Ryszard (Richard) Szymani, Ph.D.
Wood Machining Scientist

Areas of Expertise

Product liability and patent infringement litigation support for cases involving wood machining equipment and operations, such as chipping, slicing, sawing, planing, molding, shaping, turning, and sanding. Support includes accident reconstruction, reports, and expert witness testimony. Consulted in over 100 cases. Testified in courts of California, Arizona, Florida and New York.

Credentials

Ph.D., Wood Science and Technology, University of California, Berkeley, 1977; M.Sc., Engineering Science ‑ Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, 1974; M.Sc., Wood Science, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C., Canada, 1970; M.Eng., Wood Technology, College of Agriculture, Poznan, Poland, 1963.

Professional History

Founder/Director and Technical Consultant, Wood Machining Institute, an international information center for the wood industry and machinery and cutting tools manufacturers, Berkeley, California, 1984-Present; Adjunct Professor, Department of Wood and Paper Science, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, advisor to tooling research program, 1991-present; Research Scientist/Technical Consultant, California Cedar Products Company, Stockton, California, doing research on the wear of cutting tools, reduction of kerf losses during sawing, and consulting in the general area of wood machining, including machine guarding and worker safety, 1984-1998; Wood Processing Specialist, University of California, Berkeley, Cooperative Extension and the Forest Products Laboratory, Richmond, California, provided technical assistance to the wood industry in California and initiated short courses on circular and band saws, with international participation, 1979-83; Assistant Professor, Forest Products Department, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, taught courses on the manufacture of lumber, veneer and chips, and associated equipment, 1977-79; Assistant Specialist, University of California Forest Products Laboratory, Richmond, California, conducted research on veneer peeling, pre-stressing of circular saws and evaluation of saw stiffness and saw stability analysis, 1970-1977.

Publications

Published over 70 papers, 14 conference proceedings, and 30 research reports related to wood machining. Since 1984, Editor and Publisher of an international bimonthly newsletter, Wood Machining News, with subscribers in over 23 countries. Published 136 newsletters as of September 2006.

Conferences and Workshops

Initiated and served as program chairman for nine International Conferences on Sawing Technology (1989 - 2005) and three on Computers in Furniture and Cabinet Manufacturing (1992 - 1996). Developed technical programs for nine International Conferences on Scanning Technology and Process Optimization in the Wood Industry (1985-2005) and two International Wood Machining Seminars (1981 & 2001). Has been conducting annual workshops on design, operation, and maintenance of circular and band saws in the U.S. beginning in 1980, as well as having made over 80 technical presentations at various conferences and workshops in the U.S. and abroad since 1973.

Member

American National Standard Institute-ANSI 01.1 Committee on Safety Requirements for Woodworking Machinery (1983 -1997); American Society of Mechanical Engineers; Forest Products Society; Society of Manufacturing Engineers; Society of Wood Science and Technology (1975-2001); International Union of Forest Research Organizations - Chairman of the Working Party Milling and Machining (1990-1998); and Fellow of the International Academy of Wood Science.

Languages

Fluent in English, Polish, and German and a working knowledge of Russian.

Wood Machining Institute, P. O. Box 476, Berkeley, California 94701

Telephone: (925) 943-5240 - Telefax: (925) 945-0947 - szymani@woodmachining.com

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