Academy of Distinguished Alumni
Peter I. Yanev MSCE, P.E.
Inducted to the Academy of Distinguished Alumni on
Peter I. Yanev received his B.S. (1968) degree in Civil Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley and his M.S. (1970) degree in Civil (Structural) Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he studied as a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow and focused his research in the area of earthquake engineering.
For more than 40 years, Mr. Yanev has practiced in the fields of earthquake, structural, and risk engineering with an emphasis on the management and reduction of science risk. In 1981, he co-founded the firm EQE International. By 2001, EQE had become the largest engineering risk management company in the world, with more than 750 employees and 20 offices. Under his technical leadership, EQE pioneered many new concepts for earthquake risk management. Together with his two sons, Mr. Yanev is presently a Partner in Yanev Associates LLC., a consulting firm specializing in earthquake engineering and earthquake risk management, reduction, and loss control.
Mr. Yanev has consulted for numerous governments, government agencies, and major corporations throughout the world. He has led large earthquake risk reduction projects, such as the ongoing World Bank ISMEP project which, to date, has resulted in the strengthening and reconstruction of 1,000 schools, hospitals, and government buildings in Istanbul, Turkey that were collapse hazards – directly affecting the safety of several hundred thousand people. One of his life-long interests has been the education of the general public in earthquake safety and basic earthquake engineering concepts, starting with the publication, in 1974, of his book, Peace of Mind in Earthquake Country, and continuing through numerous media appearances and educational programs in earthquake risk management. Another life-long professional interest has been the investigation of destructive earthquakes around the world – he has directly participated in about 50 field investigations and directed teams investigating an additional 50+ earthquake locations, including most recently the large China, Chile, and Japan earthquakes of 2008 to 2011. He has published numerous reports and papers on these investigations and other earthquake engineering topics. Mr. Yanev is active in service to his alma mater, serving on the Advisory Councils of the Departments of Civil and Environmental Engineering at both the University of California, Berkeley and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.