Michael Newman presentation

Communicating the NIST World Trade Center Investigation

Michael E. Newman

Senior Communications Officer

and

Communications Director,

World Trade Center Investigation

What is NIST?What is NIST?

To promote U.S. innovation and To promote U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness by industrial competitiveness by advancingadvancing

• Measurement scienceMeasurement science• StandardsStandards• TechnologyTechnology

in ways that enhance economic in ways that enhance economic security and improve our quality security and improve our quality of lifeof life

©R

ober

t R

athe

Mission

NIST is an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce

NIST laboratories in Maryland and ColoradoNIST laboratories in Maryland and Colorado

Gaithersburg, MD

Boulder, CO

Spectrum of scientific and engineering expertiseSpectrum of scientific and engineering expertise

The result: a broad impact on everyday lifeThe result: a broad impact on everyday life

• Advancing manufacturing and services

• Helping ensure fair trade

• Improving quality of life

• Improving public safety and security

All

phot

os ©

Cor

bis

A long history of structural failure investigations A long history of structural failure investigations

Kansas City Hyatt Walkway 1981

Northridge, CA, Earthquake 1994

Silver Bridge, WV 1967

Hurricane Andrew, Florida 1992

9/11/2001: tragedy leads to challenge for NIST9/11/2001: tragedy leads to challenge for NIST

9/11/2001: WTC 7 collapses at 5:20 p.m.9/11/2001: WTC 7 collapses at 5:20 p.m.

NIST commits to WTC investigationNIST commits to WTC investigation

January 17January 17, 2002

Federal agency to launch its own investigation into collapse of twin towers By SARA KUGLER

The enormous task of studying the World Trade Center's collapse will be shared by a federal agency with extensive experience and top engineering technology, officials said Thursday. The inquiry by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, which has examined building collapses worldwide following fires, earthquakes and other disasters, will supplement an ongoing investigation that has been criticized for being too small in scope.

"We have a lot of expertise in building and fire research in terms of structural engineering, and we have a lot of expertise in the past in helping piece together disasters and what happened," said Michael Newman, a spokesman for the federal agency.

Despite the widely accepted notion that no skyscraper could have withstood a fuel-laden jet slicing through its core, engineers, federal officials and victims' families have wanted to find answers to exactly when and how the 110-story twin towers collapsed.

Until now, there had been no direct participation by a federal agency. The initial investigation was funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, but coordinated by a nonprofit civil engineering group.

Details for the NIST inquiry are still being worked out, Newman said, including funding and a projected timeline. He said researchers from the agency have been at the trade center site collecting data since Sept. 11.

John Gross, a structural engineer with the agency's building and fire research division, already was part of the 23-member team conducting the first federal investigation, which expects to issue a report in April. Newman said the new investigation won't interfere with the first inquiry, but will vary "in the capabilities."

"It probably just differs in the matter of scale and the type of investigation that would be done," Newman said.

Newman said scientists at the agency's headquarters in Gaithersburg, Md., already have created computer models of the fire and smoke that engulfed the twin towers after they were hit by the hijacked jetliners. The models were created on software called the Fire Dynamics Simulator and Smokeview, using eyewitness accounts and footage of the disaster.

"The models can be used to predict outcomes - what would have happened if something would have been different," Newman said. "Computer modeling will certainly play an important role, because it does give you the chance to see how the fire and smoke behaved and what impact that had on the collapse itself"

Investigation ObjectivesInvestigation Objectives


Determine:- Why and how the WTC Towers collapsed following the initial

impact of the aircraft, and- Why and how the 47-story WTC 7 collapsed




Determine why the numbers of injuries and fatalities were so low or high depending on location, including technical aspects of fire protection, occupant behavior, evacuation, and emergency response





Determine the procedures and practices that were used in the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of the WTC buildings





Determine the procedures and practices that were used in the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of the WTC buildings

Identify, as specifically as possible, areas in current national building and fire model codes, standards, and practices that warrant revision

Public Affairs ObjectivesPublic Affairs Objectives

“Informed, involved public is an integral part of the NIST investigation”

Single point (Newman) of contact for the media to handle most requests

Majority of interviews to be done by Lead Investigator (single source)

Public Affairs serves on Task Force to ensure input on strategy and plans

All team members work with Public Affairs to outreach media and public

Dedicated Web site on investigation, including:- Fact sheets on WTC investigation, past NIST structural failure studies- Gallery of still photos, videos and computer animations - Latest news and event schedules- Links to interim and final reports as available- Archives of ALL documents for media, public and technical audiences

Frequent briefings for media and public on progress and interim findings

Liaison from Public Affairs with victims’ family groups

Public Affairs ObjectivesPublic Affairs Objectives

Open

Honest

Responsive

Current

Informative

Thorough

Caring

PROACTIVE

Early Message to WTC Investigation TeamEarly Message to WTC Investigation Team

This work will be unique, historic,

demanding, very public …

and not likely to be universally accepted

“Not your

grandfather’s

investigation”

““The most detailed examination of a building failureThe most detailed examination of a building failure””

Six years conducting state-of-the-art researchSix years conducting state-of-the-art research

NIST WTC Communications – HighlightsNIST WTC Communications – Highlights

Jun 2002 Public Meeting (NYC) Comments on Proposed Investigation PlanAug 2002 Press and Public Briefing (MD) Start of InvestigationOct. 2002 News Release NCST Act Signed Into LawDec 2002 Press Briefing (DC) Investigation Off to Solid StartMar 2003 News Release NCST Advisory Committee NamesApr 2003 News Release WTC Photos and Videos Requested May 2003 Press and Public Briefing (NYC) Progress Report on Towers Sep 2003 Press and Public Briefing (NYC) Interviews SoughtDec 2003 News Release Public Update Released; All Data

ObtainedJun 2004 Press and Public Briefing (NYC) Interim Findings ReleasedAug 2004 Press Briefing (IL) Fire Testing of WTC Trusses Oct 2004 Press and Public Briefings (NYC) Leading Collapse Sequences for TowersApr 2005 Press and Public Briefings (NYC) Interim Findings ReleasedJun 2005 Press and Public Briefings (NYC) Draft Towers Report ReleasedAug 2006 News Release FAQs on Alternative Theory ClaimsOct 2005 News Release Final Towers Report Issued (at US

Capitol)Dec 2006 Audio Cast on Web Presentation to NCST AC on WTC 7Jun 2007 News Release Status Update on WTC 7 Jun 2007 News Release NIST Efforts Lead to New Building CodesAug 2008 Press Briefing (MD) Draft WTC 7 Report ReleasedOct 2008 News Release WTC 7 Report Issued

11 Media and public briefings including 7 in New York City27 News releases, announcements and media updates

More than 2,000 media inquires handled

ConclusionsConclusions

WTC 1 and 2 (“The Twin Towers”)

Impact damage and debris from plane strike dislodges fireproofing on steel. Jet fuel initiates fires that burn very hot for long duration because of debris and office environment. Heat weakens exposed steel until integrity lost. Unsupported floors above impact sites fall, leading to global collapse.

WTC 7

Damage from falling WTC 1 ignites fires on multiple floors. Heat expands and dislodges beam connecting perimeter column to both long-span central beam and critical internal support column. Column collapses setting off chain reaction of failures across steel infrastructure. “Guts” of building destroyed. Finally, remaining empty shell drops to ground.

Primarily positive news coveragePrimarily positive news coverage

January 6, 2004

GAITHERSBURG, Md. — The jet fuel, of course, caught fire first.

As traces of the fuel's stench hung ominously in the air, a fiery burst quickly became a sullen orange glow, then grew until flames were licking the ceiling 11 feet above. The flames fed on a cluster of office workstations lying smashed, littered with collapsed ceiling tiles and office papers.

Within minutes, a maelstrom of heavy black soot, gyrating sparks and brilliant flame was leaping through the tops of four narrow seven-foot-high windows, warming the nearby faces of men wearing bunker coats, oxygen tanks and fire helmets.

The World Trade Center was burning again — at least one small part of it — in this fuel-soaked, full-size recreation of a Marsh & McLennan office on the 96th floor of the north tower, where the first plane struck on Sept. 11.

This office is inside a towering laboratory at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. And it is only one fragment of the disaster being replayed for a federal investigation centered here. In other studies, steel recovered from the twin towers is being ripped apart at high speeds, rebuilt structural supports are baking in artificial infernos, and fireproofing insulation is being pounded with simulated plane impacts to see how well it sticks to the steel it was meant to protect.

Reliving 9/11,With Fire as TeacherBy JAMES GLANZ

And then, there were others with differing views …And then, there were others with differing views …

is

Widespread movementWidespread movement

U.S. 9/11 ACTIVIST AND RESEARCH SITES

911Truth http//www.911truth.org/

Patriots Question 9/11 http//www.patriotsquestion911.com/

Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth http//www.ae911truth.org/

Pilots for 9/11 Truth http//pilotsfor911truth.org/

Scholars for 9/11 Truth & Justice http//stj911.org/

Student Scholars for 9/11 Truth http//www.sst911.org/

We Are Change http//www.wearechange.org

Daniel Ellsberg Whistleblower Project http//www.ellsberg.net/content/view/34

Sibel Edmonds (FBI whistle blower) Official Web Site http://www.justacitizen.org

The Patriots http//www.thepatriots.us/

9/11 Research Information Resources Site http//www.911weknow.com/

911blogger.com http//www.911blogger.com/

Muslim-Christian-Jewish Alliance for 9/11 Truth http//mujca.com/

And on for six more pages …

Leaders and associated personalitiesLeaders and associated personalities

Steven Jones, Scholars for 9/11 Truth and Justice

Richard Gage, Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth

Jesse Ventura, Former Governor of Minnesota

Ed Asner, Actor

Charlie Sheen, Actor

Rosie O’Donnell, Actress and Talk Show Host

Mike Gravel, Former Senator from Alaska

Kevin Ryan, Co-Editor,Journal of 9/11 Research

Dylan Avery, Creator of Film Loose Change

Alex Jones, Radio Talk Show Host Neils Harrit,

Danish Chemist

NIST Policy on Input About WTC InvestigationNIST Policy on Input About WTC Investigation

Everyone has a right to his or her opinion Everyone treated with respect All calls, e-mails and correspondence about the NIST WTC

Investigation are treated equally No one will be ignored Responses to inquiries and requests are done promptly

when appropriate to do so

NIST Policy on Input About WTC InvestigationNIST Policy on Input About WTC Investigation

Everyone has a right to his or her opinion Everyone treated with respect All calls, e-mails and correspondence about the NIST WTC

Investigation are treated equally No one will be ignored Responses to inquiries and requests are done promptly

when appropriate to do so

However …

Nothing to date has changed NIST’s stand on its WTC findings and conclusions. Therefore, no need for NIST to engage in debates about alternative theories.

NIST stands behind findings – NO DEBATINGNIST stands behind findings – NO DEBATING

September 16, 2006

Embassy Suites Hotel Airport – Convention Center

Charleston, South Carolina

Sometimes being the spokesman isnSometimes being the spokesman isn’’t easy …t easy …

Mr Newman, You are quickly turning into an enemy of the Truth, which quickly makes you an enemy of my friends and of me... And if you think we are going away, you are not only mistaken, but severely so!!! That is a promise and a threat! As I said in my previous emails, you are in a very precarious position!!

You can show me a stack of studies up to the ceiling but the government’s official accounting of 9/11 is a crock. Take your studies and put them where the sun don’t shine.

Please Stop Blaming 'Hijackers' For Damages WhichCould Not Possibly Have Been Caused By Airliners!!!It Makes You Look Like Just Another Lying Treason Whore.

You are going to roast in hell, if not sooner, for what you have said about the WTC buildings. I don't care how stupid you may be, there will be no defense. You see it, I know you see the tide turning, and NO ONE, including me, is going to forget you. There will be nowhere on earth for you and your family to hide. I suggest you throw yourself at the mercy of the American public, who may forgive you if you come clean NOW. If not, God have mercy on your soul because no one else will.

You are lying to us. For lying I am going to add the death penalty onto every member of NIST involved in the investigations if JUST ONE OF YOU LIES AGAIN.

You have 7 days to reissue the Building 7 final report and to state categorically whether you all stand by ALL your former decisions and judgments and rulings.

Else you can ALL go to jail and in many cases die by lethal injection for covering up mass murder.

My patience with your deliberate incompetence has run out. You have 7 days to get out of jail by turning states evidence.

$hame on NI$T, a once highly apprai$ed in$titute, turned into a 9/11 cover up. $ound$ like everyone got paid to DENY the TRUTH. Money burn$, and $o doe$ your $oul that is $old out to $atan.

Sometimes being the spokesman isnSometimes being the spokesman isn’’t easy …t easy …

Mr Newman, You are quickly turning into an enemy of the Truth, which quickly makes you an enemy of my friends and of me... And if you think we are going away, you are not only mistaken, but severely so!!! That is a promise and a threat! As I said in my previous emails, you are in a very precarious position!!

You can show me a stack of studies up to the ceiling but the government’s official accounting of 9/11 is a crock. Take your studies and put them where the sun don’t shine.

Please Stop Blaming 'Hijackers' For Damages WhichCould Not Possibly Have Been Caused By Airliners!!!It Makes You Look Like Just Another Lying Treason Whore.

You are going to roast in hell, if not sooner, for what you have said about the WTC buildings. I don't care how stupid you may be, there will be no defense. You see it, I know you see the tide turning, and NO ONE, including me, is going to forget you. There will be nowhere on earth for you and your family to hide. I suggest you throw yourself at the mercy of the American public, who may forgive you if you come clean NOW. If not, God have mercy on your soul because no one else will.

You are lying to us. For lying I am going to add the death penalty onto every member of NIST involved in the investigations if JUST ONE OF YOU LIES AGAIN.

You have 7 days to reissue the Building 7 final report and to state categorically whether you all stand by ALL your former decisions and judgments and rulings.

Else you can ALL go to jail and in many cases die by lethal injection for covering up mass murder.

My patience with your deliberate incompetence has run out. You have 7 days to get out of jail by turning states evidence.

$hame on NI$T, a once highly apprai$ed in$titute, turned into a 9/11 cover up. $ound$ like everyone got paid to DENY the TRUTH. Money burn$, and $o doe$ your $oul that is $old out to $atan.And they’re still coming after 10 years …

To: [email protected]: Date: September 30, 2011

Time for NIST to be dismantled and your top criminals to be tried for treason. Your lies about 9/11 have been exposed.

One particular e-mail was special …One particular e-mail was special …

From:

To: [email protected]

Cc: [email protected]

Subject: Regarding your draft report on the WTC towers

No confusion about senderNo confusion about sender’’s message …s message …

From:

To: [email protected]

Cc: [email protected]

Subject: Regarding your draft report on the WTC towers

BULLS**T!

Proactive Effort - 9/11 Fifth Anniversary (2006)Proactive Effort - 9/11 Fifth Anniversary (2006)

Answers to Frequently Asked Questions (August 30, 2006)Answers to Frequently Asked Questions (August 30, 2006)

1. If the World Trade Center (WTC) towers were designed to withstand multiple impacts by Boeing 707 aircraft, 1. If the World Trade Center (WTC) towers were designed to withstand multiple impacts by Boeing 707 aircraft, why did the impact of individual 767s cause so much damage?why did the impact of individual 767s cause so much damage?

The NIST WTC towers report states that a document from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) The NIST WTC towers report states that a document from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) indicated that the impact of a [single, not multiple] Boeing 707 aircraft was analyzed during the design stage of the indicated that the impact of a [single, not multiple] Boeing 707 aircraft was analyzed during the design stage of the WTC towers. However, NIST investigators were unable to locate any documentation of the criteria and method used WTC towers. However, NIST investigators were unable to locate any documentation of the criteria and method used in the impact analysis and, therefore, were unable to verify the assertion that in the impact analysis and, therefore, were unable to verify the assertion that ““… such collision would result in only … such collision would result in only local damage which could not cause collapse or substantial damage to the building.…local damage which could not cause collapse or substantial damage to the building.…”” The capability to conduct The capability to conduct rigorous simulations of the aircraft impact, the growth and spread of the ensuing fires, and the effects of fires on the rigorous simulations of the aircraft impact, the growth and spread of the ensuing fires, and the effects of fires on the structure is a recent development. structure is a recent development.

Since the approach to structural modeling was developed for the NIST WTC investigation, the technical capability Since the approach to structural modeling was developed for the NIST WTC investigation, the technical capability available to the PANYNJ and its consultants and contactors to perform such analyses in the 1960s would have been available to the PANYNJ and its consultants and contactors to perform such analyses in the 1960s would have been quite limited in comparison to the capabilities brought to bear in the NIST investigation. The damage from the impact quite limited in comparison to the capabilities brought to bear in the NIST investigation. The damage from the impact of a Boeing 767 aircraft (which is about 20 percent bigger than a Boeing 707) into each tower is well documented in of a Boeing 767 aircraft (which is about 20 percent bigger than a Boeing 707) into each tower is well documented in the NIST report. the NIST report.

The massive damage was caused by the large mass of the aircraft, their high speed and momentum, which severed The massive damage was caused by the large mass of the aircraft, their high speed and momentum, which severed the relatively light steel of the exterior columns on the impact floors. The results of the NIST impact analyses matched the relatively light steel of the exterior columns on the impact floors. The results of the NIST impact analyses matched well with observations (from photos and videos and analysis of recovered WTC steel) of exterior damage and of the well with observations (from photos and videos and analysis of recovered WTC steel) of exterior damage and of the amount and location of debris exiting from the buildings. This agreement supports the premise that the structural amount and location of debris exiting from the buildings. This agreement supports the premise that the structural damage to the towers was due to the aircraft impact and not to any alternative forces.damage to the towers was due to the aircraft impact and not to any alternative forces.

The fact sheet continues with NIST responses The fact sheet continues with NIST responses to 13 other claims to 13 other claims

made by the alternative theorists …made by the alternative theorists …

Successful ResponseSuccessful Response

Did not condemn or criticize alternative theorists

Avoided “we’re right and you’re wrong” debate or direct confrontation

Took most common alternative theorist claims and addressed them directly and without judgment

Only used findings and conclusions from the NIST investigation

Done for interested public who had heard or seen alternative theories and wanted NIST to provide balance

Not intended to convince alternative theorists of NIST conclusions

2 U.S. Reports Seek to Counter Conspiracy Theories About 9/11

By JIM DWYER

Faced with an angry minority of people who believe the Sept. 11 attacks were part of a shadowy and sprawling plot run by Americans, separate reports were published this week by the State Department and a federal science agency insisting that the catastrophes were caused by hijackers who used commercial airliners as weapons.

The official narrative of the attacks has been attacked as little more than a cover story by an assortment of radio hosts, academics, amateur filmmakers and others who have spread their arguments on the Internet and cable television in America and abroad. As a motive, they suggest that the Bush administration wanted to use the attacks to justify military action in the Middle East.

Most elaborately, they propose that the collapse of the World Trade Center was actually caused by explosive charges secretly planted in the buildings, rather than by the destructive force of the airliners that thundered into the towers and set them ablaze.

The government reports and officials say the demolition argument is utterly implausible on a number of grounds. Indeed, few proponents of the explosives theory are willing to venture explanations of how daunting logistical problems would be overcome, such as planting thousands of pounds of explosives in busy office towers.

Nevertheless, federal officials say they moved to affirm the conventional history of the day because of the persistence of what they call “alternative theories.” On Wednesday, the National Institute of Standards and Technology issued a seven-page study based on its earlier 10,000-page report on how and why the trade center collapsed. The full report, released a year ago, and the new study, in a question and answer format, are available online at http://wtc.nist.gov.

About a dozen researchers produced the new study over the last two months by assembling material from the longer report that addressed the conspiracy claims.

“With the fifth anniversary coming up, there seemed to be more play for the alternative viewpoints,” said Michael E. Newman, a spokesman for the institute. “We have received e-mails and phone calls asking us to respond to these theories, and we felt that this fact sheet was the best means of doing so.”

September 2, 2006

Proactive Efforts - 9/11 Tenth Anniversary (2011)Proactive Efforts - 9/11 Tenth Anniversary (2011)

● ● Upgraded WTC web pages to make them more user-friendly Upgraded WTC web pages to make them more user-friendly (converted from (converted from ““fluidfluid”” info site to easily searchable historical archive) info site to easily searchable historical archive)

● ● Moved upgraded WTC web pages under newly created web site for Moved upgraded WTC web pages under newly created web site for NIST Disaster and Failure Studies ProgramNIST Disaster and Failure Studies Program

● ● Consolidated six disparate and somewhat redundant FAQs on WTCConsolidated six disparate and somewhat redundant FAQs on WTC investigation into three more-logically organized FAQ pages:investigation into three more-logically organized FAQ pages: Overall WTC Investigation, WTC Towers and WTC 7Overall WTC Investigation, WTC Towers and WTC 7

● ● PProvided viewing access to thousands of photos and videos collectedrovided viewing access to thousands of photos and videos collected during the WTC investigation, as well as computer simulations created, during the WTC investigation, as well as computer simulations created, through new NIST Disaster and Failures Events Data Repositorythrough new NIST Disaster and Failures Events Data Repository

● ● Focused media outreach and interviews on NIST efforts since end ofFocused media outreach and interviews on NIST efforts since end of the WTC investigation to put the WTC investigation to put ““lessons learnedlessons learned”” into practice into practice

For more information …For more information …

NIST WTC Website http://wtc.nist.gov

WTC Towers

Alternative Theories

Michael Newman presentation

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Transcript of Michael Newman presentation