Dr. Freidenberg did his undergrad at USC and completed a Ph.D. at UCSD in 2013. His graduate research included “blast” experiments at UCSD’s off-campus Extreme Events Simulator lab, along with high-fidelity finite element analysis. He then went to New York to teach structural engineering at Manhattan college for a year and then at West Point for 5 years. Since 2019 he’s been at Exponent’s Irvine office where his work broadly deals with structural engineering forensics and dispute resolution.
Dr. Shokrabadi received his Ph.D. from UCLA in 2018 with a focus on developing a probabilistic framework that allows explicit consideration of aftershocks in seismic risk analysis. Prior to joining Exponent in 2020, he was a post-doctoral scholar at UCLA where his research involved seismic risk characterization in tall structures located in the subduction zone of Pacific Northwest and enhancing the computational efficiency of some of the existing algorithms for ground motion selection. His work at Exponent includes structural engineering forensics, risk analysis for various utility providers in Southern California and dispute resolution.
Structural collapses can occur due to extraordinary events as well as design or construction errors. This presentation will include two case studies of partially collapsed reinforced concrete bridges, both of which occurred for reasons that are not immediately obvious. We’ll discuss the root causes of the failures and the parties at fault. We’ll discuss typical investigative steps, which include review of design documents, eye witness accounts, and an analysis of multiple possible failure sequences.