Our Team
Engineers Researchers Pioneers
Throughout our careers we collaborated on a variety of projects with the most eminent architects of our times on bringing their vision to life by successfully incorporating innovative structural systems into striking architectural designs. We take pride in serving our clients with superb efficiency and commitment.
Liam is a Co-Founder and Principal of AVANT and a recognized expert in the structural design of new buildings and seismic evaluation and retrofit of existing buildings. During his twenty-year-long career as an associate of prominent Los Angeles and San Francisco companies, he designed landmark buildings in California and internationally. His portfolio ranges from residential and commercial projects, schools, and corporate headquarters to large-scale projects, including tall buildings, international airports, and bridges.
Throughout his career, Liam collaborated with some of the greatest architects and designers of our time on bringing their vision to life by successfully incorporating innovative structural systems into striking architectural designs. His notable project achievements include:
NVIDIA Headquarters, Santa Clara, CA
Hamad International Airport, Qatar
Wisma Mulia 2, Indonesia
Linkedin Corporation - Building J, Sunnyvale, CA
Mercedes-Benz Research & Development North America, Inc., Sunnyvale, CA
CCPE Building, California State University, Long Beach, CA
Advanced Technology & Education Park, Tustin, CA
Liam's portfolio includes numerous seismic evaluations and retrofits of existing buildings utilizing both conventional retrofit methods and the latest seismic engineering technology. He is an expert in the ASCE 41 seismic evaluation of buildings mandated by the recent non-ductile concrete, steel moment frames, and unreinforced masonry ordinances adopted by cities throughout California. His significant seismic evaluation and retrofit projects include:
Appointments
Principal, AVANT Advanced Structural Solutions, Long Beach CA
MHP Structural Engineers, Long Beach CA
Louie International Structural Engineers, San Francisco, CA
Middlebrook + Louie Structural Engineers, San Francisco CA
TEAC Structural Engineering, San Ramon, CA
Licenses
SE Structural Engineer, California
PE Professional Civil Engineer, California
Education
MS University Ss. Cyril and Methodius, North Macedonia, Earthquake Engineering (2006)
BS University of Belgrade, Serbia, Structural Engineering (2003)
Kristijan is the co-founder and principal of AVANT and a professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at California State University, Fullerton. He earned his BS degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Belgrade, Serbia, and his MS and PhD degrees, with a specialization in structural and earthquake engineering, from the University of California, Los Angeles. He is a California-licensed professional engineer with broad industry experience across multiple areas of structural engineering, including building structural design, seismic design of tall buildings, performance-based seismic design, structural evaluation and retrofit, nonlinear structural analysis, and seismic risk assessment. He has served on seismic peer review panels for more than 70 tall buildings designed in Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, and Salt Lake City. He currently serves as President of the Los Angeles Tall Buildings Structural Design Council, a professional organization responsible for developing internationally recognized guidelines for the design of tall buildings in seismically active regions.
In addition to professional practice, Kristijan is actively engaged in earthquake engineering research focused on the development and application of high-fidelity analytical models, computational frameworks, and numerical tools to investigate the seismic response of buildings. His research aims to improve the seismic resilience of both existing and new structures. He previously served as a task group leader at SAVI: the Virtual International Institute for Seismic Performance Assessment of Structural Wall Systems, where he collaborated with leading academics, researchers, and practicing engineers from the United States, Chile, Japan, New Zealand, and Europe on contemporary challenges in earthquake engineering. He has served as a co–principal investigator on projects funded by the National Science Foundation, the Charles Pankow Foundation, and multiple industry partners, and he is a working group member on FEMA-funded projects administered by the Applied Technology Council.
Education
PhD University of California, Los Angeles, Structural-Earthquake Engineering (2013)
MS University of California, Los Angeles, Structural-Earthquake Engineering (2010)
BS University of Belgrade, Serbia, Structural Engineering (2006)
Appointments
Principal, AVANT Advanced Structural Solutions, Long Beach CA (2018 - present)
Professor, California State University Fullerton (2014 - present)
Staff Research Associate, University of California, Los Angeles (2014)
Senior Engineer/Analyst, Saiful-Bouquet Structural Engineers, Pasadena, CA (2013 - 2014)
Intern, Simpson, Gumpertz & Heger, Newport Beach, CA (2013)
Intern, Arup, Advanced Technology and Research, San Francisco, CA (2012)
Structural Engineer, Del-Ing, Belgrade, Serbia (2006 - 2009)
Affiliations
Los Angeles Tall Buildings Structural Design Council (president)
Licenses
PE Professional Civil Engineer, California
Teaching
Evaluation and Retrofit of New and Existing Buildings
Finite Element Method
Reinforced Concrete Design
Advanced Structural Analysis
Djordje joined AVANT while working on his master’s degree in structural engineering. In two years since becoming part of the team, he worked on the structural design of a variety of projects, including new single and multi-family residences, commercial and healthcare buildings, as well as seismic retrofit of existing buildings and equipment anchorage.
Djordje is skilled in structural design and drafting and has an outstanding talent and enthusiasm for solving complex structural problems. His most notable experience includes work on a six-story wood and reinforced concrete building and a three-story residential building of high complexity:
Catalina Apartments, Los Angeles, CA
Lido Lane Residence, Long Beach, CA
His experience with various building materials, including wood, steel, concrete, masonry, and cold-formed steel, combined with expertise in structural modeling and an excellent understanding of the dynamic and static behavior of buildings, makes him a valuable member of the design team.
Education
BS University of Belgrade, Serbia, Structural Engineering (2019)
MS University of Belgrade, Serbia, Structural Engineering (2022)
Appointments
Design Engineer, AVANT Advanced Structural Solutions, Long Beach CA
