Nathaniel Switzner

Nathaniel Switzner is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Engineering at the American University of Iraq Sulaimani, where he teaches mechanics of materials, manufacturing, and senior design courses. He holds a Ph.D. and M.S. in Metallurgical Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines and a B.S. in Metallurgical Engineering from Missouri University of Science and Technology.

• Licensed Professional Engineer (P.E.) in California
• Principal Engineer at RSI Pipeline Solutions since 2019
• Former Engineer at Exponent and Materials Engineer at Honeywell

His research focuses on:

• Correlating steel microstructure to mechanical properties
• Nondestructive testing for pipeline integrity
• Machine learning applications in materials verification
• Hydrogen-assisted fracture analysis

Recent publications emphasize automated methods for estimating:

• Fracture toughness from Charpy data
• Yield strength through indentation testing
• Transition temperatures with uncertainty quantification

He received the American Welding Society's McKay-Helm Award (2020) for advancing stainless steel welding knowledge. His work supports pipeline safety standards like API-579 and PHMSA regulations through innovative NDE techniques and microstructural analysis.