Matson & Associates Office in State College, PAPEOPLE
Our staff has advanced degrees in chemical engineering, environmental engineering, watershed science, and water resources management. Prior to joining M&A, our staff of engineers and scientists have worked in the public and private sectors in areas concerning chemical manufacturing, refining, remediation, wastewater treatment design, environmental research, and natural resource management.
Jack V. Matson, Ph.D., PE
Robert Parette, Ph.D., PE
Eric Chase, P.G.
Wendy Pearson
John Goreham
Kate McMahon
M&A has developed a network of expert witnesses with diverse backgrounds in environmental related fields. Our staff provides research services, litigation support, and administrative support to these experts. M&A continues to expand its network as other highly skilled professionals with relevant areas of expertise and skill sets are identified. Currently, our expert witness network includes:
- Water Chemistry Expert Witness
- Toxicology Expert Witness
- Corrosion Expert Witness
- Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry Expert Witness
- Air Quality Compliance, Permitting, and Analysis Expert
Jack V. Matson, Ph.D., PE, the founder and principal owner of the firm, is a testifying expert specializing in chemical emissions, historical industry knowledge and regulations. He has prepared expert opinions in over 100 cases. Jack Matson has more than 30 years of experience in the field of Environmental Engineering. His experience ranges from working as a chemical/environmental engineer for chemical companies in 1960s, a consulting engineer to a variety of chemical facilities, to being Professor of Environmental Engineering at the University of Houston and Penn State for 18 and 17 years, respectively. His academic background includes a B.S. and M.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Toledo and a Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from Rice University.
Robert Parette, Ph.D., PE, is an expert in source identification, environmental chemistry, water and wastewater treatment, and groundwater, soil and sediment remediation. Dr. Parette has over 10 years of experience with the removal of contaminants such as perchlorate, arsenic, MTBE, and contaminants from coal ash and mining wastes from drinking water and groundwater. Dr. Parette’s specialty in understanding the chemistry and operations of industrial processes has allowed him to determine the composition, quantity, and timing of chemical releases, as well as to determine the origin(s) of chemicals found in the environment. He has applied environmental forensics techniques in a number of cases concerning cost allocation disputes, insurance coverage, property damage and personal injury involving PCBs, arsenic, dioxin, MTBE, and alumina. He has a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and an M.S. and Ph.D. from Penn State in Environmental Engineering. He is also a Professional Engineer registered in Pennsylvania.
Eric Chase, P.G., is a Hydrologist with extensive experience in surface water and groundwater and has defended his expert opinions in a number of administrative hearings concerning water use. Mr. Chase has managed a wide variety of water resource projects, including multi-year water resource assessments, soil and groundwater testing of contaminated sites and investigations related to the impacts of resource extraction. His expertise includes modeling of water use changes, storm water runoff and point source discharges. Prior to joining Matson & Associates in 2011, Mr. Chase worked in private consulting as a Geologist and as a Hydrologist for the State of Montana. He has worked with non-profit groups, watershed organizations and government agencies on numerous surface and groundwater planning and management projects. Mr. Chase holds a B.S. in Geology from Guilford College in Greensboro, NC and an M.S. in Watershed Science from Colorado State University, and is a registered Professional Geologist in Pennsylvania.
Wendy Pearson, President and Senior Project Manager, has been with the firm since 1999. As project manager, Ms. Pearson is the initial and primary contact with clients. She supervises and guides the research activities of employees and maintains client communications. She assists in writing technical reports and performing quantitative analyses. Wendy also provides litigation support for clients during legal proceedings. She assists in preparing for deposition of fact witnesses and experts, and in preparing for direct and cross exams of experts at trial. Wendy’s expertise includes conducting forensic investigations of a wide variety of operations and practices to identify sources, amounts, and fate of both organic and inorganic chemical emissions that led to environmental contamination from facilities operating presently to those operating many decades ago. Wendy’s research efforts support Dr. Jack Matson and Dr. Robert Parette, the firm’s testifying experts. Wendy has a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Penn State, and an M.S. in Environmental Science and Engineering from Oregon Graduate Institute of Science and Technology..
John Goreham is a Project Manager. He has several years of experience conducting and reporting on hydrologic field and laboratory research projects covering topics including climate change impacts, flood control channel ecohydraulics, and the ecohydrology of arid landscapes. Prior to joining M&A, John worked at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Washington, and the Desert Research Institute in Las Vegas, Nevada. He has a B.S. in Agriculture from New Mexico State University, where he majored in Soil Science, and an M.S. in Water Resources Management from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Kate McMahon is a Research Associate. She graduated from Penn State and the Schreyer Honors College in May 2012 with a B.S. in Environmental Resource Management with minors in Environmental Engineering, Watersheds and Water Resources, and Sociology. Kate completed an honors thesis evaluating the utility of a federal interstate compact for the region underlain by Marcellus Shale. As an undergrad Kate participated in research in the field of water resources, and was employed in as a lab technician in water quality analysis.
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