Information Science and Architecture Expert Witnesses: 12

Jessie Stricchiola has over 23 years of experience in the fields of Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Digital Marketing, and  Internet Technologies. She is the founder of Alchemist Media, Inc., a digital marketing consultancy launched in 2002 that provides various internet and search engine marketing consulting services, including SEO, website development, web analytics, and digital marketing strategies.

Ms. Stricchiola began studying search algorithms and digital information discoverability in 1997, and was first employed as a full-time search engine optimization (SEO) specialist in 1998. She is co-author of The Art of SEO, (O’Reilly Media, 1st Ed. 2009, 2nd Ed. 2012, 3rd Ed. 2015, 4th Ed, 2022), a treatise on the practice of SEO that has been used as required or recommended reading in courses at Georgetown University, USC, UCLA, UCSD, UC Davis, the University of Wisconsin, Syracuse University, the University of Mumbai, the City University of Hong Kong, and others.  

Ms. Stricchiola has been a presenter and/or moderator at various search engine and internet industry conferences since 2002, including Ad:tech, O'Reilly's Web 2.0, Pubcon, Shop.org, FOO Camp (O’Reilly), Search Engine Strategies, Search Marketing Expo (SMX), and others.  She is credited with having been the first to identify Click Fraud in the PPC (pay per click) industry in 2001. Her work on this issue has been featured in numerous media outlets, including NPR, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Wired.com, CNN Money, and in The Google Story (First Edition, David a. Vise).

Litigation Support - Jessie Stricchiola has been qualified as an Internet Discoverability, Web Analytics, and Search Engine Optimization Subject Matter Expert in two US Federal District Courts, the Federal Court of Canada, and various California Superior Courts. Her services include pre-file case evaluation and research, expert consultant (non-testifying) engagements, and expert witness testimony at deposition and trial including claims construction and related testimony for patent litigation. CV available upon request

Parties to Litigation: U.S. Government, Uber Technologies Inc., Google Inc., Microsoft Online Inc., Yahoo! Inc., Dyson Technologies, Inc., IHG Hotels & Resorts, FremantleMedia, and others.

Areas of Expertise:

 View Alchemist Media Inc.'s Consulting Profile.

Baw Chng is a highly experienced Networking, Communications, Computer, and Software expert. He is an inventor with 11 patents in communication and networking technology. He is also a published author, public speaker, and USPTO Registered Patent Agent.

Experience: 24+ years of professional experience in telecom and networking. Consulted for Tier-1 national communication service providers and their strategic technology vendors. Experienced in engineering R&D, standards development, and patent assessment. Baw Chng has published papers, given public talks/presentations, provided expert consulting, written expert reports, provided deposition & testimonies as an expertness.

Ideal Client - Litigators who work on cases that involve complex technical issues, patent and intellectual property related issues, business contract cases that involve sophisticated technology.

Areas of Expertise

Technical Skills and Knowledge include:

• 3GPP and 3GPP2 families of cellular mobile broadband radio access and core network standards, small cells, femtocell, inter-technology handover and roaming
• IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi, mesh, infrastructure), 802.3 (Ethernet), 802.15 (WiMAX), 802.16 (WPAN) families of standards
• Network architecture, telecom system architecture
• Internet standards and protocols, TCP/IP, UDP, RTP, DHCP, DNS, ARP, GRE, etc.
• Internet-of-Things (IoT), M2M, LoRa, LoRaWAN, LTE Cat-M, NB-IoT
• Hotspot 2.0 / Passpoint (for Wi-Fi)
• IPsec, IKEv2, L2/L3 tunneling, NAT/NAPT (firewall)
• SAML, SAMLv2 federation; oAuth, oAuth 2.0 authentication; RADIUS, DIAMETER
• Network & device management, Broadband Forum TR-69 and IETF SNMP standards
• Software Defined Networking (SDN), Network Function Virtualization (NFV)
• Self-Organizing Network and Self-Optimizing Network (SON)
• Web Services, REST/JSON API design & implementation, HTTP
• Cloud computing, Amazon Web Services (AWS)
• Big Data, Avro, Parquet
• Plastic Optical Fiber (POF), Optical Networking
• Software architecture, Object-oriented design and programming, design patterns
• Go Lang, C, C++, Perl, LabVIEW, BASIC, Pascal, Unix shell scripting languages
• HTML, CSS, web design & development, web hosting, JavaScript, CGI Programming
• Operating systems (RTOS, various Unix/Linux variants, iOS, Android, etc.)
• Quality of Service (QoS), Fair Scheduling, Fair Queueing
• Interconnection networks and switching fabrics for parallel computers, network switches, and routers

Master's degree in Computer Science (MSCS), Bachelor's degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering (BSEE, BSCoE), Washington University in St. Louis.

View BAWMAN LLC's Consulting Profile.

Sam Malek is currently a Software Engineering Professor in the Informatics Department within the School of Information and Computer Sciences at the University of California, Irvine. He has over 20 years of experience in academia and industry. 

Prior to his academic appointment, Prof. Malek worked for several years as a Software Engineer, Software Architect, and Programmer at a variety of companies, including the Boeing Company and PricewaterhouseCoopers Consulting.

Results of Prof. Malek's research have appeared in more than 120 manuscripts, which have been published in peer-reviewed scientific conferences and journals. These publications have been cited more than 9,000 times according to Google Scholar. Prof. Malek has received numerous awards for his scientific contributions to the field of computer science, including the ACM SIGSOFT test-of-time award (2020) and the National Science Foundation CAREER award (2013). 

Litigation Support - In his capacity as an expert witness in more than 40 cases, Prof. Malek has come across and testified about a broad range of Software Technologies and Intellectual Property, including Patent Infringement, Trade Secret, Copyright, Breach of Contract, False Claims Act, Software-related Criminal Activity, and Software-related Personal Injury.

Prof. Malek has offered testimony at trial, deposition, and arbitration on more than 30 occasions. He has drafted validity, invalidity, infringement, and non-infrignement reports, and also has extensive experience with breach of contract disputes, often involving software development projects. Prof. Malek has testified in high-stakes jury trials in various US district courts and has submitted declarations and offered deposition testimony to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) in the Inter Partes Review (IPR) of patents.  At trial, he draws on his teaching skills as an instructor to breakdown complex technical concepts in ways that can be explained to non-technical jurors.

Areas of Expertise:

David S. Howell is a Software Engineering expert, focused on Intellectual Property litigation and Contract disputes. As an expert, he has contributed to over 20 cases since 2017, involving such parties as Apple, Amazon, TikTok, and Intuit, as well as software startups. His clients are both plaintiffs and defendants. He has spoken at a number of conferences, including Apple WWDC (World-Wide Developer Conference), NAB (National Association of Broadcasters), the American Film Institute, and One More Thing Melbourne, and has given guest lectures on Computer Science, Engineering Management, and Entrepreneurship at Portland State University and the University of Phoenix.

Experience

Mr. Howell has worked as a lead software engineer or software engineering executive for over 35 years. He has written code and managed engineering teams for macOS, Windows, MS-DOS, iOS, Android, Sony Playstation, Samsung Bada, the web (front and back end), and hardware peripherals. His experience includes six years as an engineering executive at Apple. In 2002, Mr. Howell sold the intellectual property of his first startup, Pablo Media, to Apple. In 2008, he founded Avatron, a leading developer of mobile productivity apps. Under his leadership, Avatron developed and sold dozens of apps for iOS, Android, macOS, and Windows, including two Top Downloaded iOS apps, with millions of satisfied users. Mr. Howell is currently CEO of Avatron and of the Expert Guild.

Education

• Doctor of Engineering in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, George Washington University, exp. 2026
• Master of Legal Studies in Intellectual Property and Technology Law, Washington University School of Law, exp. 2024
• MS in Computer Science, Portland State University
• MBA, Cornell University, Johnson School
• BS in Computer Science & Engineering, Case Western Reserve University
• BA in Music, Case Western Reserve University

Patents

• 10,706,815 Accelerated secondary display system
• 10,163,422 Accelerated secondary display system
• 9,058,759 Virtual display device drivers compatible with Windows display driver model
• 8,694,888 Method and apparatus for titling
• 7,643,037 Method and apparatus for titling by applying effects to computer-generated characters
• 7,594,180 Method and apparatus for titling by presenting computer-generated characters
• 7,483,041Method and apparatus for titling
• 7,199,805 Method and apparatus for titling

Litigation Support

Mr. Howell is available as an expert Witness for Software Intellectual Property litigation and as a Strategic Consultant. He can contribute to claim construction, source code analysis, and offer expert reports, depositions, and testimony about software engineering and the software development lifecycle.

Mr. Howell’s ideal expert-witness client would be a software development firm entangled in patent litigation. He is also available for engineering, marketing, and strategy consultation. As a consultant, Mr Howell's clients have included Intel, Apple, Samsung, LucasFilm, and Hasbro.

C. Matthew Curtin, CISSP  Founder and CEO of Interhack is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional. An Expert in Computers and Information Technology, Mr. Curtin and his team at Interhack help attorneys and executives use data and computer technology in high-stakes situations. 

Mr. Curtin's work has been at the cutting edge of the intersection of law and technology. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit relied on Interhack's forensic computing practice and Mr. Curtin's expert opinion when it established standards for application of Federal wiretap statutes to Web technology, In re Pharmatrak Privacy Litigation (see link above). 

Academic references to their work include the Stanford Law Review and university courses throughout the world. Mr. Curtin maintains a regular academic appointment as a Senior Lecturer at The Ohio State University's Department of Computer Science and Engineering. He currently chairs the Recruitment subcommittee of the Business Advisory Network that advises the Ohio Department of Education's standards for technology education in secondary and postsecondary schools throughout the state. 

C. Matthew Curtin's services are available for plaintiffs, defendants, and for the courts directly on technical matters. 

Areas of Forensic Expertise:

• Electronic Discovery
• Preservation and Forensic Analysis of Data
• Complex Analysis of Non-Standard Data Sets
• Investigations
• Data Breaches

View Mr. Curtin's Consulting Profile.

Philip J. Isaak, PE, P.Eng., DCDC, RCDD, SMIEEE, is an expert witness, consultant & trainer in the design, construction, procurement, implementation, commissioning & operations of Information Technology, Telecommunications & Critical Data Center Facilities. 

Mr. Isaak provides clear analysis for complex disputes, incorporating industry standards, best-practices and over 20 years of consulting & training expertise working with clients located in 28 countries and territories across 6 continents. 

In recognition of Mr. Isaak’s professional standing, the Institute of Electrical & Electronic Engineers (IEEE), the world’s largest professional association for advancement of technology, certified him to the grade of Senior Member, a level only 9% of IEEE’s over 400,000 global members hold. Mr. Isaak is also an author of several industry standards published by TIA & ANSI/BICSI, whitepapers published by The Green Grid, and the Data Center Handbook published by John Wiley & Sons.

Expert Witness Services

Areas of Expertise:

View Philip Isaak's Consulting Profile.

Jacob Sharony, PhD, MBA, has over 25 years of experience in Mobile and Wireless Technologies. He is currently an adjunct professor at Columbia University, teaching wireless technologies and applications. He also served as a faculty member of the electrical and computer engineering department and director of the Center of Excellence in Wireless and Information Technology at Stony Brook University. Dr. Sharony held engineering and management positions in diverse technology disciplines at Time Warner Cable, Motorola, BAE Systems, NEC Research Institute, and IBM Research. He has over 50 US patents (pending and issued) and has served on several government expert panels.

Litigation Support - Dr. Sharony provides Patent and Class Action litigation support and expert consulting in mobile and wireless technologies. This includes patent infringement and invalidity analysis, FRAND analysis, writing expert reports, and deposition, and testimony in court. His deep knowledge of target markets, including telecom, healthcare, logistics, transportation, government, hospitality, mobile commerce and supply chain management, combined with extensive expertise in wireless and mobile technologies ensure innovative and successful solutions.

Areas of Expertise:

View Dr. Sharony's Consulting Profile.

Dr. George Edwards, Ph.D. is an expert in Computer Software, Internet Applications, Web Technologies, Mobile Phone/Tablet Applications, Digital Video and Multimedia, Medical and Embedded Software, and Aerospace/Defense Systems. He has more than a decade of experience as a scientist, engineer, and technical consultant to academic research labs, government agencies, technology companies, and attorneys.

Dr. Ewards has authored dozens of articles and papers related to software engineering for scientific journals and industry magazines. He is listed as a co-inventor on two pending patent applications for novel software technology and has served as a software expert witness in patent litigation matters.

• Intellectual property and patent infringement
• Software design/source code audit and review
• Non-performance claims
• Expert witness and depositions

Expert Technologies :

• Programming languages & platforms: Java, C/C++, C#, Perl, Python, PHP, .NET, WinForms, WPF, Visual Studio, Eclipse, Java EE, CORBA
• Internet and web: JavaScript, AJAX, Node.js, Ruby, HTML, XML, CSS, ASP.NET
• Mobile devices & applications: Android, iOS, iPhone, Windows Mobile, Windows Phone, BlackBerry, Palm OS, Java ME
• Multimedia: MPEG, SVG, DVR, Silverlight, Flash
• Operating systems & servers: UNIX, Linux, Windows, Mac OS
• Networking: IMAP, POP, SMTP, DNS, TCP/IP, HTTP
• Databases: RDBMS, SQL, MS SQL Server, MS Access, Oracle, MySQL
• Project management & development methods: Kanban, Lean software development, agile, object-oriented (OO), aspect-oriented programming (AOP), component-based development, COTS integration, requirements engineering, spiral model, UML

View Consulting Profile.

Mehdi Tarrit Mirakhorli, PhD, is a Software Engineering professor in the department of Information and Computer Sciences at University of Hawaii at Manoa. Prior to that, Dr. Mirakhorli served as Kodak Endowed Chair, Associate Professor and Director of Research at ESL Global Cybersecurity Institute and Software Engineering Department at Rochester Institute of Technology.

Litigation Support - Dr. Tarrit Mirakhorli is a Subject Matter Expert in Public and Private Sector Litigation Matters. He has served as an expert on various litigations including SME on federal contract disputes, software trade secret misappropriation, and copyright infringements. With extensive academic experience, he excels at simplifying complex technology concepts for diverse audiences.  

Areas of Expertise:

Dr. Mirakhorli is also the director of Software Assurance Laboratory.  He has been honored with supporting the implementation of President Biden's Executive Order on Improving the Nation's Cybersecurity. 

Dr. Mirakhorli has been an ALTA Distinguished Speaker at Alcatel-Lucent, and has delivered numerous technical briefings to public policymakers, members of Congress, government officials, and the general public. He has carried out various projects of national importance and supported organizations in responding to investigations including OIG.  

Dr. Tal Lavian holds a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, in Computer Science, specializing in Networking and Communications. He is an expert in network communications, telecommunications, Internet Protocols (TCP/IP), LAN/WAN, Streaming media, VoIP, mobile wireless, and Internet/Web technologies. He has over 30 years of experience, has invented over 120 patents, and has co-authored over 25 scientific publications. For 20 years, Dr. Lavian has researched, studied, and lectured at UC Berkeley Engineering. He has served as an industry fellow and lecturer with UC Berkeley’s Industrial Engineering IEOR, Berkeley Engineering’s SCET, UC Berkeley’s start-up accelerator, and SkyDeck, as principal investigator for CRadar.Ai and CTO for Aybell.

Areas of Expertise:

Network Communications - Telecommunications - Internet Protocols (TCP/IP) - VoIP - Streaming Media - Mobile Wireless:

• Communication Networks: Internet protocols; TCP/IP suite, TCP, UDP, IP, Ethernet, 802.3, network protocols, network software applications, data link, network, and transport layers (L2, L3, L4), packet switching, data center network architecture.
• Mobile Wireless: Wi-Fi, 802.11, Bluetooth, MAC, PHY, Wireless LAN (WLAN). Cellular systems, SMS, instant messaging (chat), mobile devices, and smartphones.
• Internet/Cloud: Internet Technologies, Web applications, HTTP, e-mail, SMTP, POP, IMAP, Java, C/C++, file transfer FTP, client-server, cloud computing, distributed computing.
• Routing/Switching: LAN, WAN, VPN, routing protocols, RIP, BGP, MPLS, OSPF, multicast, DNS, QoS, network infrastructure, and network communication architectures.
• VoIP/Streaming Media: PSTN, voice, data, circuit switching, IP telephony, VoIP, SIP, RTP, video/audio conferencing, streaming media.

Dr. Lavian brings both hands-on and academic experience to his work in Network communications, Internet Protocols, design, and architecture. 

Litigation Support:

Dr. Lavian offers expert witness services and provides courtroom presence, clear testimony, and an ability to effectively distill complex concepts into understandable basics and commonsense.

• He has extensive experience rendering reports and testifying in Federal, IPR, and ITC cases in over 140 patent-related cases.
• Past cases have involved leading companies such as Google, Microsoft, Amazon, LinkedIn, Avaya, T-Mobile, AT&T, Ericsson, Sprint, Cisco Systems, Juniper Networks, Polycom, Motorola, LG, WhatsApp, Instagram, ZTE, Huawei, Facebook, and Apple.

View Dr. Lavian's Consulting Profile.

Bruce Weiner is an Information and Internet Technology executive with over 30 years of in-depth experience managing product and software development for contracting companies and Fortune 100 companies.

Mr. Weiner is a Princeton trained computer scientist and electrical engineer, and a patent holder. Over his career, he has gained extensive experience in Information Systems management, program/project management, software development, software architecture, internet delivery, business applications, technology vendor selection, IT Outsourcing, and customer contact center operations.

Litigation Consulting Services: Mr. Weiner has experience as a consulting and/or testifying expert witness in software development, patent infringement, and commercial litigation matters for both plaintiffs and defendants. He is adept at translating complex software, patent, and technology issues for the lay person audience. He consulted on industry transforming anti-trust cases in the travel industry.

Industry Experience:

• Travel Industry Technology - Former technology leader for American Express Travel and Chief Technology Officer of United.com;
• Loyalty Industry Technology - 30 years experience in the technology that powers loyalty programs, working on Membership Miles, Thank You Rewards, Mileage Plus, #1 Gold, eRewards, MyPoints, Blockbuster Rewards, and AAdvantage
• Financial Services Technology – 30 years experience working with Financial Services Companies on credit card and banking technology.

James T. Geier is an independent consultant, author, and entrepreneur with 40 years experience planning, designing, analyzing and implementing Mobile Devices, Communications Systems, and Wireless Networks. Mr. Geier is the author of over a dozen books on mobile and wireless topics including, Designing and Deploying 802.11n Wireless Networks (Cisco Press), Implementing 802.1X Security Solutions (Wiley), Wireless Networking Handbook (New Riders), and Network Re-engineering (McGraw-Hill). Mr. Geier has been an active participant within IEEE standards organizations, such as the IEEE 802.11 Working Group, and the Wi-Fi Alliance. He has served as Chairman of the IEEE Computer Society, Dayton Section, and various conferences.

Litigation Support - James Geier has been an expert witness, written expert reports, been deposed, and testified in court as an expert during numerous patent litigation cases involving communications systems and protocols, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, security, encryption, authentication, IoT, transmit power control, network addressing, transmission protection (CTS-to-self), transmission priority, quality of service (QoS), frequency hopping, multi-modal radios, OFDM, application data updates, sensor networks, and location technologies. Mr. Geier has provided the following services dealing with patent litigation:

• Patent Invalidity / Validity Analysis
• Infringement / Non-infringement Analysis
• Patent Claims Interpretation and Analysis / Claim Construction
• Product Software and Firmware Review and Analysis
• Prior Art Research and Analysis

View James Geier's Consulting Profile.