Ali Ashrafi Associate Principal Thornton Tomasetti New York, New York
Ashrafi joined Thornton Tomasetti in 2006 and is now an associate principal with extensive experience in structural design, investigation and demolition, emergency response to structural failures, façade pres- ervation of historic structures, renovation, and performance-based design for earthquake, fire and wind. Through active participation and leadership in a wide range of projects, membership in professional as- sociations, active research, publication of papers, presentation at conferences, organizing mini-symposia, teaching, and mentorship of young professionals, Ashrafi consistently helps shape the direction of the AEC industry and provides leadership for his profession. Accomplishments: • Led performance-based seismic design for Soyak Tower, a 550-ft high-rise with eight basement levels in Turkey. The building’s concrete core was designed to withstand the forces of a dramatic seismic event in a highly earthquake-prone region. • Led the complex analysis of the seismic soil-structure interactions for the Salesforce Transit Center in San Francisco. Because of the structure’s long length, deep basement and different soil structures, seismic movements of the ground at one end of it can be very different from the other end. • Led the fire-modeling and structural analysis for the Shed at Hudson Yards, showing that the wheels carrying it could resist the effects of fire without fireproofing. Public/Professional Service: Ashrafi teaches Earthquake and Wind Engineering at Columbia University, serves on two committees on the Engineering Mechanics Institute, reviews papers for several professional journals, and mentors engineers and students inside and outside the company to help build the next generation. Education: Ph.D., Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics, Columbia University | MS, Civil En- gineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology | BS, Civil Engineering, Sharif University of Technology Taylor Perkins Senior Structural Engineer Stantec Consulting Services Inc. Lexington, Kentucky Perkins has developed a diverse project portfolio focused on evaluation and design of long-span and com- plex bridges, including post-tensioned segmental bridges, curved steel girders, trusses, tied arches, cable- stayed structures, and long span suspension bridges, as well as evaluation and retrofit of large concrete gravity dams. He serves as a corporate expert in advanced numerical modeling and simulation. His finite element modeling expertise extends to non-linear, dynamic, soil-structure interaction, time-dependent, and staged construction considerations. For complex bridge and dam projects, he has performed non-linear simulations incorporating geometric and material non-linearity based on both elastic and plastic theories. His dynamic analysis experience ranges from simple modal analysis to explicit time-history simulations. Perkins is familiar with a wide variety of structural analysis software packages and serves as a Stantec corporate resource for the use and implementation of these programs. Accomplishments: • Serves as the structures discipline lead for the quality assurance management team on the Wellsburg Bridge, a $131 million design-build project constructing a new Ohio River crossing in Wellsburg, West Virginia. • Serves as deputy project manager and lead designer for the $50 million US 60 Cumberland River Bridge Replacement in Smithland, Kentucky. • He has inspected over 35 bridges, the majority of which are major crossings requiring rope access tech- niques. Perkins has completed SPRAT Level 1 rope access training. Public/Professional Service: Perkins is a mentor to several junior structural engineers in his office and several students at the University of Kentucky. Early on in his career, Perkins had an excellent mentor that helped him grow professionally and personally. To pay it forward, he has taken on this mentor role to pro- vide invaluable lessons and structural knowledge to help foster growth in the young engineers he works with. Education: Ph.D., Structural Engineering, University of Kentucky | MS, Civil Engineering, Structures, University of Kentucky | BS, Civil Engineering, University of Kentucky
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january 2020
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