UBC experts on Great BC ShakeOut and disaster preparedness

Media Advisories

Photo by Colin Lloyd on Unsplash
Photo by Colin Lloyd on Unsplash
Lou Corpuz-Bosshart

On October 20, B.C. will hold the Great BC ShakeOut as part of efforts to prepare communities for a big earthquake in the region.

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

For information on ShakeOut events at UBC’s Vancouver campus, visit: https://ready.ubc.ca/ge­t-ready-to­-shakeout/

Brett Gilley (he/him)
Associate Professor of Teaching, Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences

Interview language(s): English

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


  • Dr. Frank Lam
    Professor, Department of Wood Science

    Interview language(s): English

  • Modelling and testing of timber components and structures subject to seismic and other loadings


  • Dr. Minghao Li (he/him)
    Associate Professor, Department of Wood Science

    Interview language(s): English, Mandarin

  • Timber engineering, mass timber, structural design, cross laminated timber, seismic resilience


  • * Available except for 4 p.m.-5:30 p.m. on Tuesday

    Dr. Cristiano Loss
    Assistant Professor in Timber Engineering, Faculty of Forestry

    Interview language(s): English, Italian

  • Seismic design and analysis of timber buildings


  • Dr. Mehrtash Motamedi (he/him)
    Research Associate and Engineering Manager, Earthquake Engineering Research Facility

    Email:  mmotamedi@civil.ubc.ca
    Interview language(s): English, Farsi

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


  • Dr. Salman Soleimani-Dashtaki (he/him)
    Postdoctoral Fellow and Sessional Lecturer, Department of Civil Engineering

    Interview language(s): English, Farsi

  • Seismic retrofit strategies for low-rise unreinforced masonry


  • Dr. Coll Thrush (he/him)
    Professor, Department of History

    Interview language(s): English

  • Colonialism and seismology, Indigenous knowledge of earthquakes and tsunamis


  • Dr. Lisa Tobber
    Assistant Professor, School of Engineering, UBC Okanagan

    Interview language(s): English

  • Seismic design of buildings
  • Structural engineering; developing resilient and smart cities through multi-hazard design procedures; development of innovative structural components; advanced numerical simulations; and experimental testing


  • Dr. Tony T.Y. Yang (he/him)
    Professor, Department of Civil Engineering

    Interview language(s): English, Mandarin

  • Structural and earthquake engineering


  • 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


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