The year ahead is going to be an exciting one!

It feels like the industry is changing faster than ever. From the long-anticipated code update to the use of AI to inclusion of sustainability and embodied carbon as design parameters, we have many things to consider in developing new designs or evaluating existing structures.

I am honored to be among the many dedicated structural engineers in Massachusetts that are tirelessly working to share our knowledge and promote our role in the world.  

One hundred participants gathered on May 8 for the SEAMASS 2024 Annual Meeting, held at the UMass Club on One Beacon Street in Boston. Special recognition and thanks to NCSEA Executive Director Alfred Spada for coming to Boston to meet with the SEAMASS Board and kick off the 2024-25 fiscal year with our state’s SEA members and guests.

Outgoing SEAMASS president Nathan Roy, PE recapped the year’s successful programs, commended the board and committees for their dedication, and thanked SEAMASS Sponsors for their support. He was presented with a plaque in recognition of his service by incoming president David Schnerch, Ph.D, PE. Schnerch then shared his vision and priorities for 2024-25; welcomed new board members Kyle Karschner, PE and Justin Kordas, PE; and thanked outgoing Board members Bassem Almuti, PE, LEED AP BD+C and Nikki Byl, PE.

CAST CONNEX, represented by Jacinda Collins, PE, was the event sponsor.

The featured presenters were Cawsie Jijina, PE and Steve Reichwein PE, SE of Severud Associates Consulting Engineers PC, structural engineers for The Sphere in Las Vegas, an immersive-experience performance venue with approx. 606,000 sq. ft of area encapsulated in a 515-ft-diameter, 325-ft-tall semi-spherical enclosure that features several distinct structural portions as well as the largest and highest-resolution LED screen in the world.

They shared their fascinating journey of designing innovative solutions to create the largest spherical structure on Earth, as well as the challenges they overcame throughout the project’s successful construction. Attendees earned 1.0 hours of PDH credits.

Past Presidents at the SEAMASS 2024 Annual Meeting

Attendees, from left:

Cynthia Chabot, PE (2006-08)

Edward Moll, PE (2009-11)

Michael Fillion, PE (2014-15)

Arthur LeBrasseur, PE (BASE 2023-24)

Jeffrey Struble, PE (2016-17)

Doug Antholz, PE (2020-21)

Bassem Almuti, PE, LEED AP BD+C (2022-23)

Nathan Roy, PE (2023-24)

David Schnerch, Ph.D, PE (2024-25)

Not pictured: Craig Barnes, PE (2008-09); Richard Croswell, PE (2011-13); Wayne Siladi, PE (2013-14); Michael J. Berry, PE (2015-16); David A. Morand, PE (2017-19); William Lovallo, PE (2019-20); Lisa Davey, PE (2021-22)

From Left: Bassem Almuti, PE, LEED AP BC+D (Outgoing Past President); Nathan Roy, PE (Past President); Eric Johnson, PE (Director); Brian Twomey, PE (Secretary); Robert Kane, PE (Director); David Schnerch, Ph.D., PE (President); Kyle Karschner, PE (Director); Graham Carr, PE (Director); Nikki Byl, PE (Outgoing Director); Ellen Swanson, PE (Director); David Ferdman, PE (Treasurer); Justin Kordas, PE (Director). Not pictured: Han Xu, PE (Vice President)

Photo 1: SEAMASS 2023-24 President Nathan Roy, PE; Scholarship Winner Joseph Mirza; and Scholarship Committee Chair Graham Carr, PE.   Photo 2: Scholarship Winner Samantha Gable.

Congratulations to the SEAMASS 2024 Engineering Student Scholarship winners! Two scholarships of $2,000 each were awarded to Samantha Gable, a rising Sophomore at WPI, and Joseph Mirza, a Senior at Northeastern University. 

The opportunity was open to all undergraduate and graduate students in ABET-accredited Civil or Architectural Engineering programs, either studying at a MA University or an MA resident. The SEAMASS Scholarship Committee received a wide variety of applicants, and was encouraged by the talent and experiences of each engineering student. All applicants were invited to enjoy one year of complimentary SEAMASS/NCSEA Student Membership.

Tuesday, JULY 16, 2024

Noon - 1:00 p.m. ET | 1.0 PDH

Innovative Solutions for

Industrial Floors

Design Methods of Slabs-on-Ground

Optimization Methods of Industrial Floors

Discontinuous vs. Continuous Reinforcement

Typical Industry Fiber Types – Behavior Segmentation

Sustainability in Industrial Floors

Presenter: Nick Karam, PE | Regional Sales Engineer 

Bekaert Construction | USA Building Products Grp. 

WEBINAR - Access provided upon Registration

VIEW FULL DETAILS and REGISTER NOW

Thursday, AUGUST 8, 2024

Noon - 1:00 p.m. ET | 1.0 PDH

PROJECT SPOTLIGHT:

Fanny Appleton Pedestrian Bridge

Location: To Be Announced

Presenter: William (Bill) Goulet, SE, PE

Senior Associate | STV

SAVE THE DATE

Full Details & Online Registration forthcoming

Justin A. Kordas, PE is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who has built a notable career in the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) sector. His dedication to sustainability drives his proactive efforts to reduce embodied carbon in structural systems. Justin's expertise is recognized through his roles as a voting member of ACI Committee 377, which focuses on Performance-Based Structural Integrity & Resilience of Concrete Structures, and as an associate member of ACI Committees 355 (Anchorage to Concrete) and 315 (Details of Concrete Reinforcement).

He actively contributes to sustainability initiatives by collaborating with various Boston-area working groups. In addition to his professional endeavors, Justin shares his knowledge by teaching Analysis and Design of Steel Structures at UMass Dartmouth and mentoring undergraduates on their Senior Design Projects. He also mentors for the ACE Mentor Program in Rhode Island, helping high school students explore careers in architecture, construction, and engineering. His commitment to the profession extends to his service on the board of directors of both SEAMASS and AIA Rhode Island.

Justin holds a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from UMass Dartmouth and a Master of Science in Structural Engineering from Northeastern University. He has answered the questions below to give us a deeper insight into his journey and contributions. Thank you, Justin, for your dedication to SEAMASS and the structural engineering field!

Why did you join SEAMASS? I joined SEAMASS with the primary goal of ... READ MORE

I'm happy to report that the Board of Building Regulations and Standards (BBRS) has voted to ratify the 10th edition of the Massachusetts State Building Code 780 CMR after several years of hard work by the board and subcommittees, and public input.

The 10th edition has been submitted to the Secretary of State's office and the concurrency period will begin when it receives a filing date. The 9th and 10th editions will be valid during the concurrency period until January 1, 2025 at which time the 9th edition will become obsolete.

I am also honored to be elected as BBRS Chair for FY 2024, and look forward to working with the Board and all stakeholders in the coming months.  For details as they become available, visit this mass.gov page:  MA State Building Code – 780 CMR 

The SEAMASS Structural Engineers Emergency Response (SEER) Committee met on June 18th at the SGH office in Waltham.

Attendees included Bill Nash, Senior Regional Manager of Government Relations with International Code Council (ICC) and directors from the Office of Public Safety and Inspections (OPSI) including Dan Walsh, Assistant Chief of Inspectors and Rob Anderson, former Chief of Inspectors. SEER directors present were Michael Fillion (Chair), Clayton Brown, David Morand, Orion Paul, Jeffrey Struble, David Schnerch, John Thomsen and Tom Gatzunis (past commissioner of the MA Department of Public Safety).

Bill Nash discussed opportunities for ICC to provide building code and Structural Assessment Program (SAP) trainings through the ICC and local ICC Chapters. Of interest is ICC’s When Disaster Strikes (WDS) training for post disaster building assessments. WDS training has been modified from 1.5 days to a new, 6-7 hour session. WDS and Cal OES SAP training (through which many of our members have been certified) were discussed.

The Committee also discussed options for efficiently maintaining a consistently current roster of trained building assessor volunteers as a resource to our government should they require our assistance after an overwhelming disaster. Our goal is to maintain relationships with OPSI, Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA), Massachusetts’s FEMA Urban Search and Rescue MA-Tasc Force-1 and the ICC’s Disaster Response Alliance.

We are planning trainings relative to emergency disaster response including a data collection app survey field exercise this fall. Our next meeting is scheduled for September 2024. New participants are welcome; please email me to learn more. 

Clay Harman is a Project Engineer at RDH Building Science, Inc. in Boston and serves as the SEAMASS Young Member Group (YMG) Chair for 2024-25. He has more than five years of structural engineering experience, primarily serving building owners, property managers, and institutional clients.

Clay is passionate about forensic engineering, historic preservation, and designing environmentally friendly solutions. He earned his B.S. in Civil Engineering from Wentworth Institute of Technology and his M.S. in Structural Engineering Mechanics and Materials from the University of California, Berkeley. 

He has answered the questions below to give us a deeper insight into his journey and contributions. Thank you, Clay, for your contributions to SEAMASS and the Structural Engineering profession!

Why did you join SEAMASS? I joined SEAMASS to meet other engineers in the region! The network I’ve developed through SEAMASS has been immensely beneficial thus far in my career. I also joined for the many great learning opportunities that SEAMASS provides, especially programs that detail new and ongoing projects in greater Boston. 

As an engineer, what accomplishments are you most proud of? I’m most proud of the... READ MORE

AUGUST 1: YMG Summer Social

Thursday | 5:30 p.m. | Free with RSVP

SAVE THE DATE for the YMG Summer Social on the roof patio of Cannon Design! Current, new, and prospective YMG members will enjoy games and camaraderie as they connect with new colleagues and kick off the 2024-25 fiscal year. Please encourage the young engineers in your firm to RSVP and participate! This event is generously sponsored by Simpson Strong Tie, represented by Derek Gilbert, PE.  RSVP available soon on the SEAMASS Calendar.

2024 ASCE Steel Bridge Competition

On April 20, SEAMASS YMG President Christine McLaughlin, PE of HNTB and YMG Member Sebastian Sak of Tighe & Bond participated with 13 other volunteer mentors and judges at the (SEAMASS-Sponsored) ASCE Steel Bridge Competition, held at the University of NH.

The annual event attracts university students from around the region (New England & Canada) to compete in a variety of civil engineering events, including the Steel Bridge and Concrete Canoe competitions. Student contestants must design and fabricate steel structures and assemble them within a time limit, loaded to test deflections, sometimes to failure! Winners were: [1] Laval (Canada); [2] UConn; [3] UMass Amherst.

SEAMASS Director Eric Johnson, PE of LeMessurier hosted a SEAMASS Table at the event, where students could register for $25 annual student membership and join our SEAMASS email list to learn about professional development opportunities, YMG events, and more.

2024 NCSEA Structural Summit

Register Early (June 20 - Sept 30) for Reduced Admission Investment

The 2024 NCSEA Structural Engineering Summit will be held from Nov 5–8, 2024 in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand Hotel. Interact with and learn from leaders in the field, curious problem-solvers, and expert speakers. Stay current on advancements and best practices in structural engineering and building and design codes—in education sessions and in the Exhibit Hall. Discuss technical, business, and industry challenges—and work toward solutions in a collaborative community. Build your business and leadership skills. Reconnect and network with those in your professional community. The NCSEA Awards Celebration spotlights ingenuity, creativity, and innovation within the structural engineering world. This year, the awards event is included with Summit registration and purchase.

Structural Engineering Excellence serves as a guiding principle for the profession. NCSEA's We SEE Above & Beyond campaign is a unifying message of what Structural Engineers do and the vital, valuable impact they make within their communities and the world. This campaign page provides more information and several resources.