Title: NIST Building and Fire Safety Investigation of the World Trade Center Disaster
Speaker: Dr. William L. Grosshandler

From: NIST, USA
Date: Oct. 14, 2013
CV of the Speaker:

Dr. William L. Grosshandler was the Deputy Director for Building and Fire Research of the Engineering Laboratory (EL) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) up until his retirement in 2012. Dr. Grosshandler was responsible for internal operations of the Laboratory, which deals with construction and materials research, building environment research, and fire research. Dr. Grosshandler led the NIST investigation of The Station nightclub (Warwick, RI) fire and was the associate lead investigator of the National Building and Fire Safety Investigation of the  World Trade Center Disaster.
Dr. Grosshandler received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. Prior to his appointment at NIST, he spent three years as the Director of the Thermal Systems Program of the National Science Foundation. At the same time, he maintained his position as Professor of Mechanical and Materials Engineering at Washington State University, where he had been since 1976.  He has also held visiting appointments at Factory Mutual Research Corporation (now FM Global) and the University of Poitiers in France.
Dr. Grosshandler has served on the Board of Directors of the Combustion Institute, the editorial advisory board of Progress in Energy and Combustion Science, advisory boards for the Fire Protection Engineering Departments at the University of Maryland and Worcester Polytechnic Institute, the Research Advisory Committee of the Fire Protection Research Foundation, and is active in the Heat Transfer Division and a Fellow of ASME. He chaired the International Forum of Fire Research Directors from 2005 to 2011, served on  the Fire Council for Underwriters Laboratory, and for ten years was a member of the Science Advisory Committee of the National Association of State Fire Marshals. Dr. Grosshandler is a recipient of two Silver Medals for meritorious achievement and a Gold Medal for distinguished achievement in federal service from the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Abstract:
Buildings, bridges, and other man-made structures are not supposed to fall  down. But sometimes they do, and for different reasons: fire, earthquakes, high winds, errors in design and construction, flaws in materials, and even terrorist attacks. The NIST Disaster and Failure Studies Program provides  for the establishment of teams to assess building and infrastructure  performance and emergency response and evacuation procedures in the wake of disaster and failure events that have resulted in substantial loss of life or posed significant potential of substantial loss of life.  The objectives of NIST's disaster and failure studies may include (1) establishing the likely technical factor or factors responsible for the damage, failure, and/or successful performance of buildings and/or infrastructure in the aftermath of a disaster or failure event; (2) evaluating the technical aspects of evacuation and emergency response procedures that contributed to the extent of injuries and fatalities sustained during the event; (3)  determining the procedures and practices that were used in the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of the buildings and/or infrastructure; (4) recommending, as necessary, specific improvements to standards, codes, and practices as well as any research and other appropriate actions based on study findings. Several case studies will be presented in the seminar to demonstrate how this program has operated.  Data that are gathered by NIST and through other sources during and after an 
event, including photos, videos, reports, interviews and other documentation,　could be lost or inaccessible relatively soon after.  NIST is creating and will host a comprehensive national archival repository of significant disaster and failure events data. The repository will help ensure that this valuable information is organized and maintained to enable study, analysis, and comparison with subsequent severe disaster events.