LOS ANGELES, Ca. November 1st, 2010 - An Earthquake Symposium designed to address seismic risk in Los Angeles and possible solutions to mitigate damage to life and property will be held at the California NanoSystems Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles, on December 1.

Hosted by Los Angeles Times writer, Ron Lin, the Symposium will bring together experts from academia, and the private and public sectors to assess the vulnerability of LA and major US cities to a major earthquake.

Sponsored by the Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation at UCLA (NEES@UCLA), Tower General Contractors and Miyamoto International, the Symposium is expected to draw an audience of more than 200 and will be streamed live via the Internet throughout the day. Experts will explore recent seismic events, risk management, and practical solutions that mitigate earthquake damage to human life and property.

“In the wake of catastrophic earthquakes in Haiti, Chile, and China, architects and contractors have an obligation to use the most technically advanced design practices to help maintain structural and non-structural integrity in the event of earthquakes,” said Rob Jernigan, Principal and Managing Director, Gensler. “It is our aim to direct and advance the infrastructure of Los Angeles to be the most sound in the world in the event of earthquakes”.

Panel members, some of whom have been at the forefront in earthquake devastated areas such as Haiti, Chile and China, include:

• Peter Yanev, M.S., S.E., World Bank Consultant
• Thomas Heaton, Ph.D., Geophysics, Director of the Earthquake Engineering Research Laboratory, California Institute of Technology
• Jerry Nicklesburg, Senior Economist, UCLA Anderson Forecast
• Kenneth Hudnut, Ph.D.,Geophysicist California US Geological Survey
• Rob Jernigan, Principal and Managing Director, Gensler.

The symposium will begin at 9:00 a.m. and end at 3:30 p.m. For more details on the program and to register, visit www.eqsymposium.com.