GeoHazardTalks™ NorCal
March 21, 2017
2601 Warring Street, Berkeley, CA 94720
March 21, 2017 
2601 Warring Street, Berkeley, CA 94720
GeoHazardTalks ™ are a series of workshops developed by transportation industry and academia to promote the safe design and repair of transportation infrastructure and resources. Each workshop will present innovative methods and processes for landslide repair, rockfall mitigation, ground improvement, and soil slope stabilization. Particular attention will be paid to geohazard events affecting critical assets (highways and transportation corridors, pipelines, transmission lines, and other important infrastructure). Participants will learn design methodologies for a variety of innovative mitigation techniques, proper construction for various solutions, and will be guided through several case studies showing the application of various solutions with actual design examples. Coupled with the workshops will be keynote presentations to bring cutting-edge technologies and ideas to the participants.
A PDH certificate will be awarded for the number of hours attended.
Professor and registered Professional Engineer
Prof. Nicholas Sitar, Ph.D., P.Eng., specializes in geotechnical and geological engineering and is a registered Professional Engineer, Geological, in British Columbia. He is the Edward G. Cahill and John R. Cahill Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. He has received a number of awards including the Douglas R. Piteau Award from AEG, the Huber Research Prize from ASCE, and the James M. Robbins Excellence-in-Teaching Award from Chi Epsilon. Most recently he was the Canadian Geotechnical Society Cross-Canada Lecturer in 2015.
His research activities encompass a broad range of areas in engineering geology, geological engineering, and groundwater hydrology with and overarching interest in natural hazard evaluation, modeling, and mitigation. In geotechnical earthquake engineering his focus has been seismic response of underground space, seismic earth pressures on retaining structures, and seismic slope stability. He has participated and led post-earthquake reconnaissance with the 1976 Guatemala Earthquake being the first and the 2016 Kaikoura, New Zealand, being the most recent.
He obtained B.A.Sc. in Geological Engineering from the University of Windsor in 1973, M.S. in Hydrogeology from Stanford University in 1975, and Ph.D. in Geotechnical Engineering also from Stanford University in 1979.
J.D., P.E., G.E.
Mr. Cohen will discuss some typical legal pitfalls from a practical standpoint and though you cannot avoid being sued, will discuss ways to reduce your liability when (not if) it does happen. Danny has more than 30 years of experience in the engineering and construction field throughout southern, central and northern California and has been a Project and Group Manager for geotechnical, environmental and construction services teams. In 2013 Mr. Cohen transitioned from full-time practice as a geotechnical and civil engineering consultant to working full-time for J.C. Baldwin Construction, a General Engineering contractor.
As an engineer, Mr. Cohen has experience in developing, supervising and performing geotechnical and environmental investigations programs for evaluation and design of grading and foundation specifications for residential, commercial and industrial developments, both private and public works. Mr. Cohen’s involvement in these projects has included client initiation and proposal/cost preparation, the performance of field and laboratory work, management of technical and clerical staff, engineering analysis and reporting, construction estimating, and overall project management. Mr. Cohen has also provided expert witness services for construction defect litigation related to foundation construction, ground movement, and other civil and geotechnical conditions.
Mr. Cohen graduated with a degree in Civil Engineering from McGill University in 1983 and later graduated from Thomas Jefferson School of Law with a J.D. in 1997. He is a licensed Professional Civil and Geotechnical Engineer in California, as well as a Civil Engineer in 7 other states, and is licensed as a General Engineering Contractor and an Attorney in California.
Professor Civil and Environmental Engineering
Jason T. DeJong is a Professor at the University of California, Davis. He received a B.S.C.E. from UC Davis and a M.S.C.E. and Ph.D. at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Through the Soil Interactions Laboratory and the NSF Center for Biomediate and Bioinspired Geotechnics Prof. DeJong directs research in the areas of biogeotehnics, integrated site characterization, behavior of intermediate and gravelly soils, earthquake engineering, sustainable geotechnical practice, and deep foundations. His work has been funded through more than $7 million in grants and disseminated through more than 125 publications. His work has been recognized through several ASTM, ACSC, and ICE organization awards.