Farzad Naeim, Inc.

 

AREAS OF EXpertise


CONSULTING / TRAINING / MANAGEMENT

Engineering:

Dr. Naeim has served as technical director for analysis and design of numerous buildings of various sizes and functions including: Disney Concert Hall, Staples Center, UCLA Medical Center Replacement, 54 story 777 Figueroa Tower, 54 and 60 Story California Plaza buildings in Los Angeles, Los Angeles Convention Center Expansion, Marriott Hotel at Century City, 37 story Fox Plaza at Century City, Mirage, MGM, Paris and Venetian Hotels and Casinos in Las Vegas, Eiffel Tower II in Las Vegas. He has also served and continues to serve as Chair of the Peer Review Panel for numerous tall buildings in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego. 

 

Nonlinear Analysis and Performance-Based Design:

Dr. Naeim has been instrumental in development and application of modern nonlinear analysis techniques in practice.  He was the primary author of the Alternative Seismic Design Criteria for Tall Buildings which was adopted unanimously by the Los Angeles Tall Buildings Structural Design Council in 2005, 2008, 2011, and 2014. Dr. Naeim has performed seismic static and dynamic nonlinear analysis for numerous structures, including landmarks such as the Los Angeles City Hall, UCLA’s  Royce Hall and Knudsen Hall.  His inelastic seismic analysis studies and research have been sponsored by the SAC Joint Venture, Applied Technology Council, California Strong Motion Instrumentation Program, United States Postal Service, and University of California.

 

Design Earthquake Ground Motions:  

Dr. Naeim is an internationally recognized authority in evaluation of design ground motion issues as they relate to design of structural systems.  In 1993, he was assigned the task of evaluation and classification of design attributes of all available earthquake records (1933-1994) for FEMA and EERI.  He subsequently completed a USGS sponsored research for design classification of vertical earthquake ground motions.  Dr. Naeim has taught advanced earthquake resistant technology courses at the University of California campuses and at University of Southern California.

Research and Development:

For over three decades Dr. Naeim has supervised seismic analysis and design of special projects, and oversaw the development of a new generation of methodologies and software systems for structural analysis, design, and education.  He was selected by the Office of Competitive Technology of the Department of Commerce of State of California for the development of the first Multimedia Earthquake Information System, and by EERI and IAEE to develop the Internet based Encyclopedia of Housing Vulnerability Worldwide.  Along the same lines he developed the Northridge Earthquake Instrumented Building Interactive Information System, the CSMIP-3DV software system and a new methodology for automated damage detection for the California Geological Survey. More recently, he led the effort for development of a new generation of user –friendly performance based analysis and design tool for the Applied Technology Council as a part of the ATC-58 (FEMA P-58) project.

Peer Review and Plan-Check Services:

Dr. Naeim has chaired numerous structural peer review panels for performance-based design of tall buildings and other special structures. He has also served as the Technical Director for plan check services for a number of California hospitals, schools and judicial buildings.  

Smart Civil Structures and Building Instrumentation:

The team led by Dr. Naeim was responsible for development of REFLEXX Smart System for automated real-time
post-earthquake damage assessment and loss evaluation of buildings. REFLEXX received the
Excellence in Structural Engineering Award from Structural Engineers Association of California in  2012. His previous works
on research projects sponsored by the Strong Motion Instrumentation Program of state of California, and development of
the PACT software system for the New Generation of Performance-Based Design (ATC-58; FEMA P58) were stepping stones
that led to his development of REFLEXX.







  LAW:

       
Liability of Design Professionals for Errors and Omissions

Document Retention Policies for Design Professionals

Contractual and Insurance Risk Management

Violence and Harassment Prevention Programs and Trainings

Corporate structures and governance

Patent prosecution and Intellectual Property Laws