An expert or maven was a scholar who was fully trained or versed in many or all aspects of a particular subject matter or field of study, a competency called expertise. An occupation of expertise was known as a profession.
Doctor Leonard McCoy testified as Captain James T. Kirk's general court martial as "an expert in psychology, especially space psychology." (TOS: "Court Martial")
Doctor Janet Wallace was an expert in endocrinology. (TOS: "The Deadly Years")
Doctor Ira Graves was an expert in cybernetics. (TNG: "The Schizoid Man")
During the inquiry regarding whether or not Data was the property of Starfleet in 2365, Commander Bruce Maddox was called to the stand as a hostile witness. As the computer verified his identity, it rattled off his current assignment as Associate Chair of Robotics at the Daystrom Technological Institute, and prepared to recall his "major papers" before Jean-Luc Picard interrupted, exclaimed, "Yes, yes, yes. Suffice it to say, he's an expert." (TNG: "The Measure Of A Man") Later that year, following Data's encounter with an Iconian software transmission, the frustrated Geordi La Forge felt the only way to fix Data was "If we had an expert, a Maddox, somebody..." (TNG: "Contagion")
During the extradition hearing of Worf in 2372, Ch'Pok declared Deep Space 9 Chief of operations Miles O'Brien an expert in the field of starship combat, as O'Brien had been decorated 15 times by Starfleet for his actions in this area. When he asked Captain Benjamin Sisko if he had any objections to this, Sisko replied that he had none. (DS9: "Rules of Engagement")
Field experts
- Archaeological expert
- Aviation expert
- Computer expert
- Fiction expert
- Laboratory expert
- Legal expert
- Medical expert
- Military expert
- Mind control expert
- Monster expert
- Munitions expert
- Safety expert
- Technical expert
- Time travel expert
- Transporter expert
- Propulsion expert
- Warp field expert
- Weapons expert