MICHAEL E. KLIMA, P.E.

Professional Specialization

Automotive engineering; design, assembly, manufacturing and testing of motor vehicle systems. Design analysis and experimental evaluation of the performance of passenger vehicle systems and sub-systems. Failure and safety analysis of mechanical systems. Including automotive sub-systems and components, body structures, body closures, active, passive, and inflatable restraint systems, seating systems, chassis systems and bumper systems. Automotive design processes and packaging of systems, sub-systems, and components. Vehicle crashworthiness evaluation and testing. Accident reconstruction and analysis. Design and testing of vehicular products for U.S. and International regulatory compliance. Automotive accessory design and manufacturing. New products analysis, program planning and control processes.

Professional Background

B.S.E. (Mechanical Engineering), Western Michigan University

M.B.A. (Management), University of Phoenix

Additional Courses and Seminars (Accident Reconstruction, Vehicle Dynamics Biomechanics and others),

Northwestern University Traffic Institute; Society of Automotive Engineers; University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute; Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine

Principal Engineer,

Design Research Engineering

Managing Engineer,

Failure Analysis Associates, Inc.

Manager, Design Analysis,

Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.

Senior Technical Analysis Engineer,

Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.

Product Engineer, Technical Assurance Department,

Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.

Vehicle Design Engineer, Taurus/Large Car Design Department,

Ford Motor Company

Vehicle Design Engineer, Mid-sized Vehicle Design Department,

Ford Motor Company

Vehicle Design Engineer, Thunderbird Vehicle Design Department,

Ford Motor Company

Quality Engineer, GMC Truck and Coach Division,

General Motor Corporation

Member, Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE)

Member of the SAE Impact & Rollover Test Standards Committee

Past Member of the SAE Inflatable Restraints Standards Committee

Past Member of the SAE Restraint Systems Standards Committee

Member, Michigan Society of Professional Engineers

Member, National Society of Professional Engineers

Member, Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine (AAAM)

Member, Michigan Association of Traffic Accident Investigators

Professional Licenses

Registered Professional Mechanical Engineer, California #M 025461

Registered Professional Engineer, Michigan #6201039974

Publications

“Seat Belt Retractor Performance Evaluation in Rollover Crashes,” SAE 2005-01-1702 (with D. Toomey and M. Weber).

“Seat Belt Buckle Performance in High Energy Wheel-to-Ground Impacts,” SAE 2005-01-1709 (with D. Toomey and M. Weber).

Lead author of SAE J2481 Dynamic Simulation Sled Testing (3/99)

Guest Lecturer

“Seat Belt Retractor Performance Evaluation in Rollover Crashes,” Society of Automotive Engineers, 2005 World Congress, Detroit, MI, April 2005.

Accident Reconstruction and Restraint System Analysis, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, April 2000.

Physical Evidence Relative to Active and Passive Restraint System Use, Including Inflatable Restraints, Michigan Association of Traffic Accident Investigators, Traverse City, MI, October 1998.