President's Message

Emily Guglielmo, SE, PE, F.SEI

2023-2024 SEAOC President

You have received an early warning of an impending major earthquake.

How early?

30 seconds: You exit vulnerable buildings. Drop, cover, and hold on.

5 days: You stock up on food and water. Fill the car with gas. Pack an emergency supply kit. Purchase a backup generator. Sign up for alerts through the Earthquake Warning California.

1 year: You purchase earthquake insurance. Bolt and brace your cripple walls. Buy replacement windows. Take ATC-20, Post Earthquake Safety Evaluation of Buildings training.

5 years. Or 10 years. Or 20 years. What should you do? What should you ask of your neighbors, your utility companies, your government?

And what does SEAOC do? It is not in the power or responsibility of SEAOC to predict the next big California earthquake, nor to be granted a deferment of five or ten years to plan and prepare. However, it is our duty to act with preparedness goals now in anticipation of the future. We must be active on many fronts including standards development, retrofit measures, post-earthquake support for the California Office of Emergency Services, and continuing education on seismic design. In the past year alone, your professional organization has been active on numerous fronts:

Launched the SEAOC Disaster Response Plan to ensure a timely response after a major event to support our communities in recovery.

Disaster Emergency Services (DES) Committee, chair Stefanie Rae Arizabel & Communications Committee, co-chairs Joyce Feng, Sikandar Porter-Gill

Developed Vulnerable Building Fact Sheets for engineers in communicating risk to building officials, government agencies, and the public.

Existing Buildings Committee, Chairs Christian Botto and Eric Fuller

Issued Calls to Action urging FEMA to reauthorize and fund the National Earthquake Hazard Reduction Program (NEHRP).

Legislative Committee, chair Ryan Kersting

Encouraged the Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists (BPELSG) for select state’s vital and complex structures be designed by licensed Structural Engineers.

Licensure Committee, chair Carl Josephson

Planned an upcoming policy forum for SEAOC Volunteers in San Francisco to share processes and opportunities for member participation in the SEAOC consolidated vision to advance advocacy.

Legislative Committee, chair Devon Lumbard

Encouraged the design community and public to review ATC’s newly published FEMA P-807-1 report regarding the behavior of soft, weak, or open front (SWOF) buildings to enhance the performance of these vulnerable structures.

Existing Buildings Committee

Embedded involvement Functional Recovery Standards development through the NEHRP Provisions Update Committee (PUC) with SEAOC members serving key leadership roles and ensuring coordination with the SEAOC community.

Seismology Committee, chair Rahul Sharma & Resilience Committee, co-chairs Anna Lang, Jonathan Buckalew

Hosted nationwide webinars to remind and educate engineers on the critical nature of seismic anchoring of non-structural components.

Continuing Education Committee, co-chairs Joyce Fuss, Bernard Cruz

Invested in the development of the next version of the SEAOC Structural Seismic Design Manuals (SSDM).

SEAOC member Katy Briggs and SEAOC Past-President Rafael Sabelli, project managers

As we plan for the future, SEAOC commits to a renewed focus on education, advocacy, and collaboration. The recent Southern California earthquakes remind us that it is not if, but when, California will be faced with a response to “the big one”. As you ponder your personal readiness, recognize that today’s actions will determine tomorrow’s resilience.

SEAOC Adopts Sustainable Design Policy

SEAOC's Board of Directors has adopted the following statement authored by the SEAOC Sustainable Design Committee:

SEAOC recognizes the need for coordinated action across all communities to achieve globally stated decarbonization goals. As such, we support public policy and industry efforts to reduce embodied carbon in the built environment. This includes promoting requirements and incentives for the adaptive reuse or retrofit of existing buildings, use of low-carbon construction materials, design for resilient buildings, exploration of more efficient design and construction methods, and reduction of construction waste

The SEAOC policy statement acknowledges that society is at a critical moment for ensuring a sustainable future in the face of accelerating climate change. The global community has set an ambitious target in the 2015 Paris Agreement to limit global warming to no more than 1.5°C. This objective necessitates halving emissions by 2030 and achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, based on scientific consensus. Initiatives such as SE 2050 are working to educate engineers and empower them to promote and assist in making responsible changes in construction practices.

"Advocacy and public policy play a pivotal role in amplifying our impact on a larger scale," said SDC Chair Luke Lombardi, SE. "Engineers are uniquely positioned to provide innovative solutions for meeting environmental goals and enhancing sustainable construction practices for the future."

SEAOC & AIA CA Joint Webinar: CALGreen Embodied Carbon Series

SEAOC and AIA California are pleased to offer the first of four free webinars on changes to California’s Green Building Code, starting with an introductory presentation at 12 noon – 1 p.m. today Wed., Feb. 21.

The CALGreen Embodied Carbon series is a joint educational program between the SEAOC Sustainable Design Committee and AIA CA. The series addresses code amendments adopted by the California Building Standards Commission (CBSC) on Aug 2, 2023 that focus on reducing embodied carbon emissions in large-scale building construction projects. Understanding these changes is crucial, as compliance becomes mandatory starting July 1, 2024.

“Structural Engineers hold a critical position as designers and material specifiers. We know our structures best,” said Luke Lombardi, SE, Chair of SEAOC’s Sustainable Design Committee. “Emerging regulatory changes in CalGreen are a sign of imminent and necessary transition to reduce harmful environmental impacts, and in California, we have the opportunity to exemplify actionable and meaningful change.”

In this introductory program, experts from the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) and New Buildings Institute (NBI) will lead the session focusing on the compliance pathways and requirements essential for industry professionals. They will offer a detailed overview of the regulations related to embodied carbon and insights into the future development of California’s state code. The webinar also includes a segment on resources available to assist professionals in adapting to these changes.

Participants will develop a clear understanding of the concept of embodied carbon and its impact on climate change. They will also learn about the progression of embodied carbon policies leading to the adoption of state-level codes and gain an in-depth understanding of the 2022 California Green Building Standards Code amendments. Finally, the webinar will provide strategies for effectively adhering to and excelling under these new standards in various projects.

Structural Design for Seismic Design Category C: New Webinar Series with NCSEA

This new webinar series centers around the structural design of buildings and systems categorized under Seismic Design Category (SDC) C. It caters not only to engineers specializing in the regular design of SDC C structures but also to those accustomed to working on structures falling within other seismic design categories (i.e., SDC A, B, D, E & F). Enhancing your understanding of Structural Design for SDC C not only positions you for future opportunities but also elevates your overall engineering expertise.

This Seminar will be delivered in five 1.5-hour webinars and presented by some of the industry’s experts on seismic design in moderate seismic zones.

This webinar series will provide an overview of the many facets of designing structures for SDC C. It will feature presentations that discuss the following topics:

The design requirements that are unique to Seismic Design Category (SDC) C buildings and systems
The differences between SDC C structural design compared to a structure designed to SDC D
The design of reinforced masonry shear walls for SDC C using finite element models
The design of reinforced concrete shear walls in SDC C that are constructed using the tilt-up construction method
Anchorage of reinforced concrete walls to light-framed diaphragms
Overview of the ACI 318 and ASCE 7 requirements for designing reinforced concrete structures for SDC C
Illustrations of the design process for SDC C buildings using a steel-framed building structure example and a hospital case study

The registration fee for the Seminar is $595 for members ($995 for nonmembers), which includes all 7.5 hours of education. Each individual webinar can be purchased separately for $250 for members ($300 for nonmembers). Recordings of the webinars will be available to view at any time after the live seminar. The entire series will provide 7.5 PDHs; 1.5 per individual webinar.

FULL SERIES SCHEDULE

February 22