ADVISORY/Structural Engineers Asociation Offers the Media Experts On Buildings and Earthquakes.

News/Assignment Editors

ADVISORY...for Wednesday (Oct. 9)

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 8, 2002

The Structural Engineers Association of Northern California (SEAONC) offers the services of five of the most distinguished structural engineers in northern California to answer the media's questions for breaking news and feature articles, including

-- Designing Buildings to Resist Disasters

-- The Response of Buildings to Earthquakes, Fires, Blasts, and Explosions

-- Post Disaster Safety Evaluation and Restoration

-- Structural Integrity of Buildings, Hospitals, Schools, Bridges, and Other Structures

Ronald Hamburger, a registered structural engineer and a principal of the engineering firm, Simpson, Gumpertz & Heger of San Francisco. Mr. Hamburger is an expert in the design and evaluation of buildings and structures for extreme loads, including earthquakes and blasts. He was a member of the Building Performance Assessment Team that investigated the World Trade Center and the lead author of the report on the collapse of the Twin Towers.

Business Phone: [phone]......Home Phone: [phone]

E-mail: [e-mail] or [e-mail]

William T. Holmes, a registered structural engineer, and vice president and chairman of the board of the engineering firm, Rutherford and Chekene of Oakland. Mr. Holmes has 37 years of experience in the seismic design of buildings, with emphasis on hospitals, non-structural elements of buildings, seismic loss estimation, and performance based design.

Business Phone: [phone]..... Home Phone: [phone]

E-mail: [e-mail]

Maryann Phipps, a registered structural engineer and president of her own engineering firm, Estructure, in the East Bay. Ms. Phipps has many years of experience designing seismically-resistant buildings and evaluating the effects of earthquakes on existing buildings. She specializes in healthcare, academic, and retail buildings.

Business Phone: [phone].....Home Phone: [phone]

E-mail: [e-mail]

Chris Poland, a registered structural engineer, and chairman and president of Degenkolb Engineers of San Francisco and other West Coast cities. Mr. Poland has managed the design, seismic retrofit, and rehabilitation of a wide-range of buildings; has participated in developing state and federal building standards; and currently is the president of the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute.

Business Phone: [phone].....Home Phone: [phone]

E-mail: [e-mail]

Peter I. Yanev, a registered civil engineer, and co-founder of the structural, earthquake, and risk-analysis firm, EQE International (now part of ABS Consulting). Mr. Yanev has conducted and directed investigations of damage from more than 90 earthquakes and dozens of storms and floods worldwide. He has developed practical earthquake risk assessment and mitigation techniques widely used by business and industry.

Cellular Phone: [phone].....Home Phone: [phone]

E-mail: [e-mail]