John M. Arvidson

John Arvidson is the founder, president and owner of Materials Research and Engineering, Inc. His technical expertise is in the field of Mechanical and Metallurgical Engineering. John has over 40 years of experience in the field of systems design, engineering, and materials testing with an emphasis on research and investigative studies from cryogenic to elevated temperatures. Many unique devices and apparatuses, for which nothing was available commercially, have been developed by Mr. Arvidson.

A few examples of his innovative research abilities include:

• The design and fabrication of a Pressure Transducer Calibration facility that was used to calibrate (at cryogenic temperature) the dynamic pressure sensing devices used on the first Space Shuttle vehicle,
• A variable temperature, concentric, overlapping cylinder, capacitive strain extensometer to measure the mechanical properties of soft/viscoelastic and brittle materials. These materials are used in thermonuclear fusion experiments conducted at the Laser Fusion Target Fabrication Group, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
• Low temperature cryostats for the determination of all types of mechanical and thermo-physical properties of materials. These facilities can adapt to virtually any known material and are capable of conducting tests at temperatures down to -452°F (4K). And, in some special cases, modifications to the system allowed the test temperatures to reach an unprecedented level just 1.8 degrees (K) above absolute zero.
• Other apparatuses and facilities were developed for use at Materials Research and Engineering, Inc.

A national need was identified for determining the energy content when off-loading a shipment of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) from abroad. John designed and built a facility to liquefy large quantities of natural gas from the Public Service supply which enabled himself and other scientists to conduct "real-time", flow sampling calorimetric experiments. Cryostats and extensometry have been developed by Mr. Arvidson to allow for materials testing and to conduct other experiments at temperatures from -456°F (4K) to over 2240°F (1500K), which is the most extreme operating range of any such apparatus known to exist today.

He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Colorado in 1969. Continued studies included graduate work in metallurgy, failure analysis (including fracture toughness and fractography), and finite element analysis.

Mr. Arvidson was on the staff of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, NIST, from 1966 to 1986 (formerly NBS - National Bureau of Standards), in the Cryogenics and Fracture and Deformation Divisions. His work covered many areas of interest which include research in Hydrogen and LNG metrology; physical, mechanical, and electrical properties of materials, which cover fracture, fatigue, failure analysis, and pressure measurement studies, at cryogenic to elevated temperatures. While at NIST, he was the Chairman/Member of numerous Technical and Experimental Hazards Safety Committees. He is currently a member of ASTM, ASME, Society of the Sigma Xi, and the Instrument Society of America. He is the author of over 200 technical publications, including two books.

In 1985, Mr. Arvidson founded Materials Research and Engineering, Inc. to further pursue technical engineering, consulting, research, and physical properties testing in the area of Materials Science. As a laboratory with National and International credibility, MRE has performed all services mentioned and many others. Additionally, MRE has conducted investigations for determining failures relating to systems, devices, and critical components. A few examples of those studies include:

• Rocket engines,
• Turbine rotor blade cracking (Titan Satellite Launch Vehicle - Martin Marietta/Aerojet Propulsion),
• DOT helicopter transfer case, propellers, drive axles and wheel studs,
• Support posts for the Superconducting Super Collider (SSC),
• MRI liquid helium vent line failure (Magnetic Resonance Imaging - General Electric Co.)

Grant Dickson

Grant Dickson holds Bachelor's and Master's of Science degrees in Mechanical Engineering and has over ten years of practical engineering experience.  His background includes R&D design in the biomedical and heavy industries, engineering project management, applications/product engineering, systems engineering and extensive knowledge of manufacturing engineering.

Mr. Dickson has a keen interest in materials testing methods, atomic structure, properties, statistical analysis and proper design in order to protect against premature failure.  He is a proponent of careful specification development at the project outset and adherence to an execution plan in order to reduce risks, lower cost, protect company reputation and reduce liability.  Mr. Dickson has won several awards for improving product design.

Mr. Dickson has worked with large and small manufacturing companies to improve their design quality, reduce costs and improve overall customer satisfaction.  His broad engineering background and hands-on approach, along with his understanding of the obstacles presented in all product phases allows him to provide practical solutions to complex problems.