James M. Miller, PE, PhD
Dr. Miller is an Emeritus Engineering Professor at the University of Michigan and a registered mechanical professional engineer with over 30 years of experience. He has served as a consultant to industry and government and is highly qualified to give engineering testimony. He and his engineering staff specialize in: designing warnings, instruction manuals and labeling (including the new OSHA-12 GHS requirements); auto and truck accident reconstruction; mechanical and electrical safety; fire, explosion and chemical process accident analysis; slip and fall prevention; marine, swimming and recreational vehicle accidents (boats, ATVs and personal watercraft); farm accidents, and compliance with governmental and consensual safety standards (OSHA, ANSI, ASTM, UL, CPSC, ASABE).
Dr. Miller has recently authored a chapter titled “Hazard Communication Compliance” in the American Society of Safety Engineering Safety Engineering Handbook. Dr. Miller has also authored five books on the topic of Warnings and Safety Instructions and written numerous journal articles. He is also currently a committee member of the ASTM Technical Committee F15 on Consumer Products.
He holds a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering and Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering from Ohio State University, where he was one of the first US PhD graduates specializing in transportation and consumer accident research. He became a professor at the University of Michigan’s Department of Industrial and Operations Engineering (IOE), where he taught courses in human factors/ergonomics, safety engineering, methods engineering and law for engineers (1970-1998). On leave from the University (1975-1977) at the U.S. Department of Labor, he was appointed as Special Assistant for Safety to OSHA’s Assistant Secretary of Labor, where he had responsibility, among other things, for revising the OSHA General Industry (29CFR1910) and Construction (29CFR1926) Safety Standards. He also participated in the early formation of the OSHA HazCom standard (29CFR1200) and original chemical labels and MSDS sheets.
Affiliations: American Society of Mechanical Engineering (ASME), American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE), Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES), American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), American Chemical Society (ACS), American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE), and American National Standards Institute (ANSI).
Mark R. Lehto, PhD
Dr. Lehto is a Professor at Purdue University. He completed his Ph.D. in engineering at the University of Michigan in 1985, where he specialized in human factors engineering, in particular warnings and labeling, which was also the topic of his dissertation. He has taught courses at Purdue in human and safety factors areas, as well as decision making and artificial intelligence. He has authored numerous professionally-reviewed articles, and he has authored / coauthored internationally-recognized textbooks in the areas of human factors and ergonomics. His current research often involves collecting data in the usability of consumer products and human computer / machine interactions in relation to safety. Dr. Lehto also holds patents in the automotive area in relation to occupant restraint systems. In addition, with his early experience in commercial fishing, he is qualified to analyze recreation- and marine-type accidents.
Special Expertise: Knowledge engineering, warnings and instructions, structuring expert systems, accident modeling, accident statistical analysis, consumer product safety, boating safety, in-field national surveys of product usage and product information effectiveness.
Affiliations: American Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE), Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES), Alpha Pi Mu (Industrial Engineering Honor Society).
David R. Clark, PE, PhD
Dr. Clark is an Emeritus Engineering Professor at Kettering University. He was an engineering Ph.D. graduate from the University of Michigan, where he specialized in human factors engineering and system safety analyses. In particular, his earlier degrees in mechanical and electrical areas have given him a special expertise in electrical fire- and explosion-related accidents. Dr. Clark is also published on the topics of warnings and labeling. With considerable in-plant experience at General Motors, he is uniquely qualified to provide student theses and design projects while teaching at Kettering that deal with many types of mechanical and optimization projects. Finally, he has extensive experience working for loss control companies, performing over 150 fire origin and cause investigations in the past few years.
Adam M. Olshove, PE, MSE (Mechanical Engineering)
Adam is a registered mechanical professional engineer with over 10 years of experience providing consulting services to industry and the legal profession. He holds Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Mechanical Engineering, both from the University of Michigan. He focused his studies on the modeling and control of dynamic systems, with a particular emphasis on battery modeling. He continues to work with the University of Michigan’s Battery Lab on projects involving battery failures, design, and testing.
His projects at Miller Engineering have focused on a wide range of consumer product design issues and industrial accidents. He has performed dozens of on-site investigations nationwide in relation to these projects, including failure analysis and testing. He has particular expertise in the areas of slip/trip/falls, battery failures and warnings, residential and commercial code compliance, product tip-overs, furniture failures, machine design, and electro-mechanical testing.
Adam has also designed and evaluated warning labels for corporate clients, as well as developed instruction manuals for novel products.
His past professional experiences include product development on the pressure sensor team at Caterpillar, Inc., and implementation of energy saving solutions at Rhetech, Inc., a plastic resin manufacturing company. As an undergraduate, he conducted research at the University of Michigan’s Composite Structures Lab under the supervision of the Aerospace Engineering Department Chair, Dr. Tony Waas.
Recently, Adam has been involved in the evaluation, design, and testing of batteries including Lithium Ion (Li-ion) and Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH), particularly those used in e-cigarettes and vapes.
Affiliations: American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) Committee F15 on Consumer Products; American Society of Mechanical Engineering (ASME); National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE); American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP)
James M.L. Miller, MS, PhD, EIT (Mechanical and Electrical Engineering)
James M. L. Miller received the B.S. degree in mechanical engineering from Michigan State University in 2014, and the M.S. degree in mechanical engineering from Stanford University in 2016. He completed his Ph.D. degree in December 2020 in Mechanical Engineering with a minor in electrical Engineering. He was supported by the National Defense Science and Engineering (NDSEG) Fellowship and the E. K. Potter Stanford Graduate Fellowship. His research interests include nonlinearities, fluctuations, and dissipation tuning mechanisms in MEM resonators for sensors and parametric oscillators. His expertise centers on microelectromechanical systems (MEMS); microscale devices with applications for sensors and agriculture. At Miller Engineering he has applied his mechanical-electrical expertise to biomedical heat transfer problems and energy management in hydroelectric systems, solar arrays and portable battery usage, including battery life cycle testing.
Alyssa L. Blunt, PE, BSME (Mechanical Engineering)
Helen A. L. Miller, EIT, MSE (Mechanical and Biosystems Engineering)
Helen received her Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering with an additional major in psychology and a minor in agribusiness management from Michigan State University 2020. As an undergraduate, she worked as a research assistant in the Automotive Research Experiment Station (ARES), where she assisted in computational fluid dynamic (CFD) modeling of internal combustion engines under the supervision of the director of ARES, Dr. Harold Schock.
Helen completed her Master of Science in Biosystems & Agricultural Engineering at MSU, where her thesis involved the development of a computer model to help dairy farmers assess the economic feasibility of installing solar panels. Her coursework emphasized data acquisition, sensor technology, and statistical analysis of agricultural data. Throughout her master’s, she was a research assistant for multiple projects under the supervision of former department chair, Dr. Ajit Srivastava. This work included the development of a course on Agricultural Mechanization, research involving the conversion of a tractor from combustion engine to electric motor, and participation in ASABE’s Alliance for Modernizing African Agri-food Systems (AMAA).
Helen’s involvement in casework at Miller Engineering has included the following topics: Crop specific research, hydroponics, vertical farming, cannabis grow houses, HVAC, RVs, soil compaction, soil sampling and testing, tractor emissions, fugitive dust, fermentation, livestock management, pastureland management, region-specific agricultural research, and farm vehicle road safety.
Affiliations: American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE); American Society of Mechanical Engineering (ASME); Tau Beta Pi
Emily Woodman, BSE (Chemical Engineering)
Emily received a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Michigan in 2023. Her previous work experience includes environmental engineering at Tetra Tech (2021-23). Emily is also a member of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) and ran a STEM outreach camp at the University of Michigan for SWE (2022) that hosted 40 high schoolers from around the world.
Emily Benjamin, BS
Emily received her Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science and Chemistry from Aquinas College in 2014. She started her career as a chemist testing industrial hygiene samples at Bureau Veritas (2015-2017) and drinking water samples at NSF International (2017-2022), utilizing gas chromatography. She ended her time at NSF International as the Operations Manager of the Extractions Lab. Currently, at Miller Engineering, Emily manages the accounts receivable, accounts payable, and coordinates the day-to-day operations of the office. This unique blend has allowed for a strong attention to detail and understanding of data analysis.
Shirley A. Ampulski, MILS
Shirley received her Master of Information and Library Science from the University of Michigan in 1990. She has a Bachelor of Science in English and Psychology from Grand Valley State University (1987). She has formerly worked as a reference librarian at Lansing Community College, a serials acquisitions librarian at Eastern Michigan University, and a cataloger at the Library of Michigan. Her areas of expertise at Miller Engineering include researching product liability and safety issues, accident statistics, and federal/state/local government standards and regulations. She also summarizes and organizes project material for Miller Engineering.
Erinn L. Promo, BA
Erinn received her Bachelor of Arts in English with Honors from the University of Michigan in April 2018. Her undergraduate thesis explored the didactic mission of elegy and its implications for contemporary readers. She works as a technical writer for Miller Engineering, summarizing and organizing project material, and maintaining the company’s advertisements. Erinn also works for a cannabis consulting firm that assists clients in applying for adult-use and medical cannabis licenses across the country.