UBC experts on Great BC Shakeout and disaster preparedness

British Columbia will hold the Great BC Shakeout tomorrow (Oct. 21) as part of efforts to prepare communities for a big earthquake in the region.

UBC experts are available to comment on the exercise and other aspects of earthquakes, natural disasters and emergency preparation and management.

Dr. Nemkumar (Nemy) Banthia (he/him)
Professor, Department of Civil Engineering
Canada Research Chair in Infrastructure Rehabilitation
Email: banthia@civil.ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English, Hindi, French

• Earthquake-resistant concrete

Brett Gilley (he/him)
Associate Professor of Teaching, Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences
Tel: 604-719-9423
Email: bgilley@eoas.ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English

• Explaining landslides and natural disasters to a non-expert audience

Dr. Carlos Molina Hutt (he/him)
Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering
Tel: 604-822-2196
Email: carlos.molinaHutt@civil.ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English, Spanish

• Assessing seismic risk in buildings and translating this knowledge into tools and information for use by engineers, seismic planners and policy makers

* Available Oct. 20 after 3:30 p.m. and Oct. 21 before noon

Dr. Mehrtash Motamedi (he/him)
Research Associate and Engineering Manager, Earthquake Engineering Research Facility
Tel: 604-724-8712
Email: mmotamedi@civil.ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English, Farsi

• Manages research and commercial testing projects at Earthquake Engineering Research Facility

Dr. Ryan P. Reynolds (he/him)
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, School of Community and Regional Planning
Tel: 604-396-2979
Email: ryan.reynolds@ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English

• Tsunami warning and evacuation, community resilience to coastal hazards, household emergency preparedness

Dr. Salman Soleimani-Dashtaki (he/him)
Postdoctoral Fellow & Sessional Lecturer, Department of Civil Engineering
Tel: 604-338-3692
Email: salman@civil.ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English, Farsi

• Seismic retrofit strategies for low-rise unreinforced masonry
• Earthquake-resistant cement
• Preparing for the Big One

Dr. Tony T.Y. Yang (he/him)
Professor, Department of Civil Engineering
Tel: 604-822-3684
E-mail: yang@civil.ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English

• Structural and earthquake engineering
• Design and evaluation of structural systems under earthquake loads
• Has developed multiple high performance systems for earthquake applications
• Member of the standing committee for earthquake design, which writes the seismic design provision for the National Building Code of Canada

* Not available before 1 p.m. on Oct. 21