EXECUTIVE TEAM

Caro Minas, Founder/President

Geotechnical Engineer

Shant Minas, PG, EG, PMP

Managing Director, Principal Geologist

ADMINISTRATION

Lilian Avak

Office Manager

Lorelei

Administrative Assistant

Shakeh Vartanian

Administrative Assistant

Treza Avanes

Bookkeeper

ENGINEERS

Arsham (Marshall) Hayrikian, PE

Project Engineer / Grading Deputy Inspector

Sevada Yeghikian

Staff Engineer

Suresh Basnet

Design Engineer / Methane Deputy Inspector

Daniel Gonzalez

Staff Engineer

GEOLOGISTS

Wahick (Vince) Mehrabian

Staff Geologist / AutoCAD Drafter / Methane Deputy Inspector

Talin Ghalousian

Staff & Field Geologist / AutoCAD Drafter

Nader Tavassoli

Staff Geologist

LAB / FIELD

Austin Mathevosian

Grading Deputy Inspector

David Ohanian

Grading Deputy Inspector

Narek Eliasi

Field Scientist

GEOTECHNICAL GANGSTERS

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Caro Minas founded AES in 1985 after working with a number of major national and international engineering firms for 12 years. He received his BS (’75) and MS (’76) degrees in civil and geotechnical engineering, respectively, from California State University, Los Angeles. In addition to his extensive experience in California and Nevada, he has conducted major investigations for nuclear power plants, harbors, industrial complexes, and gas distribution projects in the Persian Gulf area. Today he is one of the foremost geotechnical engineers in the LA area and oversees all engineering operations at AES. In his spare time Caro likes to travel, and play tennis.

Shant Minas is the principal engineering geologist and managing director of AES. As part of his tasks he oversees all field exploration, conducts detailed geologic investigations, and prepares reports and geologic maps. From the time he joined AES in 2003 he has been largely responsible for continued innovation and augmentation of AES’s growing list of services offered, including methane testing and mitigation design, percolation testing, feasibility studies and design for septic systems, water quality testing, fault studies, deputy inspection, and environmental investigations.

In addition to his primary expertise as an engineering geologist, Shant also has a broad academic as well as experiential background in environmental hydrogeology, and holds degrees in economics and financial mathematics from USC. He served honorably in the US Army with an overseas tour in Korea, and is currently the Chair of the Association of Engineering Geologists’ SoCal section. His hobbies include mountain biking, writing, and guitar.

Lilian has been the office manager at AES since 2012. She is a TUV certified ISO 9002 (International Standard Organization for Management) auditor, and a Landmark Education graduate in the “Team Management & Leadership” program and the “Communication” courses. She has earned her B.A. degree in Language Art & German-Farsi Translation from Azad University in Tehran – Iran.  She is also a musician, music educator, and the choir conductor at Homenetmen’s Ararat chapter since 2014.

Lorelei joined AES in June, 2021. She graduated with a B.S. from California State University, Los Angeles. She has extensive experience as an administrative assistant at architectural and engineering firms for over 25 years. In her free time she loves hanging out with family and friends, traveling and the beach.

Shakeh joined Applied Earth Sciences in February 2022. Before that, she worked for an Armenian research institute, export-import, industrial engineering, and soil engineering companies in Iran and United States. Shakeh earned an A.S. degree in Computer Application and Business Office Technologies from Glendale Community College in 2012. She also successfully completed a Legal Secretary Training Program at UCLA Extension in 2018.

Treza joined Applied Earth Sciences in January 2023. She has B.A. in Political Science from Tehran Azad University and Accounting Certificate from Industrial Management Institute ( IMI). After migrating to the United States in 2015, she went to Glendale Community College to refresh her education in accounting. She was working in SGS S.A.- Iran branch- in the financial division for about thirteen years. In the United States she worked at Financial Consultant Associates as a tax assistant and at D&D International Inc. as an in-house accountant, then she joined our company to continue her career as a bookkeeper. In her free time, Treza enjoys cooking, baking, crafting, reading, and watching movies. She loves nature.

Arsham (Marshall) has a B.S. in Civil Engineering from California Polytechnic University, and currently enrolled in his M.S. in Geotechnical Engineer at the University of Oklahoma. He is a licensed professional engineer in the state of California and a Deputy Grading Inspector for Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety. Marshall started off with the AES team in the summer of 2014 as a staff & field engineer. Prior to joining AES, Marshall has had experience working in both the public and private sector of engineering, including a stint at the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works and private companies in Orange County and Austin, Texas. He has experience working on a variety of projects ranging from dams, reservoirs, bridges, tunnels, wind turbines to nuclear power plant assessments. At AES, Marshall’s responsibilities include writing and reviewing technical reports, overseeing engineering analysis, project management, and inspection work. In his spare time Marshall is a sport enthusiastic, enjoys mountaineering and traveling.

Sevada joined the AES team in June of 2017 after graduating with a Master of Science degree in Civil & Geotechnical Engineering from California State University, Los Angeles. He migrated to Los Angeles from Tehran, Iran in 2000 and opened an Italian Restaurant called Georgie’s Cucina with his father, and helped manage the restaurant during his college years. Sevada’s responsibilities within the company include field observations, compaction testing, running percolation tests, drilling, logging, and sampling. He is currently working on obtaining his ICC & Deputy Grading Inspector licenses. In his free time, Sevada enjoys watching & making movies, camping, and hiking.

Suresh joined the AES team in 2013, working as a designer for methane barrier, de-watering, and waterproofing systems, as well as inspecting passive and active methane mitigation and waterproofing systems for residential, commercial, and industrial buildings. He received his Bachelor Degree in Civil Engineering from the Institution of Engineers in India, and worked at numerous companies in Nepal before moving to the United States to further his career. He is a Registered Deputy Inspector for Methane Barrier Systems, as well as a Certified Inspector for Waterproofing and Methane Barriers. He also holds an Engineering-In-Training License from the California State Board for Professional Engineers.

Wahick (Vince) joined AES in 2013 as a staff geologist & AutoCAD drafter. He earned his B.S. in Geology in 1992 from University of Tehran. Wahick worked as a geologist in different dam construction companies back in Iran before coming to USA in 1999. He got his AS in Architectural Design from Glendale Community College and a certificate in Construction Inspection from Pasadena City College. Wahick is a registered Deputy Methane Barrier Inspector in the City of Los Angeles. He also has years of experience working as a designer & drafter in various architectural & structural engineering offices in Los Angeles.

Talin graduated with an M.S. in Petrology from Azad University, Tehran, in 2013. She came to AES as a staff geologist in 2017 with eight years’ experience working as a Geologist in various geological, environmental, geotechnical, construction, oil, and gas projects, and has designed structural details for a number of structural companies in the U.S. She is fluent in 4 languages; English, German Armenian, and Farsi, and also has her jewelry design certificate from Gemological Development Institute of Iran under the supervision of Shahid Beheshti University and Cabochon certification from Institute of Gemology.

Nader has a B.S. in Geology from California State University of Northridge (CSUN) and currently pursuing his M.S. degree in Geology at California State University of Long Beach (CSULB). He is a licensed Geologist In Training (GIT) in the state of California. After obtaining his bachelor’s degree, Nader spent a year teaching geology courses at CSULB before he joined the AES team in May 2021.

Before joining AES, Nader had experience working in the rock lab at CSUN with Dr. Joshua Schwartz for more than two years. During his undergrad, Nader’s field of study was mainly petrology and mineralogy, and in his master’s program, he is primarily focused on lake evolutions and paleoclimatic studies.

Nader’s responsibilities at AES include project assessment and writing project proposals, fieldwork investigation, prior record research, project management, writing and reviewing geotechnical reports and soil inspection.