About The Author
Steve Smithson
Founder, Smithson & Associates, Inc.
Steve is the founder of Smithson & Associates, Inc., a manufacturers’ representative firm specializing in shock and vibration test systems, vibration control equipment, environmental test systems, and ruggedized field data recorders.
With more than four decades of experience in mechanical and test engineering, Steve’s career includes roles with Sperry Vickers & Information Display Divisions, and MTS Systems Corporation, where he served as Regional International Sales Director for Eastern Europe.
A graduate of the University of Michigan (B.S. Mechanical Engineering) and Arizona State University (M.B.A.), Steve has long been a proponent of fatigue-based vibration metrics. His published works include:
- “HALT–HASS Vibration Demystified”
- “Shock Response Spectrum Analysis for ESS and STRIFE/HALT Measurement”
- “Fatigue Metrics for HALT, HASS & More” (TEST Engineering & Management, Aug/Sept 2004)
- Two papers presented in the 1990 and 1991 Proceedings of the Institute of Environmental Sciences and Technology on ESS and HALT/HASS.
Over his career, Steve has promoted the application of the Fatigue Damage Spectrum (FDS) and related metrics for comparing test excitations and end-use environments across commercial, aerospace, automotive, and defense sectors. His work continues to help engineers quantify and manage the severity of shock and vibration environments.
