Fari Barzegar, Ph.D., P.E., CPEng.

Dr. Fari Barzegar, Ph.D., P.E., CPEng.

Habitat Engineering & Forensics, Inc.
446 - 17th Street, Suite 300
Oakland, CA 94612
Office: 510-891-0300
Fax: 510-891-0333
Introduction

Expert consultant/witness in over 90 cases with testimony/trial experience. Dr. Barzegar is a licensed professional engineer providing a broad range of services in civil/structural engineering and construction forensics to insurance companies and law firms, construction, energy, mining, and technology industries, utilities, wineries, engineering and architectural firms, governmental and educational institutions, property owners and individuals. With over 30 years of experience in engineering and forensic consulting, structural design, construction project management, university teaching and research, Dr. Barzegar has provided clients with structural analysis and design, condition assessment, damage investigations, failure analysis, construction consulting & management, and expert testimony.

Dr. Barzegar's experience includes buildings, bridges, power plant cooling towers and off-shore steel platforms subjected to earthquakes and extreme winds; investigation of damage in industrial facilities, storage tanks, grain silos, and underground water conduits; blast in underground coal mines; explosion in a chemical plant; effect of demolition, pile driving, and new construction on adjacent structures; single and multi-family residential, commercial and historic buildings, excessive floor vibrations, cracking, settlement, wind, fire, and flooding damage; distress in foundations, retaining walls, slabs and pavements; evaluation of defective concrete/shotcrete/terrazzo and other construction materials; destructive/non-destructive testing; water intrusion damage; contract disputes, accidents, personal/property damage, and failures during construction, amongst others.


Prior to founding Habitat Engineering & Forensics, Dr. Barzegar held positions at Zolman Construction & Development, Struct-Tech Group (design-build company), Rutherford & Chekene Consulting Engineers, and Exponent Failure Analysis Associates in San Francisco Bay Area, California. He has also held faculty positions at Structural Engineering Department of the University of New South Wales (Sydney-Australia) and the Civil Engineering Department at Louisiana State University.

Dr. Barzegar holds a Ph.D. in civil/structural engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and has authored/co-authored over 43 technical articles & reports. He is the recipient of the Alfred Noble Prize from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) for a meritorious technical paper published in the Journal of Structural Engineering. He has also served as an Associate Editor of the ASCE Journal of Structural Engineering, and currently serves as a reviewer for a number of technical journals. Dr. Barzegar is a member of several professional organizations including Structural Engineering Institute of ASCE, Forensic Expert Witness Association, American Concrete Institute, Earthquake Engineering Research Institute, Structural Engineers Association of Northern California, American Institute of Steel Construction, International Code Council, California Governor's Office of Emergency Services (Safety Assessment Program Volunteer), California Preservation Foundation, and The Institution of Engineers-Australia.

SPECIALIZATION

- Civil/Structural Engineering & Construction Forensics — Expert Consulting/Witness; Insurance Claims; Third-Party- & Peer-Reviews.

- Condition/Vulnerability/Damage Assessment & Failure Analysis — Buildings, Bridges, Industrial Installations, Towers & Chimneys, Containment/Pressure Vessels, Offshore Platforms, Grain & Granular Material Silos, Elevated Equipment, Cranes, Conduits & Pipelines, Underground Tunneling/Mining Operations, Seals/Stoppings in Coal Mines, Earth-Retaining Structures, Foundations, Slabs & Pavements; Instrumentation & Monitoring

- Construction/Installation Defects/Accidents — Effect of Demolition, Pile Driving, and Trenching on Existing Facilities; Cracking and Settlement Damage; Water Intrusion; Contract Disputes

- Code Compliance; Errors and Omissions; Standards of Care; OSHA Standards

- Premises Liability; Slip-Trip-Fall Accidents (Testing; Coefficient of Friction)

- Engineering Mechanics — Linear/Nonlinear Finite Element Analysis for Extreme/Accidental Events (Seismic, Wind, Explosion, Vibrations, Thermal Effects); Concrete & Composite Materials; Destructive and Nondestructive Testing

- Product/Component Design/Liability Investigations; Failure Simulation and Reconstruction

- Building/Construction Product Evaluation — Structural Components/Materials, Cementitious Products (Concrete, Terrazzo, Repair Materials); Testing/Analysis

- Intellectual Property and Patent Infringement Issues

- Building & Support-Structure Analysis/Design/Construction — Residential, Commercial and Industrial, Blast & Fire-Resistant Installations, Equipment/Piping Support Structures, Fall Protection Systems, Vibration/Earthquake Hazard Evaluation & Retrofit Design; Steel, Concrete, Wood, Brick, Masonry, and Adobe Construction; Remediation & Construction Management


Areas of Expertise
  • Amusement Parks
  • Architecture
  • Brick & Stone
  • Building Codes
  • Civil Engineering
  • Concrete/Cement
  • Construction
  • Construction Damages
  • Construction Safety
  • Demolition
  • Design Engineering
  • Evidence Analysis & Preservation
  • Explosions
  • Failure Analysis
  • Fatigue
  • Fire
  • Forensic Engineering
  • Glass
  • Home Inspections
  • Hospital Design
  • Hydraulic Engineering
  • Insurance Customs & Practices
  • Intellectual Property
  • Ladders & Scaffolds
  • Latches & Fasteners
  • Lath & Plaster
  • Materials
  • Materials Engineering
  • Metallurgy
  • Personal Injury
  • Products Liability
  • Professional Engineering
  • Property & Casualty Insurance
  • Railroad
  • Roofing
  • Safety Engineering
  • Scheduling Delay & Analysis
  • Seismology
  • Slip, Trip & Fall
  • Storage
  • Structural Engineering
  • Trade Secrets
  • Trademarks
  • Traffic/Highway Safety
  • Vibration Analysis
  • Walking & Working Surfaces
  • Welding
  • Wood Products & Lumber

Expert Background
Q: Please list your professional accreditations, degrees, licenses, and certificates granted:
A: o Ph.D. (Civil/Structural Engineering), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1987
o M.S. (Civil/Structural Engineering), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1983
o B.S. (Civil Engineering, High Honors), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1981
o Licensed Professional Engineer (Civil), State of California (Registration # C61998)
o Charter Member, Structural Engineering Institute of the American Society of Civil
Engineers
o Chartered Professional Engineer, The Institution of Engineers - Australia
(Registration #1044611)
o National Registration with the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES)
o Licensed California General Building Contractor (License: B, 846888)
o Fall-Protection Competency Certificate (Industrial/Commercial)
Q: Please list your affiliations or memberships in any professional and/or industry organizations:
A: - Member: American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Structural Engineers Association of Northern California, Earthquake Engineering Research Institute, The American Concrete Institute (ACI), American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC), International Code Council, The Institution of Engineers-Australia, Forensic Expert Witness Association, Western Construction Consultants Association, California Governor's Office of Emergency Services (Safety Assessment Program Volunteer), Tau Beta Pi National Engineering Honor Society, California Preservation Foundation, Oakland Heritage Alliance

- Associate Member: Joint ACI-ASCE Committee 352 on Joints and Connections in Monolithic Concrete Structures; Joint ACI-ASCE Committee 447 on Finite Element Analysis of Reinforced Concrete Structures

Q: Please list any teaching or speaking experience you have had, including subject matter:
A: - Senior Lecturer (tenured; equivalent of Associate Professor), School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Department of Structural Engineering, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia (1992-98).

Courses Taught:

CIVL3106 Engineering Computations (2.0 hours per week)
CIVL4203 Structural Engineering (4.0)
CIVL4833 Structures Major - Structural Dynamics (2.0)
CIVL9804 Vibration of Structures (3.0)
CIVL9809 Reinforced Concrete (3.0)
CIVL9821 Structural Analysis and Finite Elements (3.0)

N.B. CIVL3000-level are third-year courses
CIVL4000-level are fourth-year courses
CIVL9000-level are post-graduate courses


- Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA (1986-91).

Courses Taught:

CE 2450 Statics (3.0 credits)
CE 3415 Structural Analysis I (3.0)
CE 3420 Structural Analysis II (3.0)
CE 4435 Indeterminate Structural Analysis (3.0)
CE 4450 Finite Element Analysis (3.0)
CE 7409 Advanced Reinforced Concrete (3.0)
CE 7455 Finite Element Method in Engineering (3.0)
CE 7465 Design of Plate and Shell Structures (3.0)
CE 7450 Energy Principles in Engineering Mechanics (3.0)
CE 7750 Seminar in Structures/Mechanics (1.0)

N.B. CE 7000-level are graduate courses
CE 4000-level are senior courses (may be taken for credit by graduate students)

Q: On how many occasions have you been retained as an expert?
A: Has served as expert consultant/witness on over 90 cases.
Q: For what area(s) of expertise have you been retained as an expert?
A: Civil/Structural Engineering, Concrete Material/Structures, Construction Forensics

References

References upon request.