Crispin Hales, PhD, CEng, FIMechE.

Crispin Hales has 50 years of experience in engineering design, principally in industry but also in research and teaching at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. For the past 30 years he has worked in forensic engineering, investigating more than 500 mechanical failures, explosions and accidents mostly within the USA. Many cases have required testifying at deposition or trial.

Prior to his doctoral research at Cambridge University on the implementation and management of engineering design, Dr. Hales spent six years in Chicago designing and building high-pressure vessel equipment for the evaluation of materials under extreme temperature and pressure conditions. Projects included a $3 million refractory test facility for the US Department of Energy and a high-pressure vessel system for NASA, testing six super-alloys simultaneously to creep rupture in 3000psi hydrogen at temperatures up to 1700°F.

In 2004 he founded Hales & Gooch Ltd. with Dr. Shayne Gooch in New Zealand, investigating mechanical engineering failures, providing expert testimony in legal disputes and implementing improved approaches to engineering design in industry.  In association with Cambridge University in the UK, Canterbury University in New Zealand, and Northwestern University in the USA, he has contributed towards more effective design teaching and professional training for young engineers.

Dr. Hales holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Canterbury University in New Zealand, a Master’s Degree in Engineering Design from Loughborough University in England and a PhD in Engineering Design from Cambridge University in England. He is registered professionally as a Chartered Engineer in the UK and is a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Dr. Hales is also a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and in 2002 received the Robert E. Abbott Award for two decades of service to the ASME Design Engineering Division. In 2013 he received the Hills Millennium Award from the Institution of Engineering Designers for contributions to the management of engineering design.

 Shayne Gooch has 30+ years engineering experience ranging from specialist professional activities to applied industry practice. He is an Associate Professor and Head of Mechanical Engineering at Canterbury University in Christchurch, New Zealand. Dr. Gooch supervises PhD students in areas relating to machine design and human-machine interactions and he has been responsible for senior year undergraduate engineering design teaching at Canterbury University since Jan 2001.

Dr. Gooch has a Ph.D. and Bachelors Degree in Mechanical Engineering, a New Zealand Certificate in Engineering and he completed seven years practical training and is a fully qualified trades-person.

Dr. Gooch's professional engineering experience includes, but is not limited to: intellectual property; accident investigations involving humans and machinery; failure and loss investigations involving technical systems; advanced mechanics of machines research; heavy rotating machine design; materials handling; waste water treatment; consumer product design; vehicle dynamics; and design of steel structures. 

Dr. Gooch is a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). He is a past Chair of the Information Management Committee for the Design Engineering Division and he is a member of the ASME International Activities Committee. Dr. Gooch is a member of the Editorial Board for the Journal of Engineering Design (Taylor & Francis, London, UK) and active in peer review of international journal and conference papers in the areas of engineering design and mechanical vibrations. Dr. Gooch is co-author of the book Managing Engineering Design (2nd ed: Hales & Gooch, 2004). He has authored many papers on engineering design, machine vibrations and engineering education.

Dr. Gooch began his engineering career at the New Zealand Electricity Department where he completed an apprenticeship and later his Advanced Trade Certificate as a Fitter, Turner and Machinist. Dr. Gooch has significant practical experience in the maintenance of heavy rotating machinery (e.g. hydro power turbines and synchronous condensers), and maintenance of high voltage switch-yard equipment and transmission lines. Dr. Gooch’s familiarity with industrial safety procedures, including his operational experience in the electricity sector, is invaluable in providing commonsense solutions to workplace health and safety issues.