Dr. Perry is an expert in the mechanics of materials and implantable medical device engineering. He has assisted companies throughout all stages of the product process including concept development, product development, performance testing, material and manufacturing process, product validation and engineering documentation for regulatory submissions. Ken has developed a strong reputation for using advanced finite element analysis to address issues of product performance and reliability and has worked with a range of materials including ceramics, biopolymers, Nitinol and other advanced engineering materials. He is highly regarded the medical device industry with a leadership role setting standards and advancing industry best practices and is an active researcher having contributed over twenty technical publications on materials and medical devices.
Ken has published numerous papers on experimental mechanics, Finite Element Analysis (FEA) and Shape Memory Alloy structures including aspects of constitutive model development, design and performance and fatigue analysis. He has also contributed original applied research on the study of fatigue and fracture characterization using the technique of phase shifted moiré interferometry.
Ken is a member of number of professional organizations including the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) where he is active on the Committee for Implantable Medical Devices (F04.30.06 Cardiovascular Device Standards and F04.15.15 Nitinol Test Methods) and the E08 Committee on Fatigue and Fracture. As a member of the organization Shape Memory and Superelastic Technologies (SMST), he has organized sessions on FEA of Nitinol at the 2003 and 2006 conferences in Asilomar, CA. He is a lifetime member of the Society for Experimental Mechanics (SEM) where he founded the technical division on Biologically Inspired Materials and Systems.
Ken has been an expert witness on matters involving mechanical engineering, shape memory alloys, FEA, material specification, fatigue, processing, testing and the design and development of medical devices.
In addition to engineering expertise, Ken is an experienced business trainer and consultant, specializing in innovation and intrapreneuring. His is particularly interested in furthering practical applications of ecopreneuring based on combining environmental leadership values and appropriate technology/strategy with proven methods for accelerating innovation. By enriching the individuals learning experience and aligning team values and purpose, he works to create a climate for translating shared vision into action and success.
Ken’s interest in innovation and intrapreneuring began at NIKE, Inc. where he was the lead technologist in the development of environmentally responsible polymer membranes for footwear applications. He pioneered a computational design methodology for engineered footwear cushioning systems and applied fracture mechanics in the NIKE AIR manufacturing quality program to improve the quality of NIKE AIR technology. He also worked as a senior scientist for the Hexcel Corporation where he continued to champion business and technology process enhancement through research, workshops and manufacturing process improvement. Following Hecel, Ken designed and analyzed implantable medical devices for over twenty-five clients and is still active in this area.
Ken is also active as a scientist developing ecologically effective materials—compounds that are inspired by and designed for returning to nature. This `Materials Biomimicry’ approach can be used to develop materials for use in the human body (e.g. biocompatible), as well as materials that promote healthy industrial ecosystems (e.g. biodegradable). With expertise in mechanics of materials, medical devices, polymers, fracture mechanics and computational modeling, Ken is involved in a range of technology and product development activities.
Ken received a bachelors degree in Engineering Science and Mechanics from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a Ph.D. in Mechanics of Materials from Strathclyde University, in Glasgow Scotland. Ken was awarded a two year Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory in Idaho Falls, where he also taught as an adjunct professor in the Engineering Department of Idaho State University. Trained as Master Practitioner of NLP, Ken is a member of the Global NLP Community and an advisor to the Institute for the Advanced Study of Health (IASH).
He has published articles and presented seminars on health, innovation, sustainability and over 30 scientific papers in the field of Applied Mechanics. He received the Hetenyi award for the best research paper published in the journal of Experimental Mechanics in 1996.
Ken currently lives on Bainbridge Island in Washington. When he isn’t working in the lab, Ken is an avid sailor, coaches a math team, and enjoys playing with his children Kobe, Kari, and Parker.