Everyone gets a start somewhere.

 

With intrigue and at the young age of eight, Daniel Cowley dipped a pickup stick into the filler neck of a pickup gas tank to explore the effects of petroleum products on the material properties of the plastic sticks. The sticks would dissolve into a gummy blob when exposed to gasoline. Unfortunately, during the experiment and as the sticks were held by the side load of two extended fingers to reach the ebbing level of gasoline in the filler pipe, one or two of the plastic sticks would fall into the gas tank. His Dad was not as smitten with the results of that experiment when he had to rebuild the carburetor with the melting plastic plugged in the fuel orifices. He recruited a curious onlooker to survey the damage. A lesson that will not be soon forgotten.

 

This was a rough start to his engineering career, but Daniel is now a professional mechanical engineer, and the founder/member of FACET-ics LLC, a consulting firm specializing in Engineering Management topics and Forensic Engineering. He currently works as a forensic investigator and has completed more than sixty cases. Although most of his cases settle after writing a report, he has testified as an expert witness at both deposition and trial.

 

Daniel worked at John Deere for over 30 years in the agricultural machinery and heavy equipment industry. He has applied for or received a couple of international patents. Daniel's 40+ years’ experience includes specifying, designing, testing, and supporting components such as vehicle chassis and suspensions, fuel tanks, hitch and drawbar, tire equipment, ROPS, electronic sensors, GPS receivers, and more. His work in reliability analysis greatly honed his “root cause” identification skills.

 

Raised in the grasslands of West Africa, between the ages of 7-16, Daniel still enjoys international work and travel. He's also building a legacy of strong faith and great memories with his wife, three children, and nine grandchildren.