As we approach the close of another successful year, I want to take a moment to reflect on the incredible work we’ve accomplished together and to express my deep gratitude for your continued involvement in our organization.



One key milestone to mention is the upcoming transition of leadership. In June, we will welcome a new president to guide our association forward. It has been an honor to serve as your president, and I am proud of what we’ve achieved. This success is the result of the dedication and passion each of you brings to our work.

The SEAMASS Board of Directors Nominating Committee is accepting nominations for next year’s Board. Open positions for the upcoming fiscal year (beginning June 2025) include at least two Directors for 3-year terms (June 2025 thru May 2028).

A diverse board with multiple size firms and professionals represented will help SEAMASS fulfill its mission and shape the future of our organization. Please consider this opportunity for yourself, and encourage your professional colleagues to consider how they can contribute to this vibrant organization and benefit from their service.

Email the name and contact info of your nominee(s) to:

Nate Roy, PE, Committee Chair by March 31, 2025

Eligible students enrolled in undergraduate or graduate Civil or Architectural Engineering programs are encouraged to apply for the SEAMASS 2025 Scholarship opportunity. Below is a link to one-page PDF summary with eligibility requirements and application criteria. 

The 2025 application deadline is March 31. 2025 SEAMASS Scholarship Opportunity

APRIL 3, 10, 17, 2024 WEBINAR SERIES

Thursdays | Noon - 1 p.m. ET | 3.0 PDHs

Design Insights for Snow, Flood and Karst Geology

APRIL 3:

Changes in Flood Design ASCE 7-22 Sup 2 & ASCE 24-24

Presenter: Chad H. Vogt, P.E. | Principal | e2engineers

APRIL 10:

Stability, Subsidence and Soil Hazards

Presenters:  Marc Gallagher, PE | Principal | Langan Engineering

Lee Chrisman | Senior Project Manager | Langan Engineering

APRIL 17:

Snow Loads in ASCE 7-22, What's New and Different

Presenter: Michael O’Rourke, Ph.D, PE | Prof. Emeritus Civil Engineering | Rensselaer

VIEW FULL DETAILS and REGISTER NOW

Event Sponsors: HILTI, Lindapter

Tuesday, May 20 | 5:30 - 8:00 p.m. | 1.0 PDH

SEAMASS 2025 Annual Meeting & Dinner with Feature Presentation:

Building One of the World's Tallest Mass Timber Projects

Presented by Nathan Helbach | Co-founder & Chief Executive Officer | Neutral

Come meet the developer of one of the world's tallest Mass Timber Projects and look behind-the-scenes into development from concept to construction. This unique opportunity will bring together colleagues from multiple disciplines (Engineers, Architects, Developers, General Contractors, Manufacturers) to benefit from the presentation and connect with other industry professionals.

Participants will gain a developer's firsthand perspective and insights regarding:

• The developer's role in promoting mass timber construction
• Benefits of using mass timber
• How to finance a mass timber building
• Insurance difficulties related to mass timber
• Design and construction challenges

At 31 stories tall, The Edison is on track to become one of the tallest mass timber buildings in the world.

VIEW FULL DETAILS and REGISTER NOW

Event Sponsors:

Cast Connex, Simpson Strong-Tie, Sterling Structural

Annabelle is a structural engineer at L.A. Fuess Partners Inc. in Boston and serves as Secretary of the SEAMASS Young Members Group for 2024-25. She also serves as the BSCES Student Chapter Committee Chair and Northeastern University Liaison as part of the BSCES Younger Member Group.

At L.A. Fuess, she has worked on a wide range of new-build and retrofit buildings, including aviation, mission critical, education, commercial, historical, residential, and laboratory projects throughout the U.S.

She is passionate about facilitating connections between students, young engineers, and the resources and opportunities offered by engineering societies. A 2022 graduate of Northeastern University, Annabelle earned a B.S. in Civil Engineering with a Structural concentration. She has answered the questions below, so we may get to know her better. Thank you, Annabelle, for your contributions to SEAMASS and the Structural Engineering profession!

Why did you join SEAMASS? I joined SEAMASS to connect with other engineers and to help foster, for others, opportunities and experiences created through the collaboration of engineers of different backgrounds. The vast structural engineering world, with its innumerable projects and career avenues, curiously also feels like... READ MORE

The SEAMASS-coordinated Building Code Boot Camp on February 13 was well received by a full capacity audience. The theme was the newly-adopted 10th Edition of the Massachusetts State Building Code (MSBC) and discussion of code development.

Pictured below, from left: Presenters Lisa Davey, PE, Michael Fillion, PE, and Dominic Kelly.

Lisa Davey, PE of Thornton Tomasetti and Chair of the MA Board of Building Regulations and Standards (BBRS) presented on the Code Development process in Massachusetts.

ABOUT THE TENTH EDITION CMR 780

The tenth edition building code was filed with the Secretary of State on Tuesday, September 24, 2024 and became effective on October 11, 2024. The 9th Edition of the Building Code will apply concurrently with the 10th Edition until June 30, 2025.

Building permit applications for projects utilizing the 9th Edition need to be filed on or before June 30, 2025.

In January, the SEAMASS SEER committee initiated a joint meeting with Directors from MEMA, OPSI, MATF-1 and ICC’s When Disaster Strikes Institute. The meeting was held at the MEMA "Bunker", which is aptly named because it's located 40 feet below ground level! The goal of the meeting was for the agencies to become familiar with each other as well as the resource of trained structural engineering post disaster building assessors that SEER can offer should local governments become overwhelmed following a natural or manmade disaster. 

In order for SEER members to deploy locally or at the request of another state through an Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) between states, they need to be properly trained and have a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with their local government affording them liability protections. MEMA, which handles a multitude of disaster and emergency situations, indicated that the SEER committee should work directly with OPSI, since that is the agency that would require our resources.

Subsequently, the SEER committee met with directors from OPSI and ICC to discuss a relationship between OPSI and SEER. OPSI was presented with sample MOUs for consideration as well as opportunities for the groups to participate in joint training sessions regarding post disaster building assessments and building safety. SEAMASS maintains a great working relationship with OPSI and we are optimistic that both agencies can establish a successful post disaster response alliance. The next SEER committee meeting will take place this Spring; please contact me directly for details.

Code Red Consultants specializes in building, fire protection, life safety, and accessibility code consulting. We work with design, construction, and owner teams to provide code consulting, system design, and inspection, testing & commissioning services.

LEARN MORE: coderedconsultants.com

Harsini Inc. provides structural engineering consulting services for owners, landlords, property managers, developers, architects, contractors, and cities/towns. Expertise includes: Buildings, Underground Structures, Deep Foundations, Retaining Walls, Non-building structures, Industrial platforms, Water/wastewater structures, structural steel connection design, and other structural engineering support for projects of any size and complexity. LEARN MORE: harsiniinc.com

UMI has developed and now manufactures Pozzotive®, an innovative ground-glass pozzolan (GGP) made from 100% recycled post-consumer glass. It is a thoroughly validated, safer, higher-performing material that dramatically decarbonizes concrete, all while creating jobs, reducing infrastructure costs and strengthening our domestic supply chain.  LEARN MORE: pozzotive.com

2024 NCSEA Structural Summit

SEAMASS was well represented at the 2024 NCSEA Structural Engineering Summit in Las Vegas.

Eric Johnson, PE presented a seminar titled The Josiah Quincy Upper School: A High-rise School in Downtown Boston with Unique Design Challenges, and Marc Rivard, SE presented Cross Laminated Timber: From Design to Manufacturing.

Member participants included (pictured in back row) Bassem Almuti, PE, Eric Johnson, PE, Brandon Lathe, Kyle Karschner, PE, plus (not pictured) Michael Fillion, PE, and Marc Rivard, SE. Northeastern University Students (pictured in front row) are Santa Flores Alvarez, Shun Lei Yee, and Baiyu Chen, who received NCSEA Diversity in Structural Engineering Scholarships.

The NCSEA-coordinated We SEE Above & Beyond campaign promotes the vital and valuable contribution Structural Engineers make to society, and explores how Structural Engineers support the vision and construction of the many varied places where we all live, work, and play. The campaign's dedicated website, WeSeeAboveAndBeyond.com, is updated with pages that answer questions frequently asked by Architects, Building Owners and Developers.

Article such as, Engineering the Future: How Structural Engineers Are Addressing 2025’s Biggest Challenges, are also available on the News page of the updated campaign website.