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BIOS

Meet The Team
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DR. DAVID N. FRENCH
		The founder of DNFM, Dr. David N. French, has served on several industry related committees affiliated with A.S.M.E., E.P.R.I. and The Steam & Power Panel-American Institute of Metallurgical Engineers etc. He has served as an instructor for courses sponsored by A.S.M.E. and E.P.R.I. as well as authoring the two editions of “Metallurgical Failures in Fossil Fired Boilers” published by John Wiley & Sons Inc. For his full professional resume please click here. In his leisure time Dr. French enjoys playing golf, tennis, woodworking, and creating furniture for his children and grandchildren. He is also an avid reader and enjoys walking.
DR. RAMA S. KORIPELLI
		Rama has several years of industrial experience emphasizing failure analysis and life estimation of boiler tubes/pipes. He has directed numerous metallurgical projects to determine the root cause of failures, utilizing microstructural examination, electron microscopy, mechanical, non-destructive and other test methods. His specialties include failure analysis, fracture mechanics, material selection, mechanical and corrosion testing. He graduated from the University of Nevada at Las Vegas (UNLV), with a PhD in Materials & Mechanical Engineering. His dissertation relates to the tensile deformation, corrosion and crack growth characterization of Ni-base alloy for use in heat exchangers for nuclear hydrogen generation. He has published numerous papers in the international conferences and journals. For his full professional Resume click here. Rama's hobbies are playing and watching cricket, exploring new places, and spending time with family and friends.
ERIK RIKER
		Erik Riker, Metallurgical Lab Technician, is originally from Memphis, TN. He earned his Associate Degree in Graphic Arts from State Technical Institute at Memphis in the 1990s and received his B.A. in Anthropology from the University of Memphis in 2001. Erik joined the DNF metallurgical team in 2008. He completed the “Practical Joint Approach to Boiler Tube Failure Prevention” course and is a Level I Certified Boiler Assessor (CBA) through the American Association of Boiler Assessment, Inc. (AABA) having met all the requirements for education as well as field experience for certification. He is a member of ASM. When not processing boiler tubes, Erik enjoys playing and writing music, writing fiction, and watching horror and comedy films. He is a member of the United States Aikido Federation.
NATHAN HUSTER
		Nathan Huster has been a member of the DNFM team since 2011. He graduated from the University of Kentucky with a Bachelors of Science degree in Materials Science and Engineering. Prior to joining DNF, Nathan served as a research assistant at the University of Kentucky’s Center for Applied Energy Research, contributing to various materials projects. In order to gain valuable hands-on experience, he has spent time assisting in sample preparation in the lab, as well as having traveled across the United States with the UDC Field Inspection Team as an active field services boiler assessor. Nathan now works with Dr. Rama Koripelli as a metallurgical engineer where they diagnosis the root cause of failure, as well as provide life assessment calculations and general metallurgical analysis. When he is not composing reports or inspecting a backpass, Nathan likes to spend his time playing ultimate frisbee, building computers from scratch and enjoying the company of his family and friends.
WENDY KEATING
		Before becoming a part of the DNF family as an Administrative Assistant, Wendy worked at a printing company for ten years where she earned her apprenticeship in graphic arts and worked in their CAD department as well. After this she chose to be a stay-at-home mom and further her education. Wendy finished her General studies, AA, CNA and is CPR and first aid certified. She is a member of ASM. She joined the family at David N. French Metallurgists not only because she respects the company, but because her husband works with UDC, our sister company. Wendy enjoys playing volleyball, softball, hunting, motorcycles, and scrapbooking when she is outside of the company as well as spending time with fellow employees.