SIERA Group

ISSSI 2019 Speakers and Collaborators


Dr. Salman Soleimani-Dashtaki Workshop Facilitator Workshop Collaborator – Theme 2 Postdoctoral Research Fellow and a Sessional Lecturer at the Civil Engineering Department of the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada Dr. Salman Soleimani-Dashtaki obtained his PhD and his Bachelor of Applied Science in civil engineering, with a minor degree in commerce from the Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia. Salman has been an active member and the president of the UBC Chapter of the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI) since 2013. He is currently working as a postdoctoral fellow and a sessional lecturer at the civil engineering department of the University of British Columbia, in Vancouver. As part of his doctoral work at UBC, Salman has worked on a multi-disciplinary research project, focusing on structural and earthquake engineering as well as high-performance construction materials. He has conducted an extensive experimental program, jointly between the Earthquake Engineering Research Facility (EERF) and the Sustainable Infrastructure Research Group (SIERA), towards the development of practical seismic retrofit strategies for low-rise unreinforced masonry (URM) structures. Dr. Soleimani has worked on an innovative UBC developed material, called Ecofriendly Ductile Cementitious Composite (EDCC), and a strengthening technique for seismically retrofitting URM partition walls at schools and hospitals.	Prof. Nemy Banthia Workshop Co-Facilitator Workshop Speaker – Theme 4 UBC Professor of Civil Engineering, Distinguished University Scholar, Senior Canada Research Chair in Infrastructure Rehabilitation & Sustainability, CEO & Scientific Director of IC-IMPACTS, Vancouver Dr. Nemy Banthia obtained his Ph.D. from the University of British Columbia in 1987. He was inducted as a Distinguished University Scholar at UBC in 2003 and was appointed as a Senior Canada Research Chair in Infrastructure Rehabilitation and Sustainability in 2006. He also leads the Canada-India Research Center of Excellence (IC-IMPACTS) as its Scientific Director and CEO. Dr. Banthia is one of the most cited in the field of concrete materials and structures, Dr. Banthia has worked tirelessly to understand the performance of concrete structures under various conditions of loading and environment, developed numerous advanced ultra-high performance concrete materials with fiber reinforcement, devised innovative methods of laboratory and field testing and developed novel sensors for structural health monitoring. Dr. Banthia holds 8 patents, has published over 400 refereed papers and edited 20 volumes. He serves on Editorial Boards of eight international journals and is the Editor-in-Chief of the J. of Cement and Concrete Composites—a journal with the highest Impact Factor in the field.	Prof. Carlos Ventura Workshop Co-Facilitator Workshop Speaker – Theme 1 UBC Professor of Structural Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering, Director of the Earthquake Engineering Research Facility at the University of BC, Vancouver Campus Dr. Carlos Ventura is currently the Director of the Earthquake Engineering Research Facility (EERF) at UBC and has more than 30 years of experience as a structural engineer. Dr. Ventura’s areas of research are in Structural Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering. He has been conducting research on the dynamic behavior and analysis of structural systems subjected to extreme dynamic loads, including severe ground shaking for more than twenty years. His research work includes experimental studies in the field and in the laboratory of structural systems and components. Research developments have included development and implementation of performance-based design methods for seismic retrofit of low rise school buildings, novel techniques for regional estimation of damage to structures during earthquakes, detailed studies on nonlinear dynamic analysis of structures and methods to evaluate the dynamic characteristics of large Civil Engineering structures. His current research is focused on the development of performance-based guidelines for seismic retrofit of schools, on methods to evaluate the interaction between critical infrastructure vulnerable to natural and man-made hazards, and on structural health monitoring of building, bridges and dams.

Dr. Ahmed Abouhussien Workshop Co-Speaker – Theme 5 Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Civil & Mineral Engineering at the University of Toronto, ON, Canada Dr. Ahmed Abouhussien is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Civil & Mineral Engineering at the University of Toronto under the supervision of Prof. Fae Azhari. Prior to joining the University of Toronto, he was a Postdoctoral Fellow at Memorial University, St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada, where he received his Ph.D. and M.Eng. degrees both in Civil Engineering in 2017 and 2013, respectively. He obtained his B.Eng. degree also in Civil Engineering from Menoufia University, Egypt. His current research interests include Development of Multifunctional, Self-Sensing, Smart, and Sustainable Structural Materials; Sensor and Sensing Skin Development; and Structural Health Monitoring of Concrete Structures.	Mr. Ibbi Almufti Workshop Collaborator – Theme 6 Associate Principal at ARUP, Working with the Advanced Technology and the Research Group in the San Francisco Office, CA, USA Mr. Ibrahim Almufti (SE, LEED AP) leads the risk and resilience practice in Arup’s San Francisco office where he sits in the Advanced Technology and Research team. He is the city resilience skills leader Arup’s Americas region and the global manager for Arup’s seismic skills network. Ibbi received his master’s in structural engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. He is a licensed Structural Engineer in California and Professional Engineer in BC. He is a thought leader in resilience-based design, having led the development of the REDi Rating System — a framework for implementing enhanced design, business continuity planning, and risk verification to help organizations recover quickly in the aftermath of natural hazards. He serves on committees for FEMA, USGS, and the Building Seismic Safety Council to develop seismic design provisions for future US building codes. Ibbi led the resilience-based design of the 181 Fremont tower in San Francisco, the geoseismic analysis of the New International Airport for Mexico City, and the risk and resilience assessment of the University of British Columbia, Vancouver.	Dr. Faezeh Azhari Workshop Co-Speaker – Theme 5 Assistant Professor at the Department of Civil and Mineral Engineering, University of Toronto, ON, Canada Dr. Fae Azhari received her BSc and MASc degrees in Civil engineering from Isfahan University of Technology and the University of British Columbia, respectively. After working in the industry for a few years, she returned to school and completed her MEng degree in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research at the University of California, Berkeley, and her PhD in Structural Engineering and Mechanics at the University of California, Davis. Fae is interested in structural health monitoring (SHM) and prognosis of engineering systems.

Dr. Ruben Boroschek Workshop Speaker – Theme 2 Associate Professor of Structural Dynamics at the Universidad de Chile, Engineering Expert in Experimental Dynamics of Structures, CEO and founder of Ruben Boroschek & Asociados, Santiago, Chile Dr. Boroschek is currently an Associate Professor at the University of Chile and Faculty of Rose School, Italy. He received his Masters and Doctorate degrees from the University of California at Berkeley, USA. He has been a Professor at the University of Costa Rica, a Research Assistant and Visiting Professor at the University of California at Berkeley. The areas of development are related to the topics of seismic hazard and risk assessment, vulnerability and mitigation of disasters in essential facilities, earthquake engineering, structural dynamics, seismic isolation and energy dissipation, vibration effects in people, strong motion modeling, complex system seismic and structural review, system identification and experimental dynamics.	Mr. Maximilian Dixon Workshop Collaborator – Theme 6 Hazards and Outreach Program Supervisor at the Emergency Management Division of the Washington State Military Department (WA EMD), WA, USA Mr. Maximilian Dixon is the Hazards and Outreach Program Supervisor for the Washington State Military Department’s Emergency Management Division (WA EMD). He manages the Earthquake, Tsunami, Volcano, Public Education and Outreach Programs and represents WA EMD as the subject matter expert and policy advisor on geological hazards and outreach issues. Maximilian is responsible for coordinating geological hazard risk reduction efforts between international, federal, state, tribal, and local partners. He Chairs the Washington ShakeAlert Communications, Education and Outreach Committee, Chairs the Western States Seismic Policy Council (WSSPC) Tsunami Committee, is Vice President of the Cascadia Region Earthquake Workgroup (CREW), is the National Earthquake Program Managers (NEPM) President-Elect, is on the National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program (NTHMP) Coordinating Committee, and is on the Advanced National Seismic System (ANSS) Steering Committee. Maximilian received his bachelor’s degree and two master’s degrees from the University of Washington.	Dr. Hamed Ebrahimian Workshop Speaker – Theme 7 Senior Research Engineer and Data Scientist at SC Solutions Inc. from Sunnyvale, CA, USA Dr. Ebrahimian is a researcher and a professional engineer with more than 14 years of progressive and diversified academic and industry experience in Structural Engineering. He is currently serving as a Senior Engineer at SC Solutions, Inc. in Sunnyvale, CA. Before that, Hamed worked as a postdoctoral scholar and then, as a research scientist at Caltech. Hamed’s Ph.D. is in Structural Engineering from UC San Diego. Before that, Hamed worked as an engineering consultant, an academic lecturer, and an entrepreneur.

Dr. Chen Feng Workshop Collaborator – Theme 7 Assistant Professor at the University of British Columbia Okanagan Campus and the co-cluster lead of Blockchain@UBC Dr. Feng is an Assistant Professor in the School of Engineering at the University of British Columbia Okanagan and the co-cluster lead of Blockchain@UBC (a multidisciplinary research and education cluster on blockchain technology at UBC). His research interests are in coding theory and its applications in various fields, ranging from wireless communications to quantum communications, and from communication networks to blockchain systems. Dr. Feng received his B.Eng. degree from Shanghai Jiao Tong University and his M.A.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Toronto.	Prof. Mina Hoorfar Workshop Co-Speaker – Theme 3 UBC-O Professor of engineering in electrical, mechanical, and leadership; head of the Advanced Thermo-Fluidic Laboratory (AFTL), and the director of the school of engineering Dr. Hoorfar is a Professor in the School of Engineering at the University of British Columbia Okanagan and the head of the Advanced Thermo-Fluidic Laboratory (AFTL) with diverse research programs providing ample opportunities for the students to work in multidisciplinary areas that straddle concepts of fluid mechanics, physical chemistry (liquid-surface interactions), biochemistry (cell deformation and separation), electrochemistry (fuel cells), advanced imaging (microCT), computational modeling, and fabrication of microstructures. Since its establishment, ATFL has been involved in the implementation of its vast expertise into different applications ranging from renewable energy to sensors and biosensors for human health and environmental monitoring. Dr. Hoorfar’s research in the renewable energy initiated from her expertise obtained during her PDF at CWRU.	Dr. Yavuz Kaya Workshop Collaborator – Theme 2 Seismic Structural Health Monitoring Engineer (COQ) at the Structural Asset Management Division of the British Columbia Ministry of Transportation, Vancouver, BC Dr. Yavuz Kaya has developed several new tools and methods to be used in a compressive seismic monitoring network: British Columbia Smart Infrastructure Monitoring System (BCSIMS). These tools are currently being used in BC Strong Motion Network, which includes 160 acceleration stations, in order to analyze real-time vibration data and create shake-maps for the province. He has also designed, developed, and implemented a comprehensive seismic Structural Health Monitoring Network of 14 bridges, 1 tunnel and 2 buildings in BC. The system is fully automated that makes use of advanced software that he has developed using Matlab Technical Computing Language. Yavuz has been intensively involved in the installation of the Earthquake Early Warning Network for schools owned by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver in the Lower Mainland. The system is now fully operational and is located and managed by UBC.

Prof. Madjid Mohseni Workshop Co-Speaker – Theme 3 UBC Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Scientific Director at RES’EAU Research in Dr. Mohseni’s laboratory focuses on water quality and the application of advanced water treatment processes to improve the quality of drinking water. In particular, Dr. Mohseni works on the development, evaluation, and implementation of advanced oxidation processes (AOPs), particularly UV-based AOPs, ion exchange, and electrochemical processes. His research involves laboratory scale development and investigation, as well as pilot scale and field evaluation of the technologies under real operating conditions at several partner community sites. Dr. Mohseni aims to not only advance the science behind the water treatment technologies, but also offer communities and industries more efficient and cost-effective technologies to reduce pollution and protect human health and the environment.	Mr. Teron Moore Workshop Collaborator – Theme 1 Business Analyst at the Innovation Center of the Ocean Networks Canada (ONC), Victoria, BC Teron Moore is a Business Analyst for Ocean Networks Canada (ONC), where he leads the implementation of real-time public safety technologies. Specifically, Teron is responsible for project management and end-user engagement for ONC’s Earthquake Early Warning and Tsunami programs. His EEW-related responsibilities include delivering training, designing alerting systems and managing systems tests with End-users from the major utilities, transportation providers, local/provincial/federal/indigenous governments, health facilities, and public alerting broadcasters. Teron chairs the BC Seismic Safety Council’s EEW Working Group, is a member of the USGS’ Joint Committee for Communication, Education and Outreach for the ShakeAlert EEW system, and is a Director on the boards of the BC Earthquake Alliance (ShakeOut) and Earthquake Engineering Research Institute’s BC Chapter.	Prof. Ioan Nistor Workshop Speaker – Theme 6 Professor of Hydraulic & Coastal Engineering in Department of Civil Engineering, Assistant Vice-Provost, Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies, University of Ottawa, ON, Canada Dr. Ioan Nistor is a Professor of Hydraulic and Coastal Engineering in the Department of Civil Engineering and Assistant Vice-Provost Graduate Studies of the University of Ottawa, Canada. He is researching hazards associated with extreme hydrodynamic and debris loading on infrastructure and is a Voting Member of the ASCE Tsunami Effects and Loads Committee and of Working Group 5 (Debris) of the Japan Society of Civil Engineers (JSCE). He is also a Fellow of the Canadian Society of Civil Engineering (CSCE). He won several research and teaching awards (Tsunami International Society Award, University of Ottawa Excellence in Education Award, Ontario Ministry of Infrastructure Award, Faculty of Engineering John Marsh Teaching Award) and published over 240 scientific papers.

Dr. Negar Roghanian Workshop Collaborator – Theme 4 *Project Manager at the Research and Development Division of the Canadian Construction Materials Engineering & Testing (CCMET), Vancouver, BC, Canada* Dr. Negar Roghanian is currently a research and development project manager at the Canadian Construction Material Engineering and Testing (CCMET). Before that, Negar worked as a postdoctoral research fellow, a sessional instructor, and an entrepreneur at the University of British Columbia. She received her PhD degree in Civil Engineering from UBC Sustainable Infrastructure Research Group (SIERA). Her research interests extend to development, evaluation, and implementation of innovative materials and sustainable infrastructure. As part of her doctoral work at UBC, she has worked on concrete pipe corrosion and development of corrosion resistant, high performance coating to extend pipe’s service life which has been patented at UBC.	Mr. Marcus Schmieder Workshop Collaborator – Theme 2 President and founder of Civionic Engineering & Consulting, a Senior Bridge Engineer in Inspection and Instrumentation, Vancouver, BC, Canada Mr. Marcus Schmieder (PEng, M.IE&M.) is the founder and the current president of the Civionic Engineering & Consulting firm since 2014. He is a registered Professional Engineer in the province of British Columbia with a Master degree in Industrial Engineering and Management. Marcus is a field expert with multidisciplinary managerial skills, which range from research and development to operations management and manufacturing engineering. He is a specialist in stay cable bridges, structural inspections, tension force analysis of stay cables, and detailed inspection of stay cable assemblies. Marcus has an extensive experience with sensor development, deployment, and commissioning, as well as expertise in custom sensor design, including both hardware and software development.	Prof. Boris Stoeber Workshop Collaborator – Theme 5 Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Canada Research Chair in Microfluidics and Sensing Technology, and the Associate Head (teaching), UBC Vancouver Campus, BC Prof. Boris Stoeber received his Electrical Engineering Diploma from the Technische Universität Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany, in 1998, his General Engineering Diploma from the École Centrale de Lyon, Ecully, France, in 1998, and his PhD in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, in 2002. From 2003 to 2005, he was a Postdoctoral Scientist in Chemical Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Stoeber’s research interests include sensing technology, biomedical microdevices, microoptical devices, microflow control strategies, flow physics of complex microflows, and fabrication techniques for microelectromechanical structures.