SEAOC Talk February 2023

President's Message

Krista Looza, SE

2022-2023 SEAOC President

This month has been a somber one. I am likely not alone as I am still mourning the lives lost and devastation caused from the earthquakes in Turkey. My heart aches for the disruption to lives and economies that will be felt for many years. One of my first reactions, after shock, was sadness that as a global society we have the technology and capability to build and protect our communities from this type of damage and loss and yet it still occurs. Granted, not every city or country possess the same resources, laws, or building codes but, nonetheless, each place where structures are built they can be constructed or retrofit in a manner that would significantly reduce the level of damage and loss of life. As I move towards the final stage of grief, acceptance, my thoughts return to our communities here in California and what we can do to protect our people and economy from a major loss such as this.

Significant Changes are Coming to the Structural Exam

By the SEAOC Licensure Committee

Many joke that Engineers don’t like change, but we know that without change there can be no progress. In the near future, significant changes are coming to the format and process of the SE exam. What we referred to as the 16-hour Structural Engineers exam is now called the “PE Structural Exam” by NCEES, who develops, administers, and grades the exam. Beginning at some point in 2024, the PE Structural Exam will be offered as a computer-based testing (CBT) exam. Gone will be the days of hand-written solutions to problems and examinees pulling wagons full of books and reference materials to common testing sites.

This change has been a long time coming. In the early 1990's NCEES, in an effort to increase fairness, decided to begin transitioning their exams from constructed-response (handwritten solutions) to objectively scored exams. This transition has continued through all exams administered by NCEES, and now the last remaining non-CBT exam, the structural exam, is facing extinction.

The New CBT PE Structural Exam

The new PE Structural Exam still has two components (Vertical and Lateral) and each component is made up of a breadth section and a depth section. These sections, however, will be taken separately on different days, eliminating the need for a morning (AM) or afternoon (PM) section. In addition, the four sections will be machine-graded and reported separately. Acceptable results must be obtained on all four sections to pass the exam.

The breadth section for each component will be 5.5 hours (exam time) with 55 questions. These will all be single-response, multiple-choice questions (MCQ). The depth section (both buildings and bridges) for each component will be 5 hours (exam time) with 5 scenarios, each scenario having a set of 12 questions. The increased time for length of the exams is driven by the requirements of the psychometricians to have a defensible exam, reduce the over-exposure of test questions, and to build up an item bank of questions that have been evaluated for their efficacy. In addition to the “exam” times listed above, there will also be "seat time" for each section which will include a 20-minute break and 10 minutes to view a tutorial and review/sign a non-disclosure agreement.

The questions associated with the depth section scenarios will be alternative item types (AIT), such as multiple-select, drag and drop, point-and-click, and fill-in-the-blank. The scenario-based questions will not include any single-answer MCQs. The responses to all questions in all sections, both MCQ and AIT, will be either right or wrong. There will be no partial credit.

Examinees will not be allowed to bring any books, papers, codes, or references into the exam. All code references will be supplied to the examinee in the form of a digital reference handbook, that will contain all information needed to successfully answer the question. This reference handbook will be available on-line through NCEES approximately six months before the first CBT PE Structural Exam is administered.

The PE Structural Exam will only be offered at the Pearson VUE Professional Centers (PPCs).

On January 26, 2023, NCSEA, in association with SEI and CASE, presented a free webinar entitled “PE Structural Engineering Exam Computer-Based Testing (CBT) Transition,” which Jason Gamble, P.E., the Chief Examination Officer for NCEES presented and Carl Josephson, S.E., SEAOC Licensing Committee Chair moderated. A link to a recording of the webinar is here: Webinar Recording.

After viewing the webinar, the SEAOC Licensing Committee would like you to take a couple of minutes to answer a few questions to better understand your thoughts and impressions regarding the proposed CBT exam: SEAOC Member Feedback.

Legislative Actions Needed to Reduce California's Earthquake Risk

A Joint Policy Agenda from the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI) and the Structural Engineers Association of California (SEAOC)

February 2023

As members of California’s earthquake engineering and structural engineering communities, we have dedicated our professional lives to reducing impacts from earthquakes through research, design, code and policy development, and advocacy. We are unfortunately too familiar with the devastation that earthquakes can cause to our built environment and the toll they take on society. But it does not have to be this way. While earthquakes are inevitable, the disaster can be prevented.

For decades, California has led the world in developing, adopting, and enforcing building codes and laws to improve seismic safety. We have learned from past losses. Large and impactful earthquakes in California and around the world have led to updates of our laws and codes accordingly. The first seismic legislation in California was the Field Act, enacted in the wake of the 1933 Long Beach earthquake that toppled unreinforced masonry schools and crippled the region’s recovery for years. As a direct result of the Field Act, our State’s public schools have the strictest building code requirements and enforcement in the nation. Since then, dozens of additional state and local laws have been enacted that further improve the safety of our state’s buildings.

Yet these measures are not enough. Despite our global leadership on seismic safety, California’s cities remain at risk—of collapsed older buildings, significant economic and social disruption, and prolonged recovery times. We have identified three priority actions that are critical to improving our community safety and resilience.

SEAOC College of Fellows Scholarship - Call for Applications

Submit by February 28, 2023

The Structural Engineers Association of California’s College of Fellows is offering a $5,000 SEAOC College of Fellows Scholarship to working engineers who are returning to graduate school for degrees that emphasize Structural Engineering.

The objective of the scholarship is to raise the quality of structural engineering by promoting the educational development of California structural engineers through advanced degrees. This scholarship is intended to recognize those that have completed an undergraduate degree, moved on to work in engineering practice or research, and are now returning for a graduate degree.

The Scholarship

A $5,000 grant will be made to the selected scholar towards graduate school expenses at an accredited graduate school program in Civil or Architectural Engineering with a structural emphasis, or in Structural Engineering. While the scholarship is primarily intending to encourage scholars attending California institutions, those attending institutions outside of California will be considered.

Eligibility

The applicant shall meet the following eligibility requirements:

Hold an undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering, Structural Engineering or Architectural Engineering from an accredited engineering school or university and,
Have a year or more of structural engineering practice or research experience following receipt of the undergraduate degree (the year must be completed before the graduate degree starts), and
Have been a member for at least six months in one of the four SEAOC member organizations (SEAOCC, SEAONC, SEAOSD, or SEAOSC). Any class of membership is acceptable.

Application

The applicant shall submit:

A résumé describing education and engineering or research experience (not to exceed two pages),
A statement of career goals and reason for pursing an advanced degree (not to exceed one page),
A statement of how the award would make a difference in their education or their engagement with structural engineering (not to exceed one page), and
Two letters of recommendation including:

One from a member of a SEAOC Member Organization (SEAOSD, SEAOSC, SEAOCC or SEAONC) who holds either Member or Member SE class of membership.
One from a second Member or Member SE of a SEAOC Member Organization as per above, or a professor from the applicant’s undergraduate program.

These items shall be submitted to the SEAOC office at seaoc@seaoc.org by 5 pm (PST) Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023. Please indicate “College of Fellows Scholarship” in the subject line.

Selection

An awardee will be selected by a Selection Committee appointed by the College of Fellows Scholarship Committee. Awardees will be contacted by March 31, 2023. The scholarship may or may not be awarded in any given year at the discretion of the Selection Committee. The selection process is entirely at the discretion of the Selection Committee and the College of Fellows.

Award of Funds

The funds for the scholarship will be issued upon submission of evidence of enrollment in the first term of the accredited graduate school program.

Questions should be directed to both dschinske@seaoc.org and kcobeen@wje.com.

LEARN MORE & APPLY

Structural Engineers Society of New Zealand (SESOC) Conference 2023

Application for Travel Scholarship For SEAOC Younger Member

This scholarship will be awarded to a SEAOC Member 35 years or younger to attend the 2023 SESOC Conference, June 21 to 23, 2023 in Christchurch, New Zealand.

The scholarship will provide reimbursement of expenses up to $4,500.00 U.S. and is intended to substantially cover the costs of travel and attendance. Funding for the scholarship is provided by SEAOC member donations to the SEAOC Foundation.

The intent of the scholarship is to help build long-standing bonds between two of the world’s premier structural engineering societies, SESOC and SEAOC. Applicants should have interest in helping to develop and maintain these bonds through collaboration in technical, practice, engineering engagement and equity, and other related areas. The recipient will be asked to make a presentation at the SESOC Conference and is asked to provide a proposed abstract (300-word maximum) as part of the scholarship application.

Applicants are required to be a full Member or Member SE of one of the SEAOC Member Organizations (SEAOSD, SEAOSC, SEAONC, SEAOCC), 35 years old or younger (on June 21, 2023), to be eligible for the scholarship.
Submission deadline is March 6, 2023
Scholarship recipients will be notified by March 27, 2023

APPLY HERE

SEAOC 2023 Convention

Call for Abstracts

The Structural Engineers Association of California issues this Call for Papers to be presented at the 2023 Annual Convention to be held at the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort & Spa in Maui, Hawaii, Sept. 6-9, 2023.

Innovation for the Future is the theme of Technical Program. The emphasis is on structural design of buildings and other structures for both building design as well as non-building structures for natural hazards. Subject areas include anything that you as an engineer find exciting and interesting. Tie-ins to the following are welcome but not required:

Building codes and standards
Cities & Politics (city ordinances, future codes/legislation, etc.)
Healthcare
Business and Economic Impacts
Use of Innovation for better resilience

Papers presented at the SEAOC Convention will be published in the 2023 SEAOC PROCEEDINGS. All speakers presenting papers at the convention are expected to use commercially available computer presentation software.

Interested parties should submit brief abstracts (300 words or less) of their papers on or before March 6, 2023 via the Call for Abstracts form by clicking here .

The Technical Program Committee will review the abstracts; authors will be notified by May 1, 2023, regarding acceptance. Final Papers by selected authors shall be submitted by July 17, 2023. Detailed instructions for the complete manuscripts will be sent to prospective authors with the acceptance notification.

If you have any questions, please email SEAOCConventionTechnical@seaoc.org

SUBMIT YOUR ABSTRACT

Meet the SEAOC Board