About the Failure Analysis Institute

mission

Put the knowledge of why things fail in one place.

Failures decide lawsuits, recalls, insurance claims, and sometimes whether a plant reopens. The knowledge that explains them is scattered across journals, standards, laboratory reports, and the heads of a few hundred specialists.

The Failure Analysis Institute exists to converge that knowledge and make the first hour of understanding free. Anyone with a serious failure can use the Institute's research concierge at no charge: it asks what happened, names the failure-mode categories that fit, points to the peer-reviewed literature, and explains what evidence to preserve before it is lost. When a matter needs more than orientation, such as a laboratory examination, an engineering opinion, or testimony, the Institute connects you with the right specialist, usually within one business day.

plainly stated

What the Institute is and is not.

The Institute is

A knowledge institution. Plain-language failure-mode references and a research concierge that cites real, peer-reviewed papers, retrieved live from the scholarly record and linked by DOI.
A front door to specialists. Court-tested experts across metallurgy, electrochemistry, fire and explosion, structural, geotechnical, biomechanical, and reliability disciplines.
Free at the point of use. The concierge, the references, and the evidence-preservation guidance cost nothing.
Independent. The Institute serves plaintiffs and defendants, insurers and insureds, manufacturers and claimants, matter by matter.

The Institute is not

Not an engineering opinion. Nothing on this site, including concierge conversations, is a failure analysis or a determination of cause or liability.
Not a substitute for an expert. The concierge orients; credentialed experts conclude, after examining the physical evidence.
Not a party to your matter. Using this site creates no engineer-client or attorney-client relationship, and concierge conversations are not privileged or confidential.

How the Institute sustains itself

The research assistance is free and stays free. When a matter requires a retained expert, whether for an examination, an advisory engagement, or testimony, the Institute arranges the engagement through its expert network and is compensated for that work.

That is the entire business model. We publish it because visitors who cross-examine people for a living should not have to guess.

leadership

Leadership.

Announcement · July 2026

Russ Rosenzweig named Executive Director of the Institute

Russ Rosenzweig was named Executive Director of the Failure Analysis Institute in July 2026. Russ was one of the pioneers of the expert witness industry and has decades of experience helping clients understand and analyze failures and connecting them with the right experts and knowledge bases.

He founded the first expert witness search and referral firm in 1993 and led it for three decades, connecting thousands of attorneys, insurers, and companies with specialized experts. His clients have included most of the largest law firms in the United States.

B.A., Northwestern University · M.B.A., University of Chicago Booth School of Business

the network

The specialists behind the answers.

The Institute draws on a working network built over thirty years: metallurgists, electrochemists, fire and explosion investigators, structural and geotechnical engineers, biomechanical engineers, accident reconstructionists, and reliability practitioners from academia, industry, government laboratories, and consulting practice.

300+specialists in the network

80+research areas

13+industries served

Experts are engaged matter by matter and remain independent. The Institute's role is to find the right one fast, and to assemble the team when a failure crosses disciplines.

An advisory council of senior practitioners is being convened and will be named here.

standards

The rules this site holds itself to.

Sourced, not asserted

Reference content is grounded in peer-reviewed literature and published standards. When the concierge cites a paper, it is a real paper, retrieved live from the scholarly record and linked by DOI.

The orientation line

The Institute names likely failure-mode categories and evidence-preservation steps. It does not declare causes. That line is written into the concierge's operating rules and holds on every conversation.

AI, used openly

The Institute uses AI to research, draft, and power the concierge, under human editorial direction. We think institutions should say so plainly.

Corrections

Errors, once known, get fixed. If something on this site is wrong, tell the Institute and it will be reviewed and corrected.

Why this institute exists.