product

Senior Associate at Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc. in Northbrook, Illinois
Dr. Sfura is a Senior Associate at Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc. in Northbrook, Illinois. His experience includes the assessment of structural distress and serviceability problems, the investigation of structural failures, peer review, and the rehabilitation of structures. He has published and lectured on seismic design and performance, and the assessment and rehabilitation of structures.

Dr. Sfura received his B.S. degree in Civil Engineering from Purdue University, and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois. He studied the nonlinear seismic response of asymmetric steel structures to earthquake ground motions as a doctoral candidate. He is a licensed structural engineer in Illinois, civil engineer in California, and professional engineer in Florida and Michigan. He is a member of the Building Seismic Safety Council (BSSC), the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI), and the Structural Engineers Association of Illinois (SEAOI).

Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc. is an employee-owned interdisciplinary firm with 19 offices across the United States. Its team of structural engineers, architects, and material scientists use problem solving and a hands-on technical approach to construction challenges, with virtually every construction material, structural system, and architectural component.

Dr. Meneses was a member of the California Seismic Safety Commission appointed by Governor Brown and confirmed by State Senate (2017-2021). He is a reviewer of seismic ground motions for the seismic design of high rise buildings for the City of San Diego, part-time faculty in the Graduate School of Civil Engineering at San Diego State University, Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), member of the Industry Advisory Board of the Department of Structural Engineering at University of California San Diego, past member of the Board of Directors of the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI), and past president of the EERI San Diego Chapter. Dr. Meneses is also a past member of the ASCE 7-16 Committee (Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures) and current member of the ASCE 7-28 Committee, member of the ASCE 1 Committee (Geotechnical Analysis, Design, Construction, Inspection and Monitoring of Nuclear Safety-Related Structures), Honorary chair of the ASCE Geo-Institute San Diego Chapter, and member of the Academy of Geo-Professionals.

Boston College
Dr. Ebel received an A.B. degree in Physics from Harvard University in 1975 and a Ph.D. degree in Geophysics from the California Institute of Technology in 1981. Since 1981 he has been a member of the geophysics faculty at Boston College and has also carried out research at Weston Observatory. He is a past chair of the Eastern Section of the Seismological Society of America and of the New England Seismic Advisory Council, and he has been meeting program chairman and secretary of the Seismology Section of the American Geophysical Union. Dr. Ebel’s research interests are in the areas of earthquake hazard, earthquake source mechanisms, earthquake prediction, wave propagation studies and determination of lithospheric structure. Since 1981 he has been in charge of the New England Seismic Network of Weston Observatory of Boston College. This network, currently comprised of seismic stations that span the six New England states, is used to detect, locate, catalog and study all earthquakes that occur in New England and vicinity. Dr. Ebel’s research has focused on studying the causes and effects of earthquakes in New England and vicinity, although he has also published papers on earthquake activity in other parts of the eastern United States and Canada, California, Europe, Mexico and the southwest Pacific. He also has conducted extensive research on methods for earthquake hazard computation and earthquake forecasting. Dr. Ebel has published one book and over 60 scientific papers, and he has presented over 150 professional talks on his research work, along with numerous technical reports submitted to government agencies or private firms. He has been a consultant to a number of private companies and government agencies, including Argonne National Laboratory, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, on seismic hazard and nuclear test ban treaty monitoring issues. He has been a consultant on seismic hazard for over 20 major engineering projects such as highway bridges,
LNG tanks, dams and other critical structures in the United States, the Bahamas, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Jordan, Puerto Rico, Chile and Tunisia.

Exponent Failure Analysis Assoc
Dr. Morgan is a recognized expert in the field of seismic isolation and passive energy dissipation systems. He has performed extensive research on the numerical simulation and experimental behavior of innovative seismic protective devices and optimization of their use within performance-based engineering frameworks. Dr. Morgan has served as a consultant to many engineering firms, assisting with the design of essential structures including healthcare facilities, laboratories, industrial buildings, and critical infrastructure requiring sophisticated analysis techniques and the applications of advanced seismic protective systems. He has also served as the chair of both the SEAONC Continuing Education Committee and the SEAOC State Seismology Sub-committee on seismic isolation and supplemental damping devices. Prior to joining Exponent, Dr. Morgan was assistant professor at the Center for Urban Earthquake Engineering at the Tokyo Institute of Technology in Japan. He has taught courses at the University of California-Berkeley and San Francisco State University. He has also held positions as a post-doctoral researcher at the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center and as a design engineer at Forell/Elsesser Engineers Inc. Dr. Morgan received his B.S., M.E. and Ph.D. degrees in Civil and Environmental Engineering from University of California-Berkeley. He received the NEHRP Graduate Fellowship in Earthquake Hazard Reduction in 2005; Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award, UC Berkeley, 2004; and the SEAONC Excellence in Structural Engineering Award 2004.

Dr. Meneses was a member of the California Seismic Safety Commission appointed by Governor Brown and confirmed by State Senate (2017-2021). He is a reviewer of seismic ground motions for the seismic design of high rise buildings for the City of San Diego, part-time faculty in the Graduate School of Civil Engineering at San Diego State University, Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), member of the Industry Advisory Board of the Department of Structural Engineering at University of California San Diego, past member of the Board of Directors of the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI), and past president of the EERI San Diego Chapter. Dr. Meneses is also a past member of the ASCE 7-16 Committee (Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures) and current member of the ASCE 7-28 Committee, member of the ASCE 1 Committee (Geotechnical Analysis, Design, Construction, Inspection and Monitoring of Nuclear Safety-Related Structures), Honorary chair of the ASCE Geo-Institute San Diego Chapter, and member of the Academy of Geo-Professionals.

Dr. Meneses was a member of the California Seismic Safety Commission appointed by Governor Brown and confirmed by State Senate (2017-2021). He is a reviewer of seismic ground motions for the seismic design of high rise buildings for the City of San Diego, part-time faculty in the Graduate School of Civil Engineering at San Diego State University, Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), member of the Industry Advisory Board of the Department of Structural Engineering at University of California San Diego, past member of the Board of Directors of the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI), and past president of the EERI San Diego Chapter. Dr. Meneses is also a past member of the ASCE 7-16 Committee (Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures) and current member of the ASCE 7-28 Committee, member of the ASCE 1 Committee (Geotechnical Analysis, Design, Construction, Inspection and Monitoring of Nuclear Safety-Related Structures), Honorary chair of the ASCE Geo-Institute San Diego Chapter, and member of the Academy of Geo-Professionals.

Dr. Meneses was a member of the California Seismic Safety Commission appointed by Governor Brown and confirmed by State Senate (2017-2021). He is a reviewer of seismic ground motions for the seismic design of high rise buildings for the City of San Diego, part-time faculty in the Graduate School of Civil Engineering at San Diego State University, Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), member of the Industry Advisory Board of the Department of Structural Engineering at University of California San Diego, past member of the Board of Directors of the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI), and past president of the EERI San Diego Chapter. Dr. Meneses is also a past member of the ASCE 7-16 Committee (Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures) and current member of the ASCE 7-28 Committee, member of the ASCE 1 Committee (Geotechnical Analysis, Design, Construction, Inspection and Monitoring of Nuclear Safety-Related Structures), Honorary chair of the ASCE Geo-Institute San Diego Chapter, and member of the Academy of Geo-Professionals.

Mr. Frondorf owns and operates Cincinnati-based DG Frondorf and Associates LLC, a construction cost estimating consulting firm. He is a member of Consulting Estimator’s Round Table (CERT), AACE, and the American Society of Professional Estimators (ASPE). He has 25 years of service as a construction estimator, and has presented several seminars on estimating practices and ethical bidding topics to trade associations and at industry events. Mr. Frondorf is also a past instructor of construction estimating at the University of Cincinnati and has guest lectured there and at Cincinnati State Technical and Community College. He has also written several articles on estimating related topics in Estimating Today and Design Cost Data magazines.

Owner at Estimatica, Inc. in Woodstock, CT
Mr. Huck began his estimating career in 1994 while in the US Air Force. Upon leaving in 2000, he worked for general contractors on large commercial projects in Hawaii, Texas, California and Massachusetts. In 2011 he opened up Estimatica, Inc., to serve the needs of design firms, subcontractors and developers providing pre-construction services such as estimating, scheduling and constructability reviews. Most of his firm’s projects involve parks and recreation areas for municipalities, office buildings, restaurants, high-end luxury homes, universities and specialty gaming facilities.

Mr. Huck employs two part time estimators and oversees multiple specialty sub-consultants. Estimatica, Inc., serves clients nationwide as well as in Mexico and the Caribbean. In addition to cost estimating, he also teaches estimating courses nationwide to general contractors and design professionals. A native of Texas, he now resides with his wife and kids in Woodstock, Connecticut.

Rifka Malik is the president of Sitework Estimating Services, Inc., and has spent the last 20+ years in the construction industry, specializing in sitework. She is a Certified Professional in Erosion and Sediment Control (CPESC) and a Certified Professional Estimator (CPE). Ms. Malik is an independent consulting estimator, a presenter of seminars and presentations to the AEC community and has published construction related articles in relevant publications.

Dr. Sara Heger is an engineer, researcher and instructor in the Onsite Sewage Treatment Program in the Water Resources Center and is an adjunct assistant professor in the Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering Department at the University of Minnesota. For over 20 years, she has been conducting research and providing education and technical assistance to homeowners, small communities, onsite professionals, and local units of government regarding onsite wastewater treatment. Dr. Heger has presented in over 30 states and provinces regarding the design, installation and management of septic systems and related research. She is president of the National Onsite Wastewater Recycling Association and is the Education chair of the Minnesota Onsite Wastewater Association. Dr. Heger serves on the NSF International Committee on Wastewater Treatment Systems. She is also the chair of the Minnesota State Advisory Committee on Decentralized Systems. Dr. Heger has a BS degree in Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering and an MS degree and a PhD degree in Water Resource Science.