Palos Verdes Engineering
 
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Rick A. Morales, P.E., Principal

rick@pvec.com

EDUCATION

Bachelor of Science University of Southern California:1982

Civil/Architectural Engineering (Building Science Program)



REGISTRATIONS

California Civil Engineer No. 40289 (1986)
Arizona Civil Engineer No. 28954 (1995)



PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

Consulting Structural Engineering Society (CSES) - President, 1994; Vice President, 1993
Structural Engineers Association of Southern California (SEAOSC)
American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
American Concrete Institute (ACI)
Forensic Consultants Association (FCA)
Palos Verdes Peninsula Chamber of Commerce



PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Mr. Morales is Vice President and a Principal of Palos Verdes Engineering, with over 22 years of engineering experience throughout Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, Riverside, Santa Barbara, Victorville, Palm Desert, San Luis Obispo and San Diego Counties.

He serves as an engineering consultant and expert witness for insurance companies, attorneys, realtors and homeowners, providing structural assessments, causation reports and repair designs for damaged or distressed buildings. Mr. Morales has inspected over two thousand properties affected by the 1994 Northridge earthquake, and several hundred properties damaged by the 1992 Landers/Big Bear earthquakes, the 1987 Whittier earthquake and several properties affected by the recent 2003 San Simeon earthquake. He has also investigated many properties damaged by the 1993 Malibu and Altadena fires, the 1996 Carlsbad fires and the 2003 San Bernardino and San Diego fires. Mr. Morales is a trained emergency volunteer for the State of California's Office of Emergency Services (OES) and is a designated team leader for Area Six, Group Three. He has provided seismic retrofit designs of many commercial and industrial buildings constructed of un-reinforced brick masonry and of concrete tilt-up construction.

His design experience and projects have exposed him to most structural disciplines and materials used in modern construction. Residential designs include numerous homes over ten thousand square feet and hillside structures requiring deepened foundations. Other residential projects include multi-level timber structures such as apartment buildings and condominiums with subterranean garages and similar structures constructed of masonry and concrete. Mr. Morales has designed a variety of facilities structures including steel buildings, mezzanines and tank supports for companies such as Hughes Aircraft and Anvil Steel and has also designed many commercial and industrial buildings. In addition, he has been involved in the design of structural components for the support of speaker systems and other hung building elements for companies such as JBL Professional.