Dr. Navid Nastar

Biography

Navid Nastar, PhD, PE, SE, F.ASCE, is a founding partner and principal structural engineer at Brandow & Nastar, Inc., a consulting structural forensic engineering firm in Southern California. He serves as an adjunct professor of structural engineering at the Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Southern California, teaching courses in structural and earthquake engineering while engaging in related research. Dr. Nastar acts as the faculty advisor for the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI) student chapter at USC. His research interests encompass forensic engineering, failure investigation, earthquake engineering, and the behavior of structures under extreme loads. He is a licensed professional engineer (P.E.) and structural engineer (S.E.) in California and multiple other states. Dr. Nastar has extensive experience in the design and construction of various structures, including concrete, steel, wood, and masonry buildings. He has conducted numerous investigations related to property loss and construction defect claims, providing expert witness and litigation support in high-profile insurance and legal matters both domestically and internationally. As a long-standing member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), he was elected as a Fellow, an honor held by only 3% of members. Currently, he serves as the Chair of the ASCE Forensic Engineering Division and has held various editorial roles in academic publications.

Research Interests