Seth W. Leedy

Senior Performance Engineer

Mr. Seth Leedy is a Senior Performance Engineer with over 10 years’ experience. His initial experience started in a manufacturing co-op during undergraduate study. Mr. Leedy became involved with the Industrial Assessment Center during graduate study at Tennessee Technological University, transitioning from manufacturing to energy auditing. After graduation, he started working in the Instrument Calibration Lab at McHale and Associates, Inc.,

where he performs as a Performance Engineering within the Equipment Development Services (EDS). Mr. Leedy is responsible for power plant performance testing, reports, procedures, and calculations. Additionally, he is involved in the development of data logging software and other company tools.

Mr. Leedy received both his Master of Science and his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the Tennessee Technological University. He has been an active member of ASME since 2012 and is an Engineer-in-Training in the state of Tennessee.

Karsten M. Kopperstad

Performance Engineer

Mr. Karsten Mikal Kopperstad received his Bachelors of Science degree in mechanical engineering at the University of Stavanger in Stavanger, Norway. During his time at University of Stavanger, Karsten partook in a student organized research and development organization where he, along with a team of multidisciplinary engineering students. Here the organization designed and manufactured a remotely operated underwater vehicle wherein

Karsten lead the efforts of the design and manufacture of the thruster system for the vehicle. Upon completion of his BSc, Karsten attended the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering where he pursued a Master’s of Science degree in mechanical. Here, under the guidance of Dr. Koroush Shoele and Dr. Rajan Kumar, Karsten worked as a graduate research assistant at the Florida Center for advanced Areo Propulsion facility located in Tallahassee, Florida. Here his topics of research included experimental and computational fluid mechanics fluid structure interaction, and renewable energy. During his pursuit for his master’s, Karsten is conducted research of the aerodynamic properties found in the wake regime behind a floating wind turbine and has published works within the field.

Currently Karsten works for McHale & Associates, Inc. where he is applying his extensive thermo- and fluid dynamic educational and research background into power plant performance testing.

Brody Q. Weber, P.E.

Principal Engineer

Mr. Weber is an expert in performance testing and the thermal design and optimization of power plants with over sixteen (16) years of experience. As a Principal Engineer, he is responsible for the design and conduct of performance tests at fossil and renewable power plants, as well as consulting services related to the thermal design and optimization of power plants.

Mr. Weber has been responsible for working closely with clients, including extended travel to client’s over-seas offices, to develop techno-economic optimization and selection analyses related to a variety of power and petrochemical applications. Included in Mr. Weber’s competencies are thermal performance of fossil and renewable projects, performance testing, EPC performance guarantees, performance optimization, heat balance developments, system design specifications, purchase specifications, bid evaluations for major equipment, and project design support.

Mr. Weber graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology with a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and is a Licensed Professional Engineer in the state of Missouri and in the State of California. He is a member of ASME PTC 6 and is fluent in English, Spanish, and conversational in French.

Jesse K. Easterling, P.E., QSTI

Environmental Services Technical Supervisor

Mr. Easterling is a technical supervisor with McHale’s Environmental Services. With 15 years’ experience in stack testing, environmental permitting, engineering consulting, and quantitative laboratory and field analysis, Mr. Easterling brings a broad understanding of environmental engineering implications to industry and society generally, as well as practical experience of delivering high-quality, high-performance emissions testing programs to McHale’s Knoxville, TN-based field services group.

Prior to joining McHale, Mr. Easterling was a project manager for AECOM (formerly URS) and later Civil and Environmental Consultants (CEC) where he managed emissions and other testing projects and developed practices and operating systems for developing technologies in FTIR, mercury analysis, and other manual test methods as these were adapted to meet stricter regulatory requirements.

Mr. Easterling has served clients in a wide range of industries including metals recycling, chemical manufacturing, waste incineration, Portland cement, and a variety of power generation facilities including biomass boilers—at locations ranging from East Tennessee to South America and the Caribbean. Mr. Easterling is a member of the Air and Waste Management Association (A&WMA), the Source Evaluation Society (SES), and NSPE. Mr. Easterling graduated from Tennessee Technological University with a Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering and has maintained a professional engineering license in Tennessee since 2012.

Michael A. Dickerson

Environmental Services Technical Manager

Mr. Dickerson is responsible for all aspects and duties required for the successful completion of emission testing projects. Mr. Dickerson possesses over thirty (30) years of experience performing and conducting emissions testing using continuous instrumental methods (CEMS) and wet chemistry techniques by EPA Methodologies on power turbines, boilers and many other industrial or commercial processes.

Mike has been involved in a number of trial burns involving rotary kilns and research projects such as EPRI sponsored mercury study and DOE testing at Nevada Test Site for a variety of organic and inorganic compounds using remote control technology. In his present role, as Technical Manager of Environmental Services, he conducts testing of plant emissions by following contractual terms and EPA Methodologies.  As well, he consults with clients to provide prudent technical resolutions. Prior to embarking in the emissions testing field he was a 9+ year member of the United States Air Force during which he supported flight line operations for the Tactical Air Command.

Lee Kirkpatrick, PMP

Project Manager

Mr. Kirkpatrick has had twenty-five years of combined experience in both the financial sector and construction industry.  During this time, he has managed multiple projects across both industries with budgets that have ranged from as small as $10,000 to as large as $1,000,000.  He also has extensive experience in each industry in business management and business development

He will be managing both domestic and international projects of all sizes during his time with McHale.
Mr. Kirkpatrick joined McHale in 2022 and is currently expanding his experience to include project management in the power generation industry. He has a B.S. in Mathematics from East Tennessee State University.

Susan B. Eisenstadt, P.E.

Project Manager

Ms. Eisenstadt has over 30 years’ experience as a Project Manager and Engineer. In 2013, Ms. Eisenstadt joined McHale expanding her experience to metrology, which is the instrumentation for physical measurements such as pressure and temperature that are needed for thermodynamic modeling. McHale’s Engineering personnel install the temporary instrumentation for highest quality, pedigreed data ultimately used to calculate heat and mass transfer occurring in process systems,

primarily in power plants where performance testing is needed for environmental regulations, modeling, and predicting dispatched plant performance in terms of capacity, efficiency, and CO2 credits. She has managed complex, multi-year, international projects involving Power Plant Performance Testing and Engineering Consultation Services. Ms. Eisenstadt has managed over 100 projects for McHale with revenues ranging from $2,000 to $1.5 million, and average size about $75,000. She is typically responsible for about $2.5 million in project backlog and about $1 million in high probability opportunities. Most projects are in the private sector although some are for government entities. About one-half of the projects are outside the US in locations such as Morocco, Cambodia, Argentina, India, Mexico, Canada, and others. 

Prior to joining McHale, she was with Bechtel Environmental, Inc. in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, Galbraith Analytical Laboratories, Inc. in Knoxville, Tennessee, and Professional Project Services, Inc. (Pro2Serve) in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. She has a B.S. in Chemical Engineering and M.S. In Environmental Engineering both from the University of Tennessee and an active P.E registration in the State of Tennessee.  

Ashley H. Maveety, P.E.

Project Manager

Ms. Maveety began her career with McHale & Associates, Inc. in 2006 as an Assistant Performance Engineer, gaining experience in the power industry initially with gas turbine emissions tuning and performance testing projects and later with combined cycle and various component performance testing projects. 

As a Project Manager, she now coordinates thermal performance and emissions testing scopes for simple cycle, combined cycle, and fossil applications worldwide. 

Ms. Maveety graduated from Clemson University with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering in 2004. She earned her Masters of Science in Environmental Engineering & Science, also from Clemson University, in 2006. Ms. Maveety is a Licensed Professional Engineer in the State of North Carolina.

Gabriel R. Ramos, P.E.

CTI Program Manager & Principal Performance Engineer

Mr. Ramos is the Cooling Tower (CTI) Program Manager with McHale & Associates, Inc. and is responsible for business development, operations, and technical leadership of the CTI Testing Program.  Mr. Ramos was previously a Senior Engineer within our performance testing division where he was a technical lead and test director for many large and small scale power generation and cooling system projects. 

Prior to his employment with McHale, Mr. Ramos was employed with Duke Energy where he worked in Engineering and Operations at the Shearon Harris Nuclear Power Plant.  Mr. Ramos graduated with honors from North Carolina State University with a Bachelor of Science in Nuclear Engineering.

Mr. Ramos has more than thirteen (13) years of operations, project management, and performance testing experience involving projects in the United States and numerous countries within Africa, Asia, Europe, North and South America.   Mr. Ramos maintains expertise with numerous codes and standards with ASME, ISO, CTI, AGA, ASTM, and is a current voting member of CTI ATC 140 Isokinetic Drift Measurement Test Code for Water Cooling, CTI ATC-150 Acceptance Test Procedure for Wet-Dry Plume Abatement Cooling Towers, and CTI STD 201 Standard for Thermal Performance Certification of Evaporative Heat Rejection Engineer.

Jessica N. Drinnon

Measurement Services Manager

Ms. Drinnon is McHale’s Measurement Services Manager. She possesses over fifteen (15) years of Quality Management System experience in calibration laboratory and manufacturing settings. She has experience calibrating a wide variety of instruments for a multitude of industries including manufacturing, pharmaceutical, medical, transportation, utilities, environmental, power generation, food & beverage, research and development, and construction.

Her calibration expertise encompasses dimensional, thermodynamic, electrical, mechanical, and mass disciplines. In addition, she is familiar with several international, regulatory, and industry standards such as ISO/IEC 17025, ISO 9001, and CLIA.

Ms. Drinnon plays a key role in improving laboratory processes and procedures, implementing new calibration capabilities, and training laboratory personnel. With her knowledge of the ISO/IEC 17025 Standard for Testing and Calibration Laboratories, she successfully guided the Measurement Services team through the process of initial accreditation for calibration activities and continues to lead the effort to maintain and add to the Scope of Accreditation. She is responsible for ensuring our customers’ calibration needs are met, providing technical expertise to customers and laboratory personnel, encouraging an environment of continuous improvement and growth, and maintaining the quality system in compliance with ISO/IEC 17025.

Michael P. McHale

President

Mr. McHale founded McHale & Associates, Inc. in 1995. He has over 35 years of experience in performance testing, thermal analysis and instrumentation and has developed thermal test monitoring and analysis software including programs for conducting performance tests of power plants, long term plant performance monitoring, plant economic 

optimization, thermal vacuum tests of space vehicles, thermal control systems, and aircraft electronics testing. Analysis includes development of performance test models, thermo-economic optimizers, as well as finite difference and finite element heat transfer and fluid flow numerical simulations. Instrumentation and control system experience includes specification and review of pressure, thermal, and flow transducers for various projects.

Mr. McHale is a member and former Chair of the ASME Performance Test Codes Standards Committee, Chair of PTC 1 General Instructions, a member of ASME PTC 4.4 Gas Turbine Heat Recovery Steam Generators, a member of ASME PTC 46 Overall Plant Performance, a former member of ASME MFC Measurement of Fluid Flow in Closed Conduits, and the founding Chair and current member of ASME PTC 6.2 Steam Turbines in Combined Cycles.  Mr. McHale has a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Washington where he graduated Suma Cum Laude.  Mr. McHale is the 2018 recipient of the ASME Performance Test Codes Medal.

Dr. Thomas Keith Kirkpatrick, Ph.D.

Senior Vice President of Operations

Dr. Kirkpatrick currently serves as the Senior Vice President of McHale & Associates, Inc. and is responsible for the overall operations management. Dr. Kirkpatrick is a 26-year practitioner of engineering focused in the area of thermal performance testing, improvement, monitoring, and consulting within the power industry. Dr. Kirkpatrick received the PhD. in Mechanical Engineering, Tennessee Technological University in May 1999 while serving as a research 

engineer in the area of thermal performance for the Electric Power Center from 1995 to 1999. In 1999, he became a member of Environmental Systems Corporation, Power Generation Technologies (PGT) Division, where in 2004, left the position as Technical Manger II of the Advanced Thermal Performance Group to join McHale & Associates, Inc.

Dr. Kirkpatrick is a 28-year member of ASME and serves on the ASME Performance Test Codes Standards Committee. He is the Vice Chair of the PTC Standards Committee; a member of PTC 1 General Instructions; the former Chair of ASME PTC 46 Overall Plant Performance; the founding Chair and current member of ASME PTC 51 Gas Turbine Inlet Air-Conditioning Equipment; a founding and current member of ASME PTC 6.2 Steam Turbines in Combined Cycles; a founding and current member of ASME RAP/PTC SC Heat Rate; a contributing member of ASME PTC DVR Control and Quality Improvement of Process Data; a contributing member of ASME PTC 19.5 Flow Measurement; a member of ASME PTC 6 Steam Turbines; as well as a contributing member of ASME PTC 52 Concentrating Solar Power Plants. Dr. Kirkpatrick is the 2017 recipient of the ASME Performance Test Codes Medal.

Wilson G. Davis, P.E.,

Director of Operations

Mr. Davis is a results-driven problem solver with over eighteen years of experience in power plant thermal performance testing. He began his career as a field performance test engineer and after years of success in meeting client technical needs, has expanded to include client commercial needs as well. Mr. Davis currently supervises a group of skilled proposal and project managers who are adept at matching project scope with McHale technical talent and instrumentation to meet the project requirements.

Mr. Davis is responsible for all Operations and Commercial aspects of the Testing Services Division of McHale and is involved with proposal management, project management, and as-needed engineering efforts as well. He has contributed to the development and standardization of communication methods and lines within McHale to better meet project goals and to provide customers with consistent quality and approach.  

Mr. Davis has a Master of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Tennessee Technological University as part of his technical background and is a Licensed Professional Engineer in Tennessee.

Wesley M. Newland

Director of Engineering and Testing Services

Mr. Newland is McHale’s Director of Engineering and Testing Services and has over twenty years’ experience in thermodynamic analysis, testing and monitoring.  Mr. Newland is responsible for the development, implementation, and execution of McHale’s analysis and testing program.  He ensures  that all performance related documents and tools (test procedures, data analysis models, thermal models, reports, etc.), are produced in compliance with the respective ASME Performance Test Codes or other applicable industry standards and good industry practices

He has valuable experience with design and development of thermal test monitoring and analysis systems, computerized analysis of power plants and other complex thermo-mechanical systems.  His testing experience includes gas turbine, steam turbine, boilers, combined cycle, nuclear, geothermal, and biomass facilities ranging from 15 MW to over 2,000 MW.  Mr. Newland serves supports a variety of ASME Performance Test Code activities including as a member of ASME PTC 51.

Mr. Newland graduated from Tennessee Technological University with a Master of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering with an emphasis on heat transfer, thermodynamics, and fluid flow and has completed his comprehensive exams and coursework in 2001 toward a Doctorate in Mechanical Engineering.  

Joseph M. McHale, P.E.

Director of Environmental Measurement Services

As Director of Environmental Measurement Services, primary responsibilities include planning, organizing and controlling the measurement services department to and ensuring the professional development, training, and work efficiency of personnel while maintaining the quality of deliverables.  

Mr. McHale has over sixteen (16) years of experience in the power industry primarily focused on the performance evaluations of power plants.  Mr. McHale’s possesses experience in the planning, conductance, analysis and reporting with testing requirements for a variety of power cycles including renewables (solar, geothermal, and biomass) as well as experience with fossil fuels (coal and biomass fired boilers, and natural gas and liquid fuel fired simple and combined cycle power plants).  Mr. McHale’s experience is in the implementation of thermal performance monitoring systems, interfacing with PI historian systems to provide in order to calculate and report real-time precision measurement systems, performance monitoring, as well as in conducting power plant thermal performance and emissions compliance tuning.

Mr. McHale acts as the Department Head, Project Manager and Technical Lead on projects, overseeing the successful delivery of project deliverables and ensuring technically accurate products meeting the budget, scope and goals of the project.