Dr George Rechnitzer
Position: Principal Forensic Engineer, Director
Expertise: Safety Engineering, Collision Reconstruction, Rollover, Impact Analysis, Workplace safety
Qualifications: B.Eng., M.Eng.Sci., PhD,
Professional Bodies: MIEAust., CPEng., FSIA, MSAEA
Dr Rechnitzer is a Professional Engineer. He has provided expert evidence for litigation cases in Australia since 1989 and the USA since 1995. From August 1990 to January 2003, Dr Rechnitzer was a Senior Research Fellow at Monash University Accident Research Centre (MUARC).
His major specialisation concerns the application of the engineering sciences to safety in many areas, ranging from transport through to occupational health and safety in the workplace. Dr Rechnitzer has conducted extensive work in road safety, crashworthiness (cars, trains, trucks and other mobile equipment), occupational health and safety, accident and incident investigation, analysis and countermeasure development for injury prevention. Dr Rechnitzer has carried out a number of in-depth investigations for the State Coroner of Victoria, as well as consultancies on vehicle safety-related projects for BHP, Australia Post, SECV and the Australian Industrial Relations Commission. He has also carried out major projects for Victoria Police, Australian Defence Department, VicRoads, Federal Office of Road Safety, Telstra, Victorian WorkCover Authority, and Australia Post, amongst many others. Projects have included vehicle, heavy vehicle and forklift safety; vehicle rollover; and transport and construction industry safety. Since 2004, he has provided expert consulting services on vehicle rollover and other cases in the USA.
Prior to joining MUARC, Dr Rechnitzer's experience included more than twenty years as a structural design engineer with major consulting engineering groups, working on large engineering projects involving the investigation, analysis, design and construction of a variety of structures and facilities.
Dr Rechnitzer's work has been published extensively, with over 80 publications, including contributing chapters in books relating to traffic accidents, accident investigation and reconstruction. He has made presentations at over 60 conferences and seminars, both nationally and at international forums.
Dr Rechnitzer graduated in 1971 from Monash University with a Bachelor of Engineering (Civil, Hons). He completed a Master Engineering Science degree from Melbourne University in 1979 and, in 2003, was awarded the degree of Doctor of Philosophy from Monash University. Dr Rechnitzer has also attended a number of specialist courses relating to Injury Research and Prevention, Crash Analysis and Reconstruction, and Biomechanics of Impact Injury. Dr Rechnitzer was awarded the 2003 Warren Medal by the Institution of Engineers Australia, as co-author of the papers "Crashworthiness Systems – A Paradigm Shift in Road Safety Design", Parts I and II.
Dr Rechnitzer is a Member of the Institution of Engineers Australia, Member of the Society of Automotive Engineers, a Fellow of the Safety Institute of Australia and Chair of the SIA’s National Technical Panel.
A founding partner and Director of DVE, Dr Rechnitzer brings significant engineering experience, academic and research expertise, as well as extensive industry affiliations both nationally and internationally.
