Thava Thavaraj, PhD, P.Eng.

Thava brings over 25 years of experience in seismic design, seismic hazard assessment, and geotechnical engineering. His career has focused on leading site-specific seismic hazard evaluations, seismic design and safety assessments, and the seismic upgrading of existing infrastructure such as hydroelectric dams, tailings dams, bridges, and port facilities across Canada, the United States, and internationally. He has specialized expertise in advanced numerical analysis, particularly in seismic deformation and soil-structure interaction, utilizing advanced numerical models, tools and techniques. Throughout his career, Thava has collaborated with some of the world’s leading experts in seismology and earthquake geotechnical engineering, contributing to the development of innovative and practical solutions to complex engineering challenges. Thava has played a key role in seismic upgrade projects for hydroelectric dams, bridges, and port structures in British Columbia, significantly enhancing their seismic resilience. He has also served as a senior technical reviewer for numerous dam projects both in Canada and abroad.

In 2023, Thava was a member of the Canadian reconnaissance team deployed to Türkiye following the devastating earthquakes. He has authored over 45 technical papers, primarily focused on dams and bridges. In recent years, he has taken on leadership roles in the professional community, including organizing and co-chairing the annual symposiums of the BC Chapter of the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute.

Key Projects

Thava’s key projects include the seismic upgrade of John Hart Dam, Coquitlam Dam, Seymour Falls Dam, Knight Street Bridge, Mission Bridge and Agassiz-Rosedale Bridge projects in BC, San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge Temporary Tower Project in the USA and Deltaport Berth 3 Expansion in BC.

Education

Thava has a B.Sc.Eng. (Hons) in Civil Engineering from the University of Peradeniya, M.Eng. in Geotechnical Engineering from the Asian Institute of Technology, and a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from the University of British Columbia. He is a Registered Professional Engineer with Engineers and Geoscientists British Columbia (EGBC).

Fun Fact

Back in university, Thava used a wooden drawing board, a T-square, a set square and an HB pencil to create drawings for his designs for everything from roof trusses and concrete tanks to earth dams. No fancy software —just good old-fashioned drafting skills!