Eight
prominent building and fire experts have been appointed by
Arden Bement Jr., director of the Commerce Department's National
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), to serve on
the National Construction Safety Team (NCST) Advisory Committee.
The committee will advise the NIST director on carrying out
investigations of building failures conducted under the authorities
of the NCST Act that became law in October 2002. That includes
advice on the composition and function of investigation teams
and other responsibilities under the Act.
The committee
members are:
- John
M. Barsom, president, Barsom Consulting Ltd., Pittsburgh,
Pa.;
- John
L. Bryan, University of Maryland, professor emeritus,
and consultant, fire protection and life safety, Frederick,
Md.;
- Glenn
P. Corbett, professor, public management-fire science,
John Jay College of Criminal Justice, New York, N.Y.;
- Philip
J. DiNenno, president, Hughes Associates Inc., Baltimore,
Md.;
- Paul
M. Fitzgerald, formerly with FM Global, Johnston, R.I.,
Holliston, Mass.;
- Robert
D. Hanson, University of Michigan, professor emeritus,
Walnut Creek, Calif.;
- Kathleen
J. Tierney, professor, department of sociology and criminal
justice, and director, Disaster Research Center, University
of Delaware, Newark, Del.; and
- Forman
A. Williams, professor, mechanical and aerospace engineering,
and director, Center for Energy Research, University of
California at San Diego.
Two additional
members may be appointed at a later date.
Members
were selected based on their technical expertise and experience,
established records of distinguished professional service,
and their knowledge of issues affecting teams established
under the NCST Act. The NCST Advisory Committee will hold
its first meeting in April 2003 at NIST headquarters in Gaithersburg,
Md.
Under
the NCST Act, NIST is responsible for conducting investigations
of events causing building failures that result in substantial
loss of life or pose the potential for substantial loss of
life. The NIST investigations will establish the likely technical
causes of the building failure and evaluate the technical
aspects of emergency response and evacuation procedures in
the wake of such failures. The goal is to recommend improvements
to the way in which buildings are designed, constructed, maintained
and used. Currently, NIST is conducting two major investigations:
a building and fire safety investigation of the Sept. 11,
2001, World Trade Center fire and building collapses; and
the Feb. 20, 2003, fire at The Station nightclub in West Warwick,
R.I.
The advisory
committee will be one source of information for NIST as it
conducts its investigations. NIST is gathering information
about these building failures from a host of organizations
and individuals.
More
information about the NCST may be found online at www.nist.gov/public_affairs/factsheet/constructionact.htm,
www.nist.gov/public_affairs/releases/n02-23.htm
and www.nist.gov/public_affairs/releases/hr46871.pdf.
For background on NIST's more than 30 years of experience
investigating building fire and structural failures, go to
www.nist.gov/public_affairs/factsheet/bfrlinvestigations.htm.
As a
non-regulatory agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce's
Technology Administration, NIST develops and promotes measurement,
standards and technology to enhance productivity, facilitate
trade and improve the quality of life.
NOTE
TO EDITORS: Biographical information on the members is
available at www.nist.gov/public_affairs/releases/bios_ncstadvcom.htm
or by contacting NIST Public and Business Affairs at (301)
975-2762.
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