SEAOSC News - September 2019

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SEPTEMBER 2019

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Ken O'Dell, SE

President

Greetings,

September traditionally begins the “new year” for SEAOSC with members returning from summer activities to our Committee Showcase and Welcome Dinner. As always, this year the event provided the opportunity for members to re-engage with committees while enjoying happy hour reconnecting with colleagues. This year was also unique with the State Convention occurring before our September meeting. The Central California team presented a great event in a great location. With these two event happening so close together I wanted to share a few thoughts.

SEAOSC NEWS

Have you Renewed your 2019-2020 Membership?

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Thank you for your continued membership support!

SEAOSC has the professional distinction and influence it does today because of our past leaders, you and 1,100 of our colleagues. Your membership strengthens our organization and helps to position it as the premier professional organization to which local structural engineers belong. SEAOSC represents you in the noble profession of structural engineering by fostering and promoting the contributions of structural engineers to society.

To maximize your membership, we encourage you take advantage of the many of the member benefits intended for you and these are shown in our Make an Impact membership flyer. One of the benefits available to SEAOSC SE and PE members for a fee is the ability to participate in the online SEAOSC Member Search service . This service is intended to help the public find Structural Engineers and Professional Engineers specializing in a particular area of structural engineering.

Your membership and participation helps increase the visibility of our profession and its value as well as increasing our influence and impact to make a greater positive difference together than we could individually.

Renewals are now due on the anniversary of your join date so you will receive the full one-year benefit of your membership.

SEAOC Conference Recap from our YM Stipend Winners

Jeena Rachel Jayamon, Ph.D.

Structural Engineer, John A. Martin & Associates

SEAOC Convention 2019 is the first SEAOC convention I attended after started working in Southern California. I started the conference by attending the opening plenary session on wildfire and climate changes. Having little to no knowledge about wildfires, the talk gave me great insight about why does wildfire occur and how to reduce the risk and damages of fire. Similarly, the closing plenary session about rebuilding after wildfire also gave me several perspectives about the current societal needs on the wake of wildfire hazard. Among the technical sessions, I had attended several talks on seismic retrofit applications, and code requirements; assessment of non-ductile concrete buildings; seismic performance of wood systems. Apart from the technical events, I had been to several booths in the expo hall where I learned about several products including software and connection solutions. The convention was a great platform for me to reconnect and meet several of my professional contacts, previous colleagues, and friends. I wholeheartedly thank SEAOSC for awarding the scholarship and thereby giving me an opportunity to attend the convention. Looking forward to attend many more SEAOC conventions and technical activities in future.

Milad Oliaee, PE, PHd

Holmes Structures

The SEAOC convention had many non-practitioners attend to my surprise. I saw my old professor (and advisor) from UC Berkeley along with some of his doctoral students. I also had some interesting conversations with sponsors showcasing new developments for streamlining building systems and increasing building heights with wood products. I saw speakers share the stage for papers that I helped start 8 months prior. Some presenters had hands on experience to offer, others analysis, and some regulatory/public policy issues to present to listeners. The common ground for all these convention attendees was the strive for excellence and position promotion of the profession, which I think was the original premise for the organization to form.

Kathy Rhee

Nous Engineering

This year’s SEAOC Annual Convention was held in Squaw Creek, Lake Tahoe. It was my first time attending a SEAOC event, let alone an event outside of Southern California. I learned from so many diﬀerent brief albeit informational seminars throughout the conference. Each of the speakers and presenters provided a general introduction on their topic and segued smoothly to the technical details of their study. I learned that short nails used in lieu of 10d common edge nails in wood shear wall panels have 20% less capacity, although industry likes to use shorter nails. I also learned that, in laboratory testing, the failure of a non-ductile concrete shear wall is manifested in horizontal crack planes and that the wall has significant base rotation. Fiber reinforced polymers wrapped at the boundary element zone of the shear wall would mitigate cracking and prevent lateral buckling of longitudinal bars. In soft-story buildings (typically with a garage opening with perimeter columns supporting the upper level living space), there is a technique of reinforcing the existing wood beam and column. The wrap around frame method consists of enclosing the existing framing with steel plates and channels. Pre-determing the plastic hinge and buckling restrainer locations allows for maximized performance design in the moment frame. I learned that by 2030 or later, OSHPD would like all SPC-2 category hospitals be turned into SPC-4D rated hospitals.

One particular seminar that piqued my interest was that of Dr Kit Miyamoto on the repair and strengthening of earthquake damaged UNESCO ancient palace Gaddi Baithak in Nepal. The neo-classical style heritage building, originally built in 1907, was damaged in the corners, with complete column failures and out of plane failures. As part of UNESCO’s design guidelines, no material outside of that existing in the building would be introduced in its renovation. Building was comprised of mud mortar, timber roof truss, ceilings and floors, steel straps and tin. The foundation of Kathmandu, the city in which the monument stands, is made of gel-like, soft clay. Measures were taken to reinforce the corners of the building, the existing truss elements connecting perpendicular to the walls, and providing a ring diaphragm made of wood. The overall improvement of the structure’s design allowed for an analytical displacement reduction of 8” to 4”, a stress ratio of less than unity and such. Not only was this retrofit a structural improvement and restoration of the damaged heritage site, it brought hope to the people of Nepal in the aftermath of the 2015 earthquake.

Not only were these seminars informational, I was able to attend the social events hosted by YMF. The casino night allowed me to meet fellow structural engineers in the industry. I was able to establish connections and also ask them about their own experiences in their companies. Unsurprisingly, the majority of YMF attendees were based in Northern California. I was happy to meet engineers outside of my own work place and discuss commonalities. Also, in the expo hall, I was able to find out more on industry alternatives on applications like holddown systems and bolted connections.

The wealth of information and studies from all these seminars greatly expanded my structural knowledge and curiosity. I hope that I will be able to use the knowledge and information in my own projects at work and be able to reference them in future discussions or in-house studies. Attending the SEAOC Convention has inspired me to be more involved in the organization and possibly contribute to the studies as a presenter or organizer. I am grateful to SEAOSC for allowing me with the stipend to attend the conference and benefit greatly from it.

Gene Kum

BuroHappold Engineering

There’s something about being up in the mountains that really stimulates deep thinking and reflection. It could have very well been the fresh mountain air that was filling my head as opposed to the fumes of downtown Los Angeles, but you definitely can’t deny the sublime relationship we have with nature.

Speaking of nature, we are in the midst of a global climate crisis. Wildfires, tsunamis, earthquakes, tornados, hurricanes, drought – all disasters which in turns leads to consequences for people. As a younger structural engineer, it was inspiring for me to see our profession take a stance on disasters and pursue work that mitigates the impact they have on our communities. The first keynote session really set the tone, where we heard from experts who addressed how we as structural engineers might enter the realm of wildfires and protecting our forests as well as buildings. The technical sessions featured many topics ranging from how to design high rises in high seismic zones to historic building repairs to innovations in materials and technology. All of this knowledge helped me appreciate my chosen profession, but there was one particular moment that stood out to me.

For one of our evening events, we were up at High Camp in approximately 8200 ft. elevation, and the view was undeniably breathtaking. However, while standing there, you soon begin to notice that the excitement wasn’t all about the scenery or what’s around you, but the company you are with. SEAOC is a very special organization, and I realized that when I saw our professionals and industry partners come together to cherish being in the moment. For me, that was reconnecting with old classmates and friends from far away, putting faces to the names I’ve communicated with only via email, and making new connections to celebrate our work with.

As society changes and our technology advances, I hope that we as a member-based organization can continue to focus on our people. I believe younger engineers should take time to ask questions, listen, and continue the path that was forged by our more experienced colleagues. I believe experienced engineers should share their knowledge, embrace the new generation and make time to help us in our development. I think the SEAOC Convention is an ideal place for us all to do that. So, thank you SEAOC and the 2019 Convention Committee. It was only my first convention, but your efforts made a lasting impression on me. I would also like to thank my home organization SEAOSC for awarding me this opportunity to attend this summit and my company BuroHappold Engineering for supporting me in the realm of professional development. I hope to back in the years to come, regardless of location.

Donations have been Accepted for Earthquake Recovery Aid, with Matching Offer by Optimum Seismic

Due to the outpouring of response by our local Structural Engineering community to those affected by the recent Ridgecrest Earthquakes SEAOSC has provide technical support to the Searles Valley community. In addition to this technical support, the SEAOSC Foundation has collected donations from our SEAOSC Members for the Searles Valley EQ Relief fund which has been generously matched with a donation of $2500 from Optimum Seismic. The over $3000 collected donation will be provided to the Red Cross in support of the “Searles Valley EQ Disaster Relief”.

We thank SEAOSC Members and Optimum Seismic for their generous support of this effort. Please contact Dianne Ochoa, SEAOSC Foundation Executive Director, if you have any questions.

SEAOSC Committee Updates

SEAOSC 2019 Golf Tournament another Success!

SEAOSC held their annual golf tournament on Monday, 12 August 2019 at Friendly Hills Country Club in Whittier, California. We were treated to great weather this year with sunny skies in the mid 80’s and little wind. This year we had nearly 100 golfers and attendees at dinner making this one of the largest events of recent past. Special thanks to our Eagle Sponsors: ASC Steel Deck, Hilti, Sika, and Nucor-Vulcraft/Verco, and our Hole-in-One Sponsors: Simpson Strong-Tie, DuraFuse Frames and Concrete West Construction. 1 ^st place tournament winners were Jeff Crosier (he’s back!), Roger Egge, Dan McCarthy, and Larry Nelson with an impressive score of 56 (19 under par). 2 ^nd place tournament winners were Bernard Cruz, Chris Cody, Chris Haight and Nicholas Ha who had an impressive score of 59 (14 under par). Closest to the pin awards went to Kevin O’Connell and Nick Ha. Long drive awards went to Tracy (AKA Don) Kahn and Nick Ha. Accurate drive award went to Jim Kaylor.

Thank you to everyone who came out in support of SEAOSC and we hope to see everyone again next year!

Craig Chamberlain

Golf Tournament Chair

Click Here to View all the Golf Tournament Photos

Happy 2019-20 SEAOSC Year from the Women in Structural Engineering (WiSE) Committee

Where has the time flown? As mentioned February 2019 newsletter , WiSE has been around since July 2015 and we have grown many times over. We now have over 40 members of the committee and have created our mission and vision statements as follows:

SEAOSC Women in Structural Engineering Committee Mission

Women in Structural Engineering (WiSE) facilitates mentorship and leadership opportunities to enhance professional development and provide a forum to recognize the valuable contributions women and under- represented members, make in the engineering industry.

SEAOSC Women in Structural Engineering Committee Vision

Our goal is to build and promote a positive environment that supports the importance of maintaining a diverse talent base throughout the industry. With a focus on creating opportunities that cultivate the development of structural engineers, we aim to raise awareness of our impactful contributions to the profession.

In May we curated the 2019 SEAOSC SEIZE YOUR OPPORTUNITY -Leadership Symposium

WiSE was proud to host its 2 ^nd annual Leadership Symposium on Wednesday, May 8 at the Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. The SEAOSC SEIZE YOUR OPPORTUNITY Leadership Symposium built off the momentum of last year’s Stand Out from the Crowd Symposium to bring together our future and current leaders for the intensive daylong event. Presented by the Women in Structural Engineering (WiSE) Committee and with the generous sponsorship of Computer Structures Inc., (CSI) as well as in partnership with AIA Los Angeles Women in Architecture (WiA) and the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) Los Angeles, it was an opportunity for all to elevate their skills and awareness of critical issues facing our community of structural engineers in today’s workplace. The day was filled with critical discussion, mentoring, and soft skills training that allowed attendees to take a big step forward together towards overcoming the challenges in our industry and set the foundation for a more diverse, inclusive, and successful future. The main objectives of the Symposium were to empower attendees to elevate their presence in the industry; explore new skill paths to leadership; create a learning environment that supports the needs of multiple career stages in one event; teach new tools, techniques, and strategies for attendees to become more successful leaders; and provide a space for all to learn from one another.

The day opened with a welcome from the WiSE Committee chair and SEAOSC Past-President Michelle Kam-Biron, S.E., who talked about her own experience in the industry and her passion for helping develop the current and future leaders of the association. The Symposium then heard from Nick Sherrow-Groves, P.E., a Senior Engineer from Arup and co-chair of the NCSEA Structural Engineering, Engagement, and Equity (SE3) project, who revealed results from the recent SE3 nationwide survey and explored best practices on how to improve satisfaction and retention in the profession which includes mentorship. Nick’s though-provoking presentation was followed by a mentor panel featuring Priscilla Chavez, MCA, Manager of Diversity and Inclusion at PCL Construction; Brenda Radmacher, JD/MA/CLMP, Partner at Gordon & Rees; Liz Mahlow, PE, Principal at Nous Engineering; and Kurt Clandening, SE, LEED, Managing Partner at John A. Martin & Associates. The panel was moderated by Rachel Carmona, PE from Coffman Engineers and Cindy Qian, PhD, PE from John A. Martin & Associates, and explored how the panelists have been able to navigate their careers successfully and shared advice on how to be empowered in the workplace. After the panel concluded, attendees were given an opportunity to connect with a larger group of respected mentors from engineering, architecture, academia, and industry in “speed-mentoring” sessions that combined networking, career advice, and stories of inspiration.

SEAOSC invited outside experts for the afternoon sessions to provide members with access to unique professional development classes. Jennifer Blackwell from The Walt Disney Company helped attendees to find their unique voice and personal brand, and provided useful techniques on how to create meaningful personal and professional connections in a high-energy and engaging interactive training session. Crystal Oculee, Chief Financial Strategist from Confidence Wealth Management taught a master class in financial planning and investment, and shared her passion for empowering people through smart investment and long-range planning. The closing keynote speaker for the day was Kimberly Gerber, founder and CEO of Excelerate, a firm that specializes in executive development and communication. Kimberly discussed the important of building social capital in one’s career and encouraged everyone to purposefully create meaningful relationships with people in your professional life who can be a part of your tribe as your career grows. All three of these very talented speakers encouraged the attendees to seize their opportunities! To round out the day, attendees had the opportunity to use some of the skills that they learned throughout the day and speak with speakers and other attendees at the hosted networking event.

With an attendance of nearly 100, it was a hugely successful and impactful event that was made possible through the generous sponsorship of CSI, and the incredible support of the SEAOSC Board of Directors. Many new friendships and professional connections were made and many folks commented on how they felt it was a day very well spent with high value both personally and professionally for them. We look forward to welcoming more attendees at the 2020 Leadership Symposium next year!

Chair: Michelle Kam-Biron, SE, American Wood Council

Vice-Chair: Annie Kao, PE, Simpson Strong-Tie

Steering Committee:

Kim Caravalho, SE, Brandow & Johnston

Rachel Carmona, PE, Coffman Engineers

Patti Harburg-Petrich, SE, Buro Happold

Xiaomi Mitsuhashi, Degenkolb Engineers

Carmen O’Rourke, Degenkolb Engineers

Minye Pak, PE, Los Angeles Department of Building & Safety

Vivian D. Peña , SE, Simpson Gumpertz & Heger

Cindy Qian, PhD, PE, John A. Martin & Associates

Kerry Regan, PE, Buehler Engineering

Amber Zamora, GC, Concrete West

Steering Committee and Mentor Panel Curators:

Rachel Carmona, PE, Coffman Engineers

Cindy Qian, PhD, PE, John A. Martin & Associates

Minye Pak, PE, Los Angeles Department of Building & Safety

We started the 2019-20 SEAOSC Fiscal year with a meeting on August 7 ^th which was very generously hosted by John A. Martin & Associates (JAMA) in their Los Angeles office (Figure 3). The JAMA hosted dinner, drew over 20 women for an evening of networking and in-depth discussion about the challenges many women face in the industry. Breaking out into three groups we identified areas that will be explored in more depth this and next year which include mentorship/career, work-life balance and having a strong voice in the industry. These follow along the lines of the Structural Engineering Engagement & Equity (SE3) Project and we hope to utilize the Best Practices that have been developed by SE3.

If you are interested in hearing more about WiSE or would like to join our eblast, please contact Michelle Kam-Biron, SE, SECB WiSE Chair & Past-President mkambiron@awc.org (805) 498-4864.

SEAOSC EVENTS

Past Dinner Event Highlight - Welcome Event & Committee Showcase

Kicking off the start to a new season for SEAOSC was a successful September Dinner Meeting and Committee Showcase at the luxurious Biltmore Hotel in DTLA. Highlighting the ongoing work and future aspirations for SEAOSC, XXX committees were represented during the Committee Showcase. Committee participation is a great way to contribute to the structural engineering profession, and we’re sure to see great results from the new additions to each committee. Following the showcase, a panel of our very own SEAOSC engineers, along with a geotechnical engineer, discussed a topic that hit close to home for all Southern California residents – the Ridgecrest earthquakes from July 4 ^th and 5 ^th earlier this year. In a particularly relevant and informative session, we learned how the fault rupture characteristics resulted in some “luckier” areas than others, how outside appearances of buildings can sometimes be deceiving, and how the expectations and perception of non-engineers about this type of event do not match with how we, as engineers, view the effects of a large seismic event. While there wasn’t a substantial amount of structural damage that was observed after these quakes, there are certainly many lessons to be learned about public communication, information gathering, and serving our clients. We hope everyone was inspired to be an active committee member within SEAOSC, and to take the lessons of Ridgecrest to heart as we await the next big seismic event.

View Event Photos on the SEAOSC Photo Gallery

INDUSTRY NEWS

SEAOC Statement Regarding UC Building Safety

Recent articles in the Los Angeles Times regarding the vulnerability of University of

California campus buildings (UCLA and UC Berkeley) are stark reminders of our

state’s vulnerability to earthquakes and the need for modern, engineered solutions.

The results of studies recently released for UC, and the damage at the China Lake

Naval Weapons Station following the Searles Valley Earthquake Sequence, highlight

that no organization or agency is immune from seismic risk. These studies, reviewing

campuses with buildings spanning decades of engineering and construction practices,

represent a small microcosm of the communities which surround them. The next,

and broader, question should be, “What is the damage expectation for the cities and

communities of Berkeley, Oakland, Westwood and Los Angeles?”