About Hill Engineering

Hill Engineering believes every materials engineer, designer, and manager should have solid data upon which they can make sound decisions. We have expertise to address issues arising in materials, manufacturing, and design engineering, with unique capabilities in residual stress measurement, material testing, service life assessment, and mechanical design.

Our capabilities support the solution of complex structural problems inherent to fatigue and fracture critical systems through a unique combination of capabilities in residual stress and fatigue engineering.

We have unique and comprehensive residual stress measurement capabilities. We develop and deliver innovative methods for material testing and analysis that meet customer needs during design, manufacturing, and operation.

We have a record of enabling the use of compressive residual stress treatments to extend the life of aging structures and solve sustainment challenges.

Our customers come from a broad range of industry, including aerospace, power generation, vehicles, turbo-machinery, and petrochemicals.

Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Michael R. Hill, PhD

Mike has devoted his professional career to mechanics, materials, and residual stress engineering. He holds a position as Professor in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at University of California, Davis. His published works are in the areas of residual stress measurement, modeling, and methods for fatigue and fracture prediction. Mike has worked extensively on the development of compressive residual stress surface treatments, such as laser shock peening, in collaboration with government and industrial partners. He founded Hill Engineering, LLC to address the needs of commercial clients in tackling complex structural problems with a special emphasis on fatigue and residual stress engineering. Mike completed a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering at Stanford University in 1996, having earned his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Arizona in 1989 and 1991, respectively.

President
Adrian T. DeWald, PhD

Adrian is a technical expert in residual stress measurement and simulation of residual stress effects on material performance. His research and publication record covers the contour method, laser shock peening, machining distortion, weld residual stress, and related topics. Adrian is professionally active within the Society of Experimental Mechanics (Associate Technical Editor for Experimental Mechanics and former Chair of the Residual Stress Technical Division) and ASTM (Member of Committee E28 on Mechanical Testing). Adrian received a Ph.D. from the University of California, Davis in Mechanical Engineering in 2005. His dissertation, titled Measurement and modeling of laser peening residual stresses in geometrically complex specimens, established the basis for the ERS-toolbox® software.

Brett Watanabe

Brett is the Manager of Hill Engineering’s testing laboratory. He has significant experience in various aspects of mechanical testing including advanced residual stress measurement techniques such as: contour method, slitting method, hole drilling, neutron diffraction, and ring core. Hill Engineering’s residual stress measurement laboratory performs work on a daily basis for a wide variety of organizations including both government and commercial entities. Common residual stress measurement applications include: welds, quenching, shot peening, heat treatment, surface coatings, and direct manufacturing. In his role as Laboratory Manager, Brett is responsible for coordinating activities to ensure that we are responsive to customer requests and precise in our daily approach.

Teresa Wong

Teresa is Hill Engineering’s Product Development Group Leader. With experience in mechanical design, software, and technology development, Teresa strives to mature innovative concepts into robust products. The Product Development Group at Hill Engineering is a creative and collaborative team focused on developing technology to address each customer’s individual and unique needs for residual stress measurement, material testing, and other applications.

Bob Pilarczyk

Bob joined Hill Engineering after more than a decade in the USAF A-10 Aircraft Structural Integrity Program (ASIP) office. At A-10, Bob served as the division technical expert in the fields of aircraft structural integrity and structural analysis and as group leader for structural engineering and analysis. Having solved unusual and difficult strength, fatigue, fracture, corrosion, and design challenges for an aircraft fleet, Bob brings experience that allows our team to be very responsive to program requests related to structural integrity assessment. His areas of expertise include: damage tolerance assessment, fleet management, non-destructive inspection, individual aircraft tracking, testing, aircraft teardown programs, and residual stress.

Customers and Collaborators

Pratt & Whitney
Pratt & Whitney is a global leader in turbine engine development and manufacture. Our collaboration with Pratt & Whitney began during the development of the ERS- toolbox® software, which offers significant benefit to those seeking to effectively implement laser peening and other engineered residual stress technology.
Lockheed Martin Aeronautics
Lockheed Martin is on the leading edge of advanced structural design methods that account for residual stress effects on fatigue performance of aircraft. Our combined analytical and experimental expertise allows us to be very responsive to Lockheed Martin’s requests for program support.
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is an important driving force in the development of advanced technology for structures and sustainment. Hill Engineering is proud to support the USAF’s operational and R&D missions through close collaboration on a number of programs.
SBIR Program
The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program is a highly competitive program that encourages domestic small businesses to engage in research and development that has the potential for commercialization. Hill Engineering receives ongoing support from the SBIR program, which helps us to fulfil our underlying passion for maximizing the potential of materials.
NAVAIR
The United States Naval Air Systems Command was one of our earliest collaborators. NAVAIR's mission is to provide full life-cycle support of naval aviation aircraft, weapons and systems operated by Sailors and Marines. Engineered residual stress technology offers significant potential to reduce the occurrence of fatigue related failures.
Rolls Royce
Rolls Royce demands high precision and innovation from their suppliers, which is consistent with our core company values. Hill Engineering provides residual stress measurement support to Rolls Royce as they strive to develop the next generation of advanced technology.
esrd
Hill Engineering and Engineering Software Research and Development, Inc. (ESRD) collaboratively promote the combined use of our software tools: BAMPF and StressCheck® for fatigue crack growth analysis using multi-point fracture mechanics.
Caterpillar, Inc.
Caterpillar, Inc. is a well-known brand that is globally recognized for construction, transportation, and other heavy equipment. The high-value and highly-durable products developed by Caterpillar require extensive engineering and design.
Siemens
Siemens presented a significant and challenging opportunity to Hill Engineering but our objectivity, flexibility, and accuracy combined with our tenacious personality resulted in a very successful collaboration. As a result, Hill Engineering was awarded a Small Business Award by the Siemens Energy Supplier Diversity Council.
ALCOA
Hill Engineering’s accessible and independent residual stress measurement technology is a good fit for collaboration with ALCOA, a leading supplier of materials worldwide. Their pursuit of high-performing and innovative materials benefits from engagement with a testing laboratory that values precision and novel experimentation methods.
University of California
Hill Engineering has a Patent License Agreement with the University of California to perform contour method residual stress measurements. The execution of this Patent License Agreement was an important milestone in the history of our company. We continue to collaborate closely with the University of California.
Stresstech
Hill Engineering’s strategic partnership with Stresstech Group allows clients to benefit from Stresstech’s global reach and expertise in Barkhausen noise technology and X-ray diffraction measurement techniques. Through Stresstech, Hill Engineering can provide equipment solutions including Barkhausen Noise Analyzers, and X-ray Diffractometers.

Society Affiliations

American Society for Testing and Materials
American Society for Mechanical Engineers
Society for Experimental Mechanics

Employment

Hill Engineering is looking for bright and passionate engineers to join its growing team.

Available Positions

Engineer II – CAD Engineering
Senior Engineer – CAD Engineering