Jim Wesevich

PE, SE, F.ASCE

Director of Engineering

Biography

Jim Wesevich is a structural engineering professional with more than three decades of experience in static and dynamic analysis and design. He is a valued member of the Engineering and Construction team at YA Group, where he contributes extensive expertise in forensic investigations as well as seismic and blast engineering.

Throughout his career, Jim worked on both new and retrofit design projects for U.S. government agencies, hospitals, oil services organizations, and petrochemical facilities. He also supported insurance carriers, adjusters, and subrogation and defense attorneys in investigating large, complex, and lower‑severity losses. Jim has authored more than thirty technical publications and has provided expert witness testimony and depositions on a wide range of structural engineering matters.

Credentials

  • PE
  • SE
  • F.ASCE

Representative Consulting Assignments

  • Professional Sports Stadium | Construction Failure | Review design and analysis of compression ring and connections during fabric roof framing installation.
  • Consumer Electronic Store | Construction Failure | Review large‑span multi‑laminated glazed curtain wall cracking.
  • Underground University 1M sqft Retail Space | Ground Heaving | Investigate geo‑structure settlement.
  • Midstream Storage Finished Products Tank | Capsized Floating Roof | Investigate cause associated with hurricane.
  • New Hospital Mechanical Room | Construction Gas Explosion | Determine magnitude of explosion to support cause and origin.
  • Multi‑story Load Bearing Brick Masonry | Explosion, Fire, and Collapse | Supported criminal trial by providing cause and origin supported by CFD and FEA blast and fire effects modeling.
  • Wood‑framed Apartment Complexes | Water Losses | Provided inspection, documentation, and interior PVC pipe break causation for a large number of complexes from the 2020 Texas Freeze.
  • 1M sqft Fulfillment Distribution Center | Large Ground Settlement | Document extent of settlement on the order of 3 ft occurring over several months for a building in operation for several years. Oversee owner investigation, mitigation, and repair as lessee representative.
  • Regional Airport Hangar Building | Construction Building Collapse | Investigate cause and origin of collapse of a long‑span pre‑engineered building during erection.
  • Upstream Swivel Joint | Environmental Impact | Provided dynamic large‑deformation FEA modeling of joint elastomeric seal failure due to rapid depressurization.
  • Multi‑story Interior Glazed Curtain Wall Panels | Glazing Cracking | Investigated multi‑laminated interior glazed panel failures through documentation and laboratory investigation identifying glazing manufacturing imperfections.
  • Steel Decanter Tank | Tank Failure and Process Business Interruption | Investigate cause and origin of explosion during retrofit welding and estimate the magnitude of the internal blast.

Professional Experience

  • 2026 - Current | Director of Engineering | YA Group
  • 2022 - 2026 | Global Service Line Leader, Forensics | Jensen Hughes
  • 2020 - 2022 | Managing Principal Engineer, Large Complex Loss | EFI Global
  • 2015 - 2020 | Principal, Office Director | Thornton Tomasetti
  • 2013 - 2015 | Associate Principal | Weidlinger Associates
  • 1998 - 2013 | Manager, Protective Structures | BakerRisk
  • 1987 - 1998 | Senior Engineer | Karagozian & Case

Area of Practice

  • Building Envelope
  • Construction Defect Reviews 
  • Damage Assessment

Publications and Presentations

  • Milner, D., J. Wesevich, L. Nikodym, V. Nasri, D.Lawver, and J. Mould, “Improved Capacity of Pre-engineered Metal Buildings using Coupled CFD and FEA Modeling,” Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries, November 2018.
  • Wesevich, J., P. Hassig, L. Nikodym, V. Nasri, and J. Mould, “Accounting for Channeling and Shielding Effects for Vapor Cloud Explosions,” Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries, November 2017.
  • Wesevich, J.W., P.E. Dunn, D.J. Lawver, and T.J. Yeary, “Hardened Pit Lid Design for High Pressure Extreme Temperature Pneumatic Gate Valve Testing,” Proceedings of ASME 2016 Pressure Vessels and Piping Conference, July 17-21.
  • Wesevich, J.W., P.E. Dunn, E.J. Hansen and E.N. Gage, “Hardened Enclosure Design for High Pressure Extreme Temperature Pneumatic Seal Test Fixture,” Proceedings of ASME 2016 Pressure Vessels and Piping Conference, July 17-21.
  • Wesevich, J. and M. Lowak, “Blast Performance of High-strength Reinforced Concrete Foam Core Panels,” Proceedings for the 22nd Military Aspects of Blast and Shock, Bourge, France, November 5-9, 2012.
  • Lowak, M. J., J.S. Idriss, and J.W. Wesevich, “Testing and Analytical Evaluation of Doors, Proceedings of ASCE Structures Congress, 2011.
  • Wesevich, J.W., D.D. Bogosian, B.L. Bingham, J. Magnusson and A.P. Christiansen, “Comparative Study of Concrete Constitutive Models for Predicting Blast Response,” American Concrete Institute SP-281, ACI Committees 447 and 370, December 27, 2011.
  • Holland, T. and J. Wesevich, “In-situ Blast Testing of Shear-Screw Mechanical Couplers,” Proceedings for the 34th Department of Defense Explosives Safety Board Seminar, Portland, Oregon, July 13-15, 2010.
  • Wesevich, J. and B. Bingham, “Numerical Simulations of Reinforced Concrete Beams and Slabs Subjected to Blast Loads,” Proceedings for the 13th International Symposium on Interaction of the Effects of Munitions with Structures, Bruehl, Germany, May 11-15, 2009.

Education

  • University of Texas - Master of Science - Civil Engineering - Austin - Texas
  • Texas A&M University - Bachelor of Science - Civil Engineering - College Station - Texas

Training Courses

  • HAZWOPER - Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response

Affiliations

  • ACI - American Concrete Institute
  • Committee 370, Short duration Dynamics & Vibration Load Effects
  • Committee 440-F - Fiber Reinforced Polymer Reinforcement-Repair
  • ASCE - American Society of Civil Engineers
  • Task Committee on Blast-Resistant Design of the Energy Division

Licenses

  • S 3874 - California - Structural
  • C 46335 - California - Civil
  • 081.006277 - Illinois - Structural
  • 84489 - Texas - PE
  • 0029829 - Louisiana - PE
  • 027752 - Missouri - PE
  • 6201062371 - Michigan - PE