IN-PERSON Continuing Education Opportunity
for Engineers, Architects, and Industry Professionals | | |
Proof of Concept: Mass Timber Performance and Testing
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Thursday, October 15, 2026
9:30 a.m. - 11:45 a.m. (Doors open at 9:00 a.m.)
IN-PERSON at CityPoint, 500 Totten Pond Road, Waltham MA
2.0 SEAMASS or NCSEA Diamond-Certified PDHs
Invite your colleagues and join us for this unique in-person opportunity to gain key insights and learn from the firsthand experience of two industry professionals about advancements in mass timber performance and testing.
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Shake Table Testing of a Full-Scale Resilient
10-Story Mass-Timber Building
Presented by: Steve Pryor, PE, SE
Advanced Research Manager | Simpson Strong-Tie
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PRESENTATION OVERVIEW:
With new building codes recently updated to permit more high-rise mass timber buildings to be constructed in the United States, many have questioned how such buildings would fare in earthquakes.
As a research partner in the National Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure (NHERI) TallWood project, Simpson Strong-Tie participated in a series of earthquake shake table tests conducted at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD).
Funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and led by Dr. Shiling Pei of the Colorado School of Mines, the NHERI TallWood project simulated a series of large seismic events and their effects on a full-scale, 10-story mass timber building — the tallest building ever tested on a shake table.
With more than 100 tests completed, Steve Pryor, Senior Manager of Testing and Research Operations at Simpson Strong-Tie, will present his insights about the project.
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Top photo: The NHERI TallWood structure is built on the world’s largest outdoor shake table at UCSD.
Bottom photo: Rocking shear walls for the lateral force resisting system utilized 115-foot long post-tensioned ATS rod assemblies to provide recentering.
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Exploring Tall Wood:
New Code Provisions for Tall Timber Structures
Presented by: Patrick Duffy, PE
New England Regional Manager | Woodworks
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PRESENTATION OVERVIEW:
As interest in and use of mass timber in the U.S. has grown, so too has interest in pushing these timber structures to greater heights. Prior to the 2021 International Building Code, using international examples of successful tall wood buildings as precedent, some designers proposed tall wood projects in the states using a project-specific performance-based design approach.
In order to provide a uniform set of code provisions for these tall wood buildings, the International Code Council established an ad hoc committee on tall wood buildings that proposed a set of code changes allowing up to 18 stories of mass timber construction. Those code changes were announced as approved in January 2019 and became part of the 2021 International Building Code.
Following a brief discussion of history and motivators, this presentation will introduce the new tall wood code provisions and construction types, as well as the technical research and testing that supported their adoption.
| | EVENT TIMING & REGISTRATION: | | |
WHEN: Thursday, OCTOBER 15, 2026
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9:00 - 9:30 a.m.: Reception, Check-in, Meet Event Sponsors
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9:30 - 10:30 a.m.: Presentation 1, followed by 15-minute break
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10:45 - 11:45 a.m.: Presentation 2
WHERE: CityPoint, 500 Totten Pond Road, Waltham MA
PDHs: 2.0 SEAMASS-Certified; Optional add-on for NCSEA Diamond-Certified
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INVESTMENT: (Includes both presentations and 2.0 SEAMASS PDHs)
$60 ea. - Members of SEAMASS (or other New England State SEAs)
$70 ea. - Non Members
$10 - OPTIONAL Add-on: NCSEA Diamond PDH Cert. (Recognized 50 states)
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Steve Pryor, PE, SE
Advanced Research Manager | Simpson Strong-Tie
Steve has been with Simpson Strong-Tie for 29 years, currently serves as their Advanced Research Manager, and was the 2024 recipient of SEAONC’s Helmut Krawinkler award for “leadership in implementing state-of-the-art research into engineering practice”. Prior to that Steve and the team led by Prof. John van de Lindt were awarded the ASCE Raymond C. Reese Research Prize in 2012, and most recently Steve and the team led by Prof. Shiling Pei have been awarded the 2026 ASCE Norman Medal for their paper on the 10-story NHERI TallWood project.
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| Before joining Simpson, Steve was a practicing structural engineer in California designing residential, commercial, and industrial facilities. With a career dedicated to understanding the seismic performance of structures, Steve has led Simpson’s partnerships with a number of universities in ground-breaking research, including the world’s largest and tallest buildings ever tested on a shake table, with lateral systems ranging from light-frame wood to mass timber to structural steel. Along with many others at Simpson Strong-Tie, Steve has a passion for trying to find practical solutions to difficult structural problems. | | |
Patrick Duffy, PE
New England Regional Manager | WoodWorks
Patrick is a licensed Professional Engineer in Maine. He began his engineering career working on the design of light-frame and panelized light-frame wood construction on residential, commercial, and memory care facilities in New England and throughout the southeast. Most recently, he has gained architecture and engineering design experience on government contracts for facilities across the northeast, including projects in Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, and Maine.
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| Patrick aims to share his passion for wood design with project teams and owners, helping to bridge knowledge gaps and turn the desire to build with mass timber into a reality. He has a BS in Civil /Structural Engineering from Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston, MA, and served six years in the US Army Reserves. | | | | |
A leader in structural systems research and technology, Simpson Strong-Tie is one of the world's largest suppliers of structural building products. Simpson Strong-Tie is committed to providing exceptional products and services to its customers, including engineering and field support, product testing and training.
LEARN MORE: strongtie.com
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From concept to completion, WoodWorks is passionate about helping developers and design/construction teams bring wood buildings to life. We offer free project support for commercial and multi-family wood buildings, a robust nationwide education program, and a wide range of published resources. Our expertise covers all wood building systems and technologies.
LEARN MORE: woodworks.org
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