Megan Stringer, SEAONC President

Are we the last of a dying breed? I can’t help but, at times, feel that we may be.

I have had some interesting conversations over the last month at the NCSEA Summit and various SEAONC events, that have left me reflecting on our profession - where it has been, where it is now, and where it is going. We, no doubt, have an incredible history with extraordinary structural engineers that have transformed not only our profession but the built world around us. Our profession has historically been steady and not quick to change, a legacy profession where it feels like you need a minimum of 10 years to know anything. While it is not flashy like some other jobs – you cannot deny that what we do is cool, that it has a positive impact on society, and that with this job, you are really joining a lifelong profession (maybe one of the last). Lately, though, I have been feeling a bit uneasy about where our profession is at, like we may be at the top of a rollercoaster about to descend a steep drop and onto the many loops, corkscrews, and whatever else the engineer dreamed up. While I LOVE rollercoasters, in my older age, I am a little less enthusiastic. In thinking about the future of our profession, I will ask you, what do you think is coming? With our profession so steeped in tradition, how do we evolve but keep the rigor? The office as we knew it is dead (a fact I am still in denial of) but how will this impact our day-to-day work, interaction with our coworkers, and the culture of our companies? How long before technology and AI really change what we do and how we do what we do? How do we connect with and engage the younger, less patient (I said it), generation in our industry and ensure we have a strong pipeline? How do we reconcile the disconnect between what our profession was and what it needs to become? 

While I have more questions than answers this month, I will leave you with this. For those starting out in your career, if I can be so bold to suggest a little more patience and persistence – it will pay off. We have a really rewarding profession, but it takes time to develop as well as determination to get what you want from your career. For those closer to the end of your career, don’t be afraid to share your knowledge and offer support to those coming up behind you. You are valued and your contributions to our profession are not lost. For those in the middle of your career, I hope you are enjoying the ride, finding your niche at your company, and achieving all the things you had set out for – if you are not, you are doing something wrong.  

As 2022 winds down, I hope you find time to reflect on what you love about our profession and how you will make an impact. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season. See you in the new year!

• Jonathan Buhangin, KPFF, San Francisco, CA
• Rana Kashani, KPFF, San Francisco, CA
• Kailyn Scott, Tepa Engineering Services, San Francisco, CA
• Tracy Abbott, Santa Clara University, Civil Engineering Department, Santa Clara, CA

Time to Renew Your Dues

The SEAONC membership year runs from July 1 - June 30. If you have not yet renewed, please do so now, before your membership access is suspended. If you have any questions about the renewal process, please contact the SEAONC office at admin@seaonc.org.

Firms: To renew multiple memberships, contact admin@seaonc.org for a group invoice and more information about a corporate membership/

The SEAONC Sustainable Design Committee (SDC) hosted our November’s Association Meeting, focused on SE 2050, the nationwide program of structural engineering firms committed to getting to net zero carbon by 2050.

It featured an update from SE 2050 Chair Michael Gryniuk followed by live conversations moderated by SEAONC SDC, including 5 professional representatives, each from different signatory firms (Sydney Gallion, PE, Laura Hagan, P.E., Jaclyn Lee, Elena Good, SE, PE, Marisa Nolasco, P.E.).

Resilience Committee Mini-Series

SEAONC Resilience Committee is inviting you to join a mini-series of short presentations on topics of seismic resilience and functional recovery. Each topic will be introduced by members of Resilience Committee or guest speakers through short presentation and then the audience can engage in QA and discussion. Topics to be covered:

• December 1 – Definitions and Policy Making
• February 2 – Communication with Clients

Time: 12:10 – 1:00pm

Further reading:

Napa 2014 – link 1, link 2

Christchurch 2011 – link 1

Anchorage 2018 – link 1, link 2

SEAONC December Monthly Meeting

EiSE Award Winners Presentation

Join us for December’s Association Meeting where we will have two short presentations from recent SEAONC Excellence in Structural Engineering (EiSE) project winners: 1951 Harbor Bay Parkway and 400/403 California Street. These presentations will highlight the innovative application of seismic strategies/technologies in both new and existing construction. At 1951 Harbor Bay Parkway – the design team created a seismically resilient structure while keeping costs low by utilizing a mast-frame system paired with conventional BRBs. At 400/403 California Street – the design team implemented adjustable rotational friction dampers in the retrofit, which marked the first time this system was used in the US. I hope you can join us to learn more about these awesome projects.

See here for more information and to register!

Presenters:

Kirk Johnston, SE | Degenkolb Engineers

Leo Panian | Tipping Structural Engineers

Yvonne Tsui | Degenkolb Engineers

We are so excited for this event and hope to see you there!

Location: SGH Office | 1999 Harrison St, Suite 2400 | Oakland, California 94612

Date and Time: Tuesday, December 6, 2022, 5:00 pm - 7:30 pm PT

Cost: New late registration fee pricing in effect, due to venue and catering guarantees

Early Bird Rates available until November 30, 2022

Associates: $33.00 | Members: $39.00 | Non-Members: $44.00

On December 1, 2022 rates increase to

Associates: $53.00 | Members: $59.00 | Non-Members: $64.00

The DEI Spotlight is a monthly forum in the SEAONC Post in partnership with the SEAONC Structural Engineering Engagement and Equity (SE3) Committee to engage our members in the mission of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in the structural engineering profession.

December is often seen as a time to give back to those in our community, so this month we would like to highlight some local organizations that cater to underserved groups in the Bay Area in the realm of education, STEM, and DEI resources. Please see the links below to learn about these organizations, and if you have the means and feel inclined, to donate to their causes:

Girls Inc - The mission of Girls Inc is “to inspire all girls to be strong, smart and bold.” This organization connects girls from underserved neighborhoods with access to resources and opportunities they need to succeed in their education, careers, and life.

Oakland Promise - This organization provides financial resources, educational programming, mentorship and community to students to help them achieve their higher education and career goals.

Latinas in STEM - Their mission is “to inspire and empower Latinas to Pursue and Thrive in STEM fields” by providing resources for Latina girls in kindergarten through college, and beyond, while they pursue their education and careers in STEM.

SEAONC DEI Endowment - Gifts to the endowment are used to support and develop programs, scholarships, and initiatives to advance DEI in the structural engineering profession.

Continuing Education Committee (CEC)

Continuing Education Committee (CEC) delivers great events for SEAONC members and continues to be a valued component of the membership. The committee strives to keep the profession-at-large engaged and up-to-date with new, updated and general growing trends of the industry. This has all been possible through the active efforts put in by the committee members to bring together great presenters from both the industry and academia. As the year-end approaches, CEC will host its last meeting of 2022 on December 15. Please email cec@seaonc.org to be added to the meeting invite and join us virtually to participate in the planning process of our upcoming events for the new year!

CEC is excited to announce its next seminar to be an in-depth dive into the design process and the lessons learned from the 2022 EiSE award winning project, 500 Folsom St. The presenters are David Shook from SOM as the project lead and Joe Maffei from Maffei Structural Engineers as the peer reviewer. They will share their insights on this project on January 17th, 5:30 pm at HOK's San Francisco office. Look out for the event registration information to be shared soon!

This year the committee has also been coordinating with SEAOC’s CEC efforts towards continuing education. The state’s association is hosting a webinar series which consists of at least 10 events covering the Structural/Seismic Design Manual based on IBC 2021. The 2nd webinar in the first series is coming up on November 30th at 12pm on the Design of CFS Framed Building on Concrete Podium by Jeff Ellis from Simpson Strong-TiE. Please go to SEAOC.org/events for more information and registration!

Hensolt SEAONC Legacy Committee

SEAONC News   December 2022

Hensolt SEAONC Legacy Committee

Reinhard Ludke, S.E.    Chairman

New ENGINEER, STRUCTURE and SEAONC TECHNICAL LEADERSHIP posted to the Hensolt SEAONC Legacy website:  www.LEGACY.SEAONC.org CHECK IT OUT!

APPLE PARK

Steve Jobs' largest design masterpiece, Apple Park, company headquarters, is in Cupertino, California.  Apple Park is 175 acres of unique Architecture, Engineering, and Construction.  Apple Park is famous for its 1,532 feet diameter, four story, curved glass façade and glass canopy building which is now known as the “spaceship”.  The building is thought to be the largest precast concrete office building ever built, and its curved glass façade is one feature that contributes to the unique reputation of Apple’s flagship.  

The building opened in 2017 after over seven years of planning, design and construction.  Steve Jobs himself pitched the Foster + Partners Architects design to the Cupertino City Council in 2011 in order to assure Planning approval for this Silicon Valley landmark.

[ Read More ]

Resilience Committee

Wildfire and the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI)

Prepared by: SEAONC Resilience Committee - Wildfire Working Group: Melissa Meikle, Meg Ackerson, Erica Fischer, Zahraa Saiyed, Anna Lang

“California continues to experience longer wildfire seasons as a direct result of Climate Change”, as stated by CAL FIRE’s 2022 Fire Season Outlook. The extended dryness and reduced precipitation have added to the moderate to extreme drought conditions and have become a source of fuel for wildland fire activity. In fact, as stated in our previous article Introduction to the Wildfire Working Group, Orange County Fire Authority Chief Brian Fennessy believes “we no longer have a fire season - we have a fire year.” Whether we deem wildfires as seasonal or yearly, we will continue to see wildfires pose significant risk to buildings and the safety of the people who inhabit them. This trend will only be exacerbated by urban development in wildland urban interface (WUI) zones.

[ Read More ]

SE3

The SEAONC SE3 Committee is back in action with our programming in full swing. Continue reading for opportunities to participate in our upcoming events. If you are interested in joining the SEAONC SE3 committee, please email us at se3@seaonc.org.

SEAONC SE3 Racial Equality Book Club - December Meeting

Date: Thursday, December 8th

Time: 6:30pm-8:00pm

On Zoom - link on calendar page

The Authority Gap: Why Women Are Still Taken Less Seriously Than Men, and What We Can Do About It

By Mary Ann Sieghart

Are women taken less seriously in professional endeavors? Are women afforded fewer opportunities? Are women interrupted more and promoted less than their male coworkers? If so, why, and what can be done about it?

If you would like to discuss these issues as well as potential solutions, please join us on December 8, 2022 at 6:30pm for a discussion about selected portions of Ms. Sieghart’s book.

To prepare for the meeting, please read the following portions of the book:

• Chapter 1, somewhat ironically entitled, “You don’t have to read this chapter” (about 18 pages) and
• The first portion of Chapter 15, entitled, “No need to despair” (Start at the first page of the chapter and read to the section, “What can teachers and places of learning do?”)

The reading assignment is short (it should take 30 minutes or less) and can easily be read over the upcoming holiday. Please select and be ready to discuss one or two quotes from Chapter 1 that caught your interest and one or two suggestions from Chapter 15 that would be worthwhile to implement where you work. 

Gwenyth Searer, a Principal at Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc., will be leading the discussion.

Other resources (optional):

• Sheryl Sandberg: Why we have too few women leaders | TED Talk
• The Likability Dilemma for Women Leaders | Robin Hauser | TED Talk  

YMF December 2022 Update

Oktoberfest Recap



Recently, YMF resumed our annual Oktoberfest in partnership with ASCE for the first time in person since 2019! Approximately 100 people attended the event distributed across SEAONC YMF members working in industry, students, sponsors, and ASCE YMF members. Numerous prizes were raffled out and we engaged structural engineers working at a variety of companies throughout the bay. Many first time YMF and SEAONC event attendees were present and several expressed interest in getting more involved with YMF and SEAONC moving forward. Thank you to all that attended, sponsored, or helped put on our largest event of the year!

2023 SEAONC YMF Ski Trip

Winter is around the corner. What does that mean? It's snow season!!! The Annual SEAONC YMF Ski Trip is happening again on March 10-12, 2023. Anyone at any skill level is welcome to join. More than half of the attendees last year were beginners at snowsports, so you would not be alone if you are still learning. Lodging reservations have been finalized in the Truckee area and can accommodate around 20 people, sign up ASAP! Spots are first-come, first-serve with priority given to SEAONC members.

YMF will continue hosting all kinds of fun, in-person events. Subscribe to the YMF newsletter to keep up to date with the upcoming events here: Subscribe

Meet a Board Member

Get to know your SEAONC Board members each month! This year’s Board consists of nine licensed structural engineers with diverse industry experience. Meet one of our Directors, Meaghan Halligan.

Meet the Committee Chairs

Get to know your SEAONC Committee Chairs each month! We have 15 committees, lead by amazing volunteers. This month, we are pleased to introduce you to the chairs of the SE3 Committee.

Thank you to our Corporate Members!

Your generosity and support of SEAONC are greatly appreciated.

Gold

Silver

Bronze

Project Engineer - San Francisco, CA

this post expires 12/11

Analysis-Focused Structural Engineer - Berkeley, CA

this post expires 12/9

Project Engineer - Berkeley, CA

Structural Designer - Berkeley, CA

Engineer & Senior Engineer - Northern California, CA

Director of Engineering - Remote, USA

SEAONC welcomes your feedback on our newsletter and on any other Association endeavors. To share your input email us at office@seaonc.org.

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