Dr. McCarthy is a consultant and serves on the Board of Shui on Land (SOL), Ltd., (瑞安房地产) which is publicly traded (stock code 0272) on the Hong Kong Exchange. Dr. McCarthy was formerly employed by Exponent, Inc., (NASDAQ symbol “EXPO”), headquartered in Menlo Park, California. Dr. McCarthy joined Exponent, then Failure Analysis Associates, Inc., (FaAA) in 1978, and retired in 2009 where, during his 30+-year tenure, he was variously CEO, Chairman and Chairman Emeritus.

In 2004 Dr. McCarthy was elected to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) with the citation: “For major contributions to improved vehicle safety and for methods of quantitative assessment of the reliability of complex mechanical systems.” In 1992, then President Bush appointed Dr. McCarthy to a two-year term on the President’s Commission on the National Medal of Science.

Dr. McCarthy has investigated some of the major complex system disasters of the current age, most recently in the NAE investigation: Deepwater Horizon Explosion, Fire, and Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico for Secretary of the Interior Salazar. He was part of Lord Cullen’s expert committee for Piper Alpha investigation, investigated the loss of the Amoco Cadiz for Amoco, and grounding of the Exxon Valdez for Exxon. He has appeared on The History Channel, Myth Busters, Discovery, Modern Marvels, and the National Geographic Channel.

Dr. McCarthy holds a PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Mechanical Engineering and four other academic degrees.