Tall & Urban News

We are deeply saddened to hear that Nabih Youssef, an accomplished leader in earthquake engineering, has recently passed. 

Born in Egypt, he received a Bachelor of Science in Structural Engineering from Cairo University in 1967. He later emigrated to the United States and earned his Masters in Structural Engineering at California State University, Los Angeles in 1971 and then a Post Graduate degree in Earthquake Engineering at UCLA in 1974. In 1989, he founded the firm, Nabih Youssef Structural Engineers (NYA), today an internationally recognized structural engineering firm with offices in Los Angeles, Irvine, and San Francisco.

Mr. Youssef was a registered Civil and Structural Engineer and a recognized expert in seismic design. He was one of the world’s leaders in the field of earthquake engineering, development of standards, and innovative concepts. One of his main focuses was on the concept of Performance Based Design. His position as the Chair of the Vision 2000 Committee and the Seismology Committee for the Structural Engineers Association of California (SEAOC) heavily contributed to the enactment of performance-based design, a major conceptual breakthrough for the engineering community at the time. He was a pioneer in using base isolation to seismically protect structures, and an advocate for the use of steel plate shear-walls in areas of high seismic risk. His dedication to his work and collaboration with peers were leading aspects of his character.

He worked on multiple projects in Los Angeles including the 56-story L.A. Live! Hotel and Residences, J. Paul Getty Museum Villa, and the Cathedral of our Lady of the Angels, among others. Other projects outside of Los Angeles included Washington D.C.'s Walter E. Washington Convention Center and Cleveland's Museum of Art Expansion.

Mr. Youssef chaired the Seismic Safety Committee for the Governor’s California Building Standards Commission and the City of Los Angeles’ Mayor's Blue Ribbon Seismic Hazard Reduction Committee, wrote numerous technical papers, and taught classes at multiple Universities, including lectures on the engineering concepts and analysis for high-rise buildings. Additionally, he served on the University of California Seismic Advisory Board, was part of the Building Seismic Safety Council "NEHRP" Special Programs in Washington D.C., and was an Associate Editor for the publication "The Structural Design of Tall & Special Buildings" published by Wiley.