Extreme Waves: 2nd edition

Craig B.Smith is passionate about the sea. When not sailing, for the last 40 years he has been involved in the engineering and construction of large, complex projects. He has served as a project engineer, project manager, construction manager, or executive-in-charge on diverse projects including structural tests on offshore oil platforms in the North Sea, the California coast, and Gulf of Mexico; on seismic tests of dams and other large structures; construction of a waste-to-energy power plant; construction management of large mass transit systems and several large facilities in the Port of Los Angeles; design and construction of numerous laboratory and research facilities employing advanced technologies; airport expansion programs; and the renovation of the Pentagon, before and after 9/11. His projects have taken him to many parts of the world: Brazil, Peru, Chile, Mexico, Korea, Taiwan, Philippines, Egypt, England, Germany, Finland, Norway, and others.

Smith’s professional career began as an assistant professor of engineering at UCLA, where he was also the assistant director of the nuclear energy laboratory. After seven years at UCLA, he co founded ANCO Engineers, Inc., an engineering consulting firm in Los Angeles, where he served as the president and chairman. From 1988 to 1992 he was the president of FSEC, a Los Angeles architecture/engineering/construction firm, then joined AECOM Technology Corporation, one of the world’s largest architecture, engineering and construction companies, as a vice president of Daniel, Mann, Johnson, and Mendenhall (DMJM), where he served as the practice manager for DMJM’s construction and facilities management practice. He was subsequently promoted to senior vice president, executive vice president, and chief operating officer. In 1999, he was named president of Holmes and Narver, Inc. In 2001, when DMJM and Holmes and Narver merged, he became the president of the combined companies, which are now called DMJM H+N. In 2003 he became chairman of DMJM H+N. Holmes and Narver was responsible for the design, construction and some cases operation and management of several military facilities in the Pacific, including a number located on Johnston Atoll, Enwetak, Kwajalein, Guam, and Hawaii.

Smith is a dedicated sailor; having sailed in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific and explored the offshore islands of California and Baja California, Mexico in his 10 meter sailboat Dreams (a cutter-rigged Hans Christian.) His previous books include Efficient Electricity Use, (2nd ed.)  Pergamon Press, Oxford, England, 1977, named “outstanding academic book of the year” by the American Library Association’s Choice magazine; Energy Management Principles, Pergamon Press, Oxford, England, 1981; and How the Great Pyramid Was Built, Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C., 2004. Written for the general public, the book has many new insights into how the mammoth structure was actually built and is described as “highly readable; the most complete analysis from an engineering and construction perspective.” In 2006 his book Extreme Waves was published by the Joseph Henry Press of the U.S. National Academy of Science. In 2008, Lightning: Fire from the Sky was published. His education includes a B.S. degree in electrical engineering from Stanford University and a M.S. and PhD. in engineering from the University of California at Los Angeles. He is a registered professional engineer in California.  He lives on the Balboa Peninsula, Newport Beach, California, which is also the homeport for his boat.