October 30 | 5-7 p.m. | 1 PDH

Design & Construction of

10 World Trade Boston

Presenters: Han Xu, PE and Stephen Craven, SE

at Thornton Tomasetti, 101 Arch St, Ste. 1600

Photo courtesy of Boston Global Investors

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November 7 & 14 | 12 - 1 p.m. | 2 PDHs

Vibration Design:

2 Key Topics For Structural Engineers

NOV 7:

Rethinking Floor Vibration

Presenter: Pengcheng 'Alex' Zhou | LeMessurier 

NOV 14:

Vibration Control & Supplemental

Damping in Structures 

Presenter: Victor Salcedo | GERB Vibration Control

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Members are encouraged to confer with colleagues from their firms and professional networks, and submit presentation abstracts or suggest future SEAMASS professional development resources of value to fellow members, such as:

• A project profile or technical abstract for a live presentation (in-person or webinar)
• A suggested engineer presenter that you’ve seen elsewhere (other prof. groups)
• A project article or technical resource authored by you or an engineer in your network
• A suggested presentation topic you would like to learn more about 

Please email your suggestions and ideas to programs@seamass.org, and a member of our Board of Directors or Programs Committee will follow up with you.

Arthur is principal of LeBrasseur Engineering in Newton, MA and is currently serving a third term as BASE President. He is a licensed professional engineer in MA, NH, ME and RI, and his small structural engineering firm helps others to realize their dreams of constructing new and renovated buildings. 

Arthur earned his BS in Civil Engineering from the University of NH and initially honed his skills at Edwards & Kelcey and Vollmer Associates in Boston. 

He founded LeBrasseur Engineering in 1991 to focus on providing design, analysis, evaluation, inspection and consultation for residential and small commercial structures. He has answered the questions below to provide deeper insight into his journey and experience. We thank Arthur for his contributions to BASE, SEAMASS and the Structural Engineering profession! 



As an engineer, what accomplishments are you most proud of?  

I am most proud to be in this field after completing … LEARN MORE

The Structural Engineering Emergency Response (SEER) committee continues to work with the leaders from OPSI, MEMA, MA Task Force-1 and ICC government relations to work toward a coordinated post-disaster response system. The SEER committee has initiated a meeting between the groups to assure that all can effectively respond to a disaster weather it be through an EMAC (Emergency Mutual Aid Compact) request to other states, or, through an IMAC (Intrastate Mutual Aid Compact) requests between MA towns, cities and counties.

Of importance is serving as a resource not only here in MA, but also for other states that may be in need, through MEMA and an EMAC request.

Recent hurricanes Helen and Milton have devastated portions of Florida and other southeast region states. Florida has issued a request through the Disaster Response Alliance (DRA) for volunteers to help with post-disaster building assessments. View the DRA message. The Beverly, MA-based Task Force 1 deployed to North Carolina for search and rescue efforts. North Carolina anticipates it will be up to 2 weeks before second responders are deployed for post disaster building evaluations.

Can volunteers from MA help? The committee is establishing a database of volunteer second responders certified in post-disaster rapid building assessments. In coordination with NSCEA’s SEER committee, we are working to establish a better path forward for design professionals who want to volunteer their services should a disaster occur here or in other states.  

The long-anticipated 10th Edition of the MA State Building Code has been promulgated effective October 11. The Code will be based on the 2021 I-codes with MA amendments. The efforts of our SEAMASS members who serve on the Codes Structural Advisory Committee have helped shape the 2021 IEBC including additional requirements and commentary on seismic hazards, structural damage, and repair following the effects of overloading damage from snow. Learn more about snow damage and repair in the STRUCTURE Magazine article-link below. SEAMASS is coordinating a multi-week seminar series on understanding the structural provisions to the 10th Edition in January.

An article by Michael Fillion, PE titled 2024 International Existing Building Code and Snow Load Damage Repairs is featured on pg 60 of the Sept 2024 issue of STRUCTURE Magazine. With the 10th Edition MA State Building Code now in effect, the IEBC will include updates regarding repairs to buildings with snow load damage. The article provides clarification regarding repairs when there is substantial or less than substantial structural damage due to snow load.

Page 42 of the Oct 2024 issue of STRUCTURE Magazine features an article by Nate Roy, PE From Past to Present: A History of the Structural Evolution of Boston’s Quincy Market. Nate looks back further than recent efforts to adapt, reuse and transform the building into a marketplace and shares how the Quincy Market structure has been repaired, reinforced, and replaced over nearly 200 years to support evolving use while preserving historic form and appearance.

Wednesday, OCTOBER 30 | 6:30 – 7:30 p.m.

Panel Discussion: First Years as a Structural Engineer 

In person at Wentworth Institute of Technology OR via ZOOM 

FREE EVENT (RSVP Requested)

Moderator Panel and their Focus of Engineering Expertise:

John Brooks, PE of HNTB | Focus: Bridge engineering

Chelsea Hoplin, PE of GEI Consultants | Focus: Geo-structural Engineering

Brandon Lathe of Wiss, Janney, Elstner | Focus: Facade/Forensic engineering

John Mann, EIT of RDH Building Science | Focus: PHIUS - Verification & Energy

Annabelle Mathers of LA Fuess Partners | Focus: Structural engineering

Jerson Olano, PE of Desimone Consulting | Focus: Structural, International student

VIEW FULL DETAILS and RSVP

Structurally-focused Tour of

The Paul Revere House, Boston

In September, YMG members toured the oldest structure in downtown Boston, as well as neighboring Pierce/Hitchborn House (typically not open to the public). Special thanks to Tegan Kehoe from The Paul Revere House for her research on the architectural history of the two buildings and for guiding the tour. Following the tour, participants gathered at Bell in Hand, America's oldest tavern.

Habitat for Humanity Build Day

On June 22, SEAMASS YMG supported Habitat for Humanity’s Build Day in Cohasset, MA.

Our team was one of the very first crews onsite.

Particpants are pictured, from left: Clay Harman, PE, Annabelle Mathers, Orion Paul, PE, Jason Strauss, John Mann, EIT, and Brandon Lathe 

Chelsea is a Design Engineer at McNamara Salvia in Boston and serves as Coordinator of Events and Social Media with the SEAMASS Young Member Group for 2024-25.  Her structural engineering experience primarily focuses on serving commercial clients. She is passionate about high-rise structures and sports/entertainment venue design. She earned her BS in Civil Engineering from the University of Southern California and MS in Structural Engineering at MIT. 

She has answered the questions below to provide insight into her journey and experience. We thank Chelsea for her contributions to SEAMASS and the Structural Engineering profession!

Why did you join SEAMASS? 

I joined SEAMASS to help build a sense of community in the Boston Area as I had recently graduated from a one-year program and had relatively no friends or family in the area. Joining SEAMASS, I was able to meet other younger engineers that I could relate to and had faced similar challenges.

As an engineer, what accomplishments are you most proud of?  

As an engineer, I am super-proud to have been involved…  LEARN MORE 

The 2024 NCSEA Structural Engineering Summit will be held from November 5-8 in Las Vegas. SEAMASS members Bassem Almuti, PE, LEED AP BD & C, Michael Fillion, PE, and YMG member Brandon Lathe will participate, and Eric Johnson, PE and Mark Rivard, SE will present seminars. 

This brief 2:27-minute video summary shares how the Summit benefits participants.

Featured sessions will explore advancements and best practices in structural engineering and building and design codes via education sessions and the Exhibit Hall. Participants will discuss technical, business, and industry challenges, and work toward solutions in a collaborative community. You can earn up to 14 PDHs at the Summit and gain cutting-edge insights to propel your career forward. View the lineup of expert speakers, engaging keynotes, and full schedule, and visit ncseasummit.com to learn more or register to participate.

SEAMASS Scholarship Recipient Receives NCSEA Scholarship

Congratulations to 2023 SEAMASS Student Scholarship winner Baiyu Chen on being awarded a 2024 Diversity in Structural Engineering Scholarship by the NCSEA Foundation. Scholarships range from $3,000 to $5,000 in support of historically underrepresented students pursuing careers in structural engineering. Baiyu is currently pursuing her doctoral degree at Northeastern University. She is passionate about developing innovative structural systems to tackle contemporary environmental challenges such as sustainability and extreme weather conditions. VIEW FULL DETAILS

We SEE Above and Beyond celebrates the vital and valuable contribution Structural Engineers make to society. It promotes the ways that Structural Engineers support the vision and construction of places where we all live, work, and play.

This 2-minute video explains the value of Structural Engineering Excellence.