
have opportunity to participate. A witness so appointed shall advise the
parties of the witness’ findings, if any; the witness’ deposition may be taken
by any party; and the witness may be called to testify by the court or any
party. The witness shall be subject to cross-examination by each party,
including a party calling the witness.. . .The Court may authorize the
disclosure to the jury that the court appointed the expert and this rule does not
limit a party in calling its own experts.

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JOINT STATEMENT RE COURT-APPOINTED
EXPERT
CV13-4156 VC

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B. PROPOSED ORDER OF APPOINTMENT
Based on the Parties consent at the April 7th Case Management Conference, the Court
appoints an expert as a “Court Expert” under the following terms:
1.

The Court Expert shall serve as a neutral, independent expert regarding the

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following: (a) whether the MGi delivered by AI-Daiwa to Apparent met the specifications and

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testing the Parties agreed to under the Agreement at issue, the November 15, 2011 “Test Plan for

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Apparent System REV D,” or any subsequently agreed-upon quality and testing standards; and,

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(b) Identify the extent and basis of the MGi failures that Defendants have attributed to

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manufacturing defects and AI-Daiwa has attributed to improper design, including selection of

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component(s).

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2.

The Court Expert’s duties shall include the following: (a) to develop, with input

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from both parties, a process to complete the steps identified in paragraph 1; (b) conduct testing to

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complete the steps identified in paragraph 1; (c) to prepare a report to document the testing

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procedure, the tests performed, and the results of the tests; (d) submit to deposition and provide

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testimony at court; (e) provide a basic tutorial to the Court and the jury on the underlying

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technology at issue in the case related to the Products-at-Issue; (f) to provide a tutorial, expert

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analysis and opinions as to the operation of the Products-at-Issue; and (g) to provide expert

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analysis and opinions as to the technical issues in this case regarding the operability of the

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Products-at-Issue.

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3.

The Parties will provide the Court Expert with Materials as described in paragraph

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4 as the Court Expert may require for the use in forming his/her opinions. The materials will be

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provided to the Court Expert within thirty (30) days of the entry of an order appointing him/her.

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Other materials will be provided on a rolling basis as they are required by the expert and/or

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become available during the course of the litigation. The Court Expert is not limited to these

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materials, and may request additional information that he/she believes is necessary.

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4.

Materials

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a.

The following Materials shall be provided to the Court Expert within thirty days of
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JOINT STATEMENT RE COURT-APPOINTED
EXPERT
CV13-4156 VC

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entry of an order appointing him/her:
(i)

Apparent shall provide 10 samples of delivered MGi devices that do not operate

and that were not previously used or sold by Apparent, or otherwise modified by Apparent; and
10 samples of MGi devices that failed in the field;
(ii)

AI and AI-Daiwa shall provide 10 samples of MGi devices produced in the period

2011-2012 and have completed the required testing but have not been delivered to Apparent;
(ii)

A Bill of Materials use for the manufacture of the MGi devices;

(iii)

Specification sheets for manufacture of the MGi devices;

(iv)

The Supply Chain Agreement, Addendum, and Quality and Testing Standards

provided to AI and AI-Daiwa for the manufacture of the MGi devices;
5.

The Parties shall meet and confer to determine what additional information to

provide the Court Expert. If the Parties disagree about the propriety of providing a certain
document or thing to the Court Expert, and the Parties cannot resolve the dispute through a meet
and confer, the Parties will seek the Court’s assistance, and neither party shall provide that
document or thing to the Court Expert until and unless the Court has resolved the issue.
6.

The Court Expert may look to the expert reports and the deposition transcripts of

the Parties’ experts for guidance as to what the experts and the Parties believe are the key issues
to be address in this case. His/her conclusions are to be his/her own independent opinions.
7.

The Court reserves the right to have informal verbal communications with the

Technical Expert which are not included in any formal written report.
8.

In determining the testing procedures, the Court Expert shall engage both Parties

but shall retain his/her sole discretion as to how to proceed. All testing shall be videotaped and,
subject to the Court Expert’s consent, each Party shall be entitled to observe testing but not
participate in any step, discussion, or procedure related to testing.
9.

After concluding all testing and reviewing material submitted to him/her, the Court

Expert will provide a written report describing the testing procedures, the results of the tests, and
the expert’s conclusions, a copy of which shall be provided to the Court and the Parties. The

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JOINT STATEMENT RE COURT-APPOINTED
EXPERT
CV13-4156 VC

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Court Expert’s report should be sent to the Parties by express mail within 30 days of completing
testing and reviewing all submitted material. Within twenty-one (21) days of the submission of
the expert report, the Parties may ask the Court Expert to appear for a deposition at a time and
location that is convenient. At the deposition, the Parties can ask the Court Expert questions, and
he/she will be given the opportunity to explain his/her opinions in greater detail prior to his/her
testimony at trial. Each Party may depose the Court Expert for up to seven (7) hours.
10.

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In the Court Expert’s Report:


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relied upon, testing and test results, and identify and explain any conclusions

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reached by the Court Expert regarding

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o The existence of any defect in the manufactured MGi

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o The cause of any defect identified in the MGi

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o Whether the MGi was manufactured to Apparent’s specifications

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o Whether the operability of any component on Apparent’s Bill of Materials

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The Court Expert Report shall describe the test procedures, materials reviewed and

contributed to the defect or defects
11.

The Court Expert will testify at trial on his/her opinions.

12.

In order to accept this appointment, the Court Expert must give his/her consent to

serve as the Court-appointed expert in this case and declare that he/she will adhere to the terms of
his appointment, by signing below and returning the signed original to the Court in the enclosed
envelope.
13.

The Court Expert must also confirm that he/she has no conflicts of interest.

14.

Upon the Court Expert’s consent and the Court’s appointment, the Parties will

retain the Court Expert. The costs of the Court Expert shall be borne equally by AI-Daiwa,
Apparent Inc, and Advanced Innovations. Within ten (10) days of the appointment, the Court
Expert shall provide an estimate of the cost of this assignment and shall specify a retainer against
which fees and costs shall be billed. The parties shall deposit their share of the costs of the Court
Expert within 10 days of receipt of the retainer. The retainer shall be supplemented as designated

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JOINT STATEMENT RE COURT-APPOINTED
EXPERT
CV13-4156 VC

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by the Court Expert, subject to a Party’s right to request that the Court review and adjust any fees
and costs.
15.

The Technical Expert shall report to the Court on a periodic basis, every sixty (60)

days, regarding the state of his fees and expenses and make a recommendation to the Court as to
whether the trust account needs additional deposits from the parties as the case progresses. All
matters pertaining to the fees of the Technical Expert are referred to the assigned Judge.

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IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD, AS TO SECTION III.
DATED: ______5/14/2014_________ __/Lael D. Andara/_______________________
Attorneys for Plaintiff
DATED: ______5/14/2014_________ __/Jacqueline deSouza____________________
Attorneys for Defendants

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PURSUANT TO STIPULATION AS SET FORTH IN SECTION III, AND COURT ORDER

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UPON GOOD CAUSE, IT IS SO ORDERED AS FOLLOWS:

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The Court appoints ____________________of Exponent as the Court appointed expert to

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perform the scope of joint testing stipulated to by the Parties.

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Mark McNeely

Dated: May 15, 2014

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____________________________________
Honorable Vince Chhabria
United States District Court Judge

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JOINT STATEMENT RE COURT-APPOINTED
EXPERT
CV13-4156 VC

Exhibit A

John D. Loud, P.E., CFEI
Principal Engineer
Electrical Engineering & Computer Science

[phone] tel
[phone] fax
[e-mail]
Menlo Park

Batteries & Energy
Storage Technology
Battery Failure
Investigation
Battery Pack Evaluation &
Testing
Battery System Design
Review & Testing
Consumer Product Safety
Improvement Act
(CPSIA)
Cranes
Electric & Electronic
Materials & Packaging

Mr. Loud specializes in electrical engineering issues. He
addresses issues related to electronic systems including
printed circuit board problems, electronic component
failures, circuit analysis, and propagating failures. He
has investigated numerous incidences involving
electrocutions and electric shocks and has also
conducted many investigations involving
electrical/electronic products that are alleged to have
caused fires. His expertise further includes work with
lighting products, rotating electric machines, as well as
secondary battery systems in the area of lithium ion
cell testing and protection systems, NiMH, NiCad, and
lead acid charging systems. His test results and
recommendations for products using lithium ion cells
have been used by many in the portable electronics
industry. He has performed fault analysis on electrical
distribution equipment, breakers and switchgear. Mr.
Loud also has experience with industrial electronic
equipment including automated metering equipment,
locomotive black-box event recorders, and locomotive
control equipment. He is experienced in addressing
issues related to electronic manufacturing and service,
equipment production, test and circuit board rework
and repair. He is also experienced in applying relevant
electrical codes and standards including the NEC,
NESC, General Orders 95, 128, 165, OSHA, UL, ANSI,
etc.
Prior to joining Exponent, Mr. Loud worked for Neta
Corporation and Q-Tron Industrial Electronics and
worked as a consultant for companies such as General
Motors EMD Division, Burlington Northern Railroad, CSX
Railroad, and the Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad.

Electric Power Failure
Analysis & Prevention
Electrical Injuries
Electronics Component
Reliability Consulting
Instrumentation &
Control Systems
Intellectual Property
Power Systems
Engineering / Power
Management
Product Qualification &
Recall Consulting
Reliability Engineering
Vehicle Electrical &
Electronic Systems
Wind Energy Services

Loud JD, Hu X. Failure analysis methodology for Li-ion
incidents. Proceedings, 33rd International Symposium
for Testing and Failure Analysis, pp. 242–251, San
Jose, CA, November 6–7, 2007.
Loud JD, Murray SJ, Ray RM, Iyer M, Jackson O. Shock
injury risk assessment of portable and handheld
appliances and use environments. Proceedings, 57th
Annual International Appliance Technical Conference,
Rosemont, IL, March 27–29, 2006.
Loud JD, Murray SJ, Caligiuri RD. Failure modes in
Calrod-type heaters used in home appliances.
Proceedings, 57th Annual International Appliance
Technical Conference, Rosemont, IL, March 27–29,
2006.

M.S., Electrical Engineering,
San Jose State University,
1995
B.S., Electronics Engineering
Technology, DeVry Institute
of Technology, 1992
Tau Beta Pi
Eta Kappa Nu

Registered Professional
Electrical Engineer,
California, #17564
Certified Fire and Explosion
Investigator (CFEI) in
accordance with the National
Association of Fire
Investigators, National
Certification Board
4-Year Apprenticed
Electrician, Canadian Pacific
Railway
Protective Relays and Trip
Devices in Electrical Power
Systems Course, 1998

John D. Loud, P.E., CFEI

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Loud JD. Vector control of an induction machine.
Master’s Thesis, San Jose State University, 1995.
Presentations and Published Abstracts
Loud JD. The science of electric shocks. Guest lecture
at Stanford University, 2007, 2008, 2009.
Loud JD. Accelerated stress testing for home
appliances. IEEE ASTR Conference, San Francisco, CA,
October 2006.
Loud JD. Top ten failures in electronic circuits.
Presented to Engineers at Apple Corporation, April
1997 and at Dell Computer Corporation, February
1998.
Loud JD. Electronic case history review—Learn from
someone else’s design mistakes. Presented to 300
Engineers at Hewlett Packard Corporation, November
1997.
Loud JD. Safety design of electronic circuits. Presented
to IEEE in Austin, TX, February 1998.
Loud JD, Hsu P. Evaluation of vector controlled
induction motors as joint actuators for industrial robots.
Proceedings, IASTED International Conference Robotics
and Manufacturing, Honolulu, HI, August 19–22, 199.
Reports
Loud JD. Compact driver and controller Part II—Vector
control. Report for General Electric Nuclear Energy,
1995.
Book Chapters
Loud JD, Blanchard R, Mimmack G. Electronic Failure
Analysis Handbook. Chapters 16 and 20, McGraw Hill,
January 1999.
Loud JD. Operations and Maintenance of the Datacord
2000 Locomotive Crash Recorder. Manual for Q-Tron
Ltd., 1988.

Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers—IEEE
Order of the Engineer (member)

Exponent, Inc.

Printed on 5/14/2014

www.exponent.com

Exhibit B

Mark J. McNeely, P.E., CFEI
Managing Engineer
Electrical Engineering & Computer Science

Mr. McNeely's areas of expertise include cellular phone
communications, call data record analysis,
telecommunications products and infrastructure,
Smartmeters, acoustics and acoustic product
standards, wireless networks, broadband technology,
cable television systems, fiber optic communication
systems, biometric systems, RFID, and solar power
infrastructure.

[phone] tel
[phone] fax
[e-mail]
Menlo Park

Communications &
Networking
EMF / RF Exposure &
Health
Intellectual Property
Medical Devices,
Implants & Surgical Tools
Product Qualification &
Recall Consulting
Software Consulting
Services
Solar Energy

Mr. McNeely provides consulting services related to a
variety of products including mobile handsets,
biomedical devices, RF products, portable audio devices
and headsets, magnetic components, building
automation and safety systems, automotive electronics,
and solar panels. These investigations involve root
cause failure analyses, electrical modeling, acoustic
measurements, EMF surveys (using Narda survey
equipment), standards compliance, risk assessments,
and potential product recalls.
Mr. McNeely also examines and characterizes electrical
and electronic devices that are implicated during cause
and origin fire investigations. He has been involved in
intellectual property and trade secret matters and has
performed infringement assessment, examination and
testing, claim interpretation, and prior art research.
He also has experience reviewing the design and
installation of building systems including electrical
distribution systems, solar arrays, fire alarm, security,
CCTV, audio-visual, telecommunications, and card
access, to assist clients with construction quality control
and dispute resolution.
Together with Exponent’s Technology Development
practice, Mr. McNeely has developed prototype
electronic systems including wireless PDA-based
battlefield remote sensing and biometric systems. Mr.
McNeely has also assisted the U.S. Army and Navy with
the development and testing of radio frequency
subsystems related to battlefield robots and networked
sonobuoys.
Mr. McNeely’s prior experience includes working as a
Vice President of Electrical Engineering Department of
Salas O’Brien Engineers, Inc., in San Jose, CA, and
work as an independent consultant with NorthropGrumman Corporation, Naval Research Laboratory,
and the Los Alamos National Laboratory on projects
related to the development of improved wideband
microwave amplifiers for communication systems. He
also has experience in performing radio frequency
measurements on a variety of components, ranging
from 1 MHz to 50 GHz, encompassing microwave

M.S., Electrical and
Computer Engineering,
University of Wisconsin,
Madison, 2001
B.S., Electrical and
Computer Engineering,
University of Wisconsin,
Madison, 1998

Registered Professional
Electrical Engineer,
California, #E18398
Certified Fire and Explosion
Investigator (CFEI) in
accordance with the National
Association of Fire
Investigators
General Class Radio License
“KJ6KOV”

Mark J. McNeely, P.E., CFEI

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sources, both amplifiers and oscillators, to transmission
lines, antennas, and receiver systems.

Kelsh MA, Shum MS, Sheppard AR, McNeely M, Kuster
N, Lau E, Wielding R, Fordyce T, Sulser C. Measured
radiofrequency exposure in various mobile phone-use
scenarios. Journal of Exposure Science and
Environmental Epidemiology 2010; doi:
10.1038/jes.2010.12.
Erdreich LS, Van Kerkhove MD, Scrafford CG, Barraj L,
McNeely M, Shum M, Sheppard AR, Kelsh M. Factors
that influence the radiofrequency power output of GSM
mobile phones. Radiation Research 2007; 168(2):253–
261.
Van Kerkhove MD, Erdreich LS, Shum M, McNeely M,
Chan N, Barraj L, Kelsh M. Variability of radiofrequency
power output of GSM mobile phones. Epidemiology
2004; 15(4):S115.
Kelsh M, Erdreich LS, Sheppard AR, Kuster N, Van
Kerkhove MD, Shum M, Fröhlich J, McNeely M.
Improving radiofrequency exposure assessment in
studies of mobile phone users: An overview of research
design and preliminary data. Epidemiology 2004; 15
(4):S115-S116.
Presentations
McNeely M. Where’s my Humvee? Cell phone call detail
records and cell tower analysis course. Modesto Police
Department, Modesto, CA, April, 2011.
McNeely M, Curran B. Foothill Utilities master plan.
Foothill DeAnza Community College District, Los Altos,
CA, March 2009.
Shum M, Kelsh M, Lau E, Sheppard AR, McNeely M,
Kuster N. Correlation of power control setting to RF
power levels from software modified phones.
Bioelectromagnetics 28th Annual Meeting in Cancun,
Mexico, June 11-15, 2006.
Shum M, Kelsh M, McNeely M, Sheppard AR, Kuster N,
Lau E. Evaluation of mobile phone handset exposures
using a portable phantom system. Bioelectromagnetics
28th Annual Meeting, Cancun, Mexico, June 11-15,
2006.
Shum, M, Kelsh M, Sulser C, McNeely M, Kuster N,
Fröhlich J, Sheppard AR. Evaluation of mobile phone
exposure variation. American Industrial Hygiene
Conference and Exposition (AIHce) Chicago, IL, May
13-19, 2006.
Kelsh MA, Sulser C, Shum M, McNeely M, Kuster N,
Froehlich J, Sheppard A. Evaluation of mobile phone
handset exposures using software modified phones and
field phantom systems. BioEM, University College,
Dublin, Ireland, June 19–24, 2005.
Shum M, Kelsh M, Sheppard A, Chan N, Kuster N,
Fröhlich J, Erdreich L, Van Kerkhove McNeely M.
Podium PO128 physical agents: Ionizing/nonionizing
radiation/heat stress. Improved assessment of cell

Mark J. McNeely, P.E., CFEI

3
phone exposure for epidemiologic studies. American
Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition (AIHce),
Atlanta, GA, May 12, 2004.
Shum, M, Sheppard A, Kelsh M, Kuster N, Fröhlich J,
McNeely M, Chan N. Pilot study to determine
environmental factors that influence RF Exposure from
mobile phones. Bioelectromagnetics Society 26th
Annual Meeting, Washington, DC, June 23, 2004.
Wirth MA, Scharer JE, Booske JH, Converse MC,
McNeely MJ, Groshart G, Gannon B, Armstrong C.
Investigations of non-linear spectral behavior in multitoned helix traveling wave tubes. 28th IEEE
International Conference on Plasma Science (ICOPS),
Las Vegas, NV, June 2001.
Wirth MA, Scharer JE, Booske JH, Converse MC,
McNeely MJ, Wohlbier JG, Groshart G, Ganon B,
Armstrong C. Investigations of non-linear spectral
behavior in multi-toned helix traveling wave tubes. 27th
IEEE International Conference on Plasma Science
(ICOPS), New Orleans, LA, June 2000.
McNeely MJ, Converse MC, Booske JH, Scharer JE,
Kory CL, Zavadil D. Nonlinear characterization and
comparison with simulation of a highgain, broad band
helix traveling wave tube. 27th IEEE International
Conference on Plasma Science (ICOPS), New Orleans,
LA, June 2000.
Lopez MR, Gilgenbach RM, Anderson SA, Lau YY, Brake
ML, Peters CW, Cohen WE, Jaynes RL, Luginsland JW,
Spencer TA, Lemke RW, Price D, Booske JH, McNeely
MJ, Ludeking L. Magnetron simulations and
experiments. 27th IEEE International Conference on
Plasma Science (ICOPS), New Orleans, LA, June 2000.
McNeely MJ, Booske JH, Scharer JE, Basten MA.
Analysis of 3-D phase space dynamics of pencil-tosheet-electron-beam transformation in highly-nonparaxial quadrupole lens system. 26th IEEE
International Conference on Plasma Science (ICOPS),
Monterey, CA, June 1999.
McNeely MJ, Booske JH, Scharer JE, Basten MA.
Formation of pencil-to-sheet-electron beam using a
quadrupole lens system. MAGIC Users' Group at 26th
IEEE International Conference on Plasma Science
(ICOPS), Monterey, CA, June 1999.
Louis LJ, Scharer JE, Booske JH, McNeely MJ.
Experimental and theoretical investigations of a
rectangular grating structure for low-voltage traveling
wave tube amplifiers. 24th IEEE International
Conference on Plasma Science (ICOPS), San Diego,
CA, May 1997.

Historic Renovations
Ukiah Historic Railway Station MEP Renovation,
Ukiah, CA
Niles Town Plaza Passenger & Freight Buildings
MEP Renovation, Niles, CA
Carnegie Library MEP Restoration, Alameda, CA

Mark J. McNeely, P.E., CFEI

4
Academic Facilities
Foothill Community College 12 kV Electrical &
Telecom Master Plan, Los Altos, CA
De Anza Community College Autotech Building
MEP Renovation, Cupertino, CA
Contra Costa Community College 12 kV
Electrical System Master Plan, San Pablo, CA
Silver Creek High School Switchgear Arc-Flash
Study, San Jose, CA
Ohlone College Telecommunications &
Networking QA Review, Newark, CA
Office and Commercial Facilities
Security and Fire Alarm QA Review at City of
Fremont Maintenance Facility, Fremont, CA
Hydraulic Lift Demolition and Installation at AT&T
Facility, Santa Rosa, CA
Field Operation Center MEP Renovation at AT&T
Facility, Martinez, CA
Telecommunications and Electrical Renovation at
AT&T Headquarters, San Ramon, CA
Server Room Electrical & Telecom Upgrade at
AT&T Facility, Dublin, CA
Smith Plaza Phase IV MEP Renovation at AT&T
Headquarters, San Ramon, CA
Solar Array Installation at AT&T Headquarters,
San Ramon, CA
Government Facilities
Fire Department of New York Operation Center
MEP Quality Assurance, New York, NY
Metropolitan Transit Authority Subway Repeater
System QoS Validation, New York, NY

Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers
National Association of Fire Investigators—NAFI
National Fire Protection Association

Exponent, Inc.

Printed on 5/14/2014

www.exponent.com

Exhibit C

Ray K. Huang, Ph.D., P.E., CFEI
Managing Engineer
Electrical Engineering & Computer Science

Dr. Huang specializes in supplier and manufacturer
quality, reliability as well as product failure and
compliance analysis in the area of analog/digital
consumer electronics both at component and system
level. His area of expertise includes consumer product
safety and failure analysis, quality and reliability
investigation, system design and safety review,
insurance, liability and intellectual property claim
support and due diligence.

[phone] tel
[phone] fax
[e-mail]
Menlo Park

Electric & Electronic
Materials & Packaging
Electronics Component
Reliability Consulting
Intellectual Property
Medical Devices,
Implants & Surgical Tools
MEMS & Nanotechnology
Semiconductor
Processing Technology
Semiconductors, Discrete
Components & Printed
Circuit Boards
Vehicle Electrical &
Electronic Systems

Ph.D., Electrical Engineering,
California Institute of
Technology (Caltech), 2011

At Exponent, Dr. Huang has assisted clients with solving
problems related to consumer electronics, household
appliances, power adapters and power supplies,
cleanroom fabrication equipment, automotive
electronics, computer systems, MEMS actuators and
sensors, biomedical devices and surgical tools, mobile
devices, displays, network and communication
equipment, credit card payment systems and circuit
protection mechanisms.

Licensed Professional
Electrical Engineer,
California, #20293

The issues he has investigated involved product safety
(CPSC), battery systems, electronics system and
component assembly and manufacturing defects, solder
joints quality and board contamination (IPC
Compliance), electrostatic discharge (ESD), control and
power circuit design issues, counterfeit devices,
thermal and propagation faulting, integrity and
survivability of vehicle electronics, and battery and
energy storage failures.
Prior to Exponent, Dr. Huang’s work at Caltech focused
on the development and characterization of wireless
circuitry and packaging platforms for bio-MEMS devices
with retinal and neural prosthetic applications. Dr.
Huang has hands-on clean room fabrication,
equipment, and device failure analysis experience and
has worked extensively on numerous bioimplantable
devices, microfluidic lab-on-a-chip devices, pressure
sensors and actuators and fabrication equipment.
Dr. Huang has a variety of teaching experience,
including undergraduate and graduate level courses
such as Computer Instrument Design, Introduction to
Sensors and Actuators, VLSI and ULSI Technology,
MEMS Technology and Devices. He also has broad
experience conducting risk analysis, failure modes and
effect analysis, accelerated life time testing and utilizing
relevant standards, regulation, and codes including UL,
IEEE, NFPA, NEC, ANSI, ASTM, IEC/ISO, and IPC to
perform inspections and custom tailored laboratory
testing.

M.S., Electrical Engineering,
California Institute of
Technology (Caltech), 2006
B.S., Electrical Engineering,
Cornell University, 2005

Certified Fire and Explosion
Investigator (CFEI) in
accordance with the National
Association of Fire
Investigators (NAFI)
National Certification Board
Crash Data Retrieval (CDR)
Technician Levels 1 and 2

U.S. Patent: Pocket-enabled
Chip Assembly Technology,
submitted January 2010
(Huang R, Tai YC).

Chinese

Ray K. Huang, Ph.D., P.E., CFEI

2
Huang R, Nilsson S. Fuse selection criteria for safety
applications. 2012 ISPCE, Portland, OR, November
2012.
Crane S, Huang R, Kislitsyn M. Root cause analysis of
failed capacitors and the capacitor plague. 2012 MS&T,
Pittsburgh, PA, October 2012.
Chang J, Huang R, Tai YC. High-density IC chip
integration with Parylene pocket. 2011 IEEE NEMS
Conference, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, 2011.
Chang J, Huang R, Tai YC. High-density 256-channel
chip integration with flexible Parylene pocket.
Transducer ’11, Beijing, China, June 5–9, 2011.
Huang R, Tai YC. Flexible parylene-based 3-D coiled
cable. 5th IEEE International Conference on Nano/Micro
Engineered and Molecular Systems, Xiamen, China,
2010.
Huang R, Tai YC. Parylene to silicon adhesion
enhancement. 15th International Conference on SolidState Sensors, Actuators and Microsystems, Denver,
CO, 2009.
Huang R, Tai YC. Parylene-pocket chip integration.
22nd IEEE International Conference on Micro Electro
Mechanical Systems, Sorrento, Italy, 2009.
Huang R, Pang C, Tai YC, Emken J, Ustun C, Andersen
RA, Burdick JW. Integrated parylene-cabled silicon
probes for neural prosthetics. 21st IEEE International
Conference on Micro Electro Mechanical Systems,
Tucson, AZ, 2008.
Huang R, Pang C, Tai YC, Emken J, Ustun C, Andersen
RA. Parylene coated silicon probes for neural
prosthesis. 3rd IEEE International Conference on
Nano/Micro Engineered and Molecular Systems, Sanya,
China, 2008.
Presentations
Huang R, Tai YC. Chip Integration with flexible parylene
pocket. 5th International Conference on
Microtechnologies in Medicine and Biology, Quebec
City, Canada, 2009.
Rizzuto DS, Musallam S, Pang C, Huang R, Tai YC,
Andersen RA. The Caltech Brain-Machine interface
platform. Society for Neuroscience, Atlanta, Georgia,
2006.

Research Assistant, Caltech Micromachining
Laboratory, California Institute of Technology,
2005–2010
Intern, Hardware System Lab, Palo Alto Research
Center, 2005
Intern, Corporate Marketing, Applied Materials, 2004

Computer and Data Center Servers
Failure and root cause analysis of:

Ray K. Huang, Ph.D., P.E., CFEI

3
- Multi-layer printed circuit boards propagating arcing
failure
- Connecting mechanism failure
- Temperature control and safety mechanism
evaluation
Fabrication Technology
- Due diligence of pressure sensor manufacturing
technology
- Failure and root cause analysis of chemical vapor
deposition systems (CVD), etching systems (RIE),
lithography systems and metallization systems
(Sputtering, E-Beam)
- DRAM fabrication technology intellectual property
analysis
Electronic Components
Failure and root cause analysis, and reliability testing of
-

Electrolytic, surface mount and high power capacitors
Resistive, axial, radial fuses
Power switching FET and Diodes
Vibrating motors
Camera modules
LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes)
Connectors modules and cables
RFID communication

Electrical Appliances
- Power supplies failure analysis – filtering capacitor
failure
- Power supplies failure analysis – conductive filament
short circuit fault
- Fire investigations of rice cookers, coffee makers,
power strips, etc.
- Network adapter safety evaluations
- Cell phone failure analysis – LCD screen connectors
- Cell phone failure analysis – flexible cables and ACF
failures
- Cell phone failure analysis – on-board electrical
components
- Charger connectors and power adapters
- Alcohol monitoring devices
Computer Software and System Memory
- Vehicle electronics memory survivability and integrity
analysis
- Counterfeit RAM chip investigation and screening
- Software package IP claim chart construction
Biomedical Applications
- Implantable device fabrication technology due
diligence
- Implantable hybrid cable failure analysis
- Surgical tool electronics failure analysis
- Glucose monitor circuitry failure analysis
- Near-field communication and power transfer

Member of IEEE
Tau Beta Pi
Eta Kappa Nu

Exponent, Inc.

Printed on 5/14/2014

www.exponent.com