SEAONC Helps Tomorrow’s Engineers Design Their Future As Part of National Engineer’s Week
Engineers of today and tomorrow gathered at St. Mary’s College in Moraga recently to share their visions of livable, sustainable cities for the year 2150 and beyond. The occasion was The National Engineer’s Week “Future City” competition that challenges 7th and 8th graders across the nation to devise urban plans that are energy efficient, environmentally friendly, and cost effective. Volunteer judges from the Structural Engineers Association of Northern California (SEAONC) and other professional engineering organizations scored the Northern California regional competition. The winners will compete in the national finals during National Engineer’s Week (February 18 -24) in Washington, DC.
“It is both impressive and inspiring to see how well students understand the challenges of engineering design and how much pride they take in their own creative solutions,” remarked Karl Telleen, a practicing engineer and one of SEAONC’s volunteer judges for the Future City competition. Futuristic concepts presented by student teams ranged from energy-harvesting waste treatment plants, to retractable seawalls (to ward off tsunamis), to stadiums with rotating bleachers (so that everyone gets a chance to catch a home run). “Integrating new ideas into an historical context is the nature of the engineering profession,” said Telleen, “We must not ‘reinvent the wheel,’ but we must continually evolve and innovate to keep pace with a changing world.”
The Future City competition is one of many events in which structural engineers participate to encourage young students to think not only about the engineering issues facing our society but the opportunities to contribute to their solution through careers in the profession. This spring, SEAONC will complete development of an educational curriculum for engineering guest speakers to share with high school science classes. These high school guest speakers will talk about the valuable role structural engineers play in building a safe environment and how to pursue a career in this field. SEAONC also sponsors several scholarships, awarded annually to undergraduate juniors or seniors intending to pursue graduate studies in structural engineering.
In addition, many of SEAONC’s members have founded and participate in independent service organizations such as the Engineers’ Alliance for the Arts and their “Three-Brick Bridge” competition, in which high school students learn from practicing engineers while designing and building model bridges. The Bay Area chapter of ACE (Architecture, Construction, and Engineering) offers mentoring programs to high school students, and scholarships to graduates who go on to study for a career in the design and construction industry.
The structural engineers of today were once little kids with big dreams and grand ideas, too. Now many of those ideas are becoming a reality in the largest and most innovative projects in the world. Some of the Bay Area’s newest buildings are constructed on top of metal dishes or rubber pads, called “seismic isolation devices,” which allow the buildings to sway gently in large earthquakes. Some of the tallest towers in the world have large tanks of water at the uppermost levels, which slosh back and forth as the buildings move to counteract the effects of wind. Building heights are exceeding previously untouchable limits, with some currently under construction that will reach half a mile into the sky. San Francisco has plans for several new skyscrapers that would surpass the 1000-foot mark. In each of these projects, it is the structural engineer’s job to design the “skeleton” of beams, columns, walls, and floors that support all of the finishes and functions that are essential to a habitable building.
In California, structural engineers face unique challenges because of the risks that earthquakes pose; engineers are now using advanced computer software to build 3-D models of structures that can simulate how buildings will perform in an earthquake. It is exactly these types of challenges that excite forward-thinking engineers. “Structural engineering gives me the opportunity to contribute to the safety of the general public and at the same time allows me to tap into my creativity,” says Ibbi Almufti, another San Francisco engineer and member of SEAONC. The state of the industry requires that engineers continually learn and contribute to the engineering community’s pool of knowledge. “I love going to work,” says Almufti, “knowing that I will be working on something different and learning something new every day.” With any luck, tomorrow’s fresh minds and today’s experienced engineers will continue to learn from each other in the creation of comfortable, safe, and sustainable cities.
Founded in 1930, SEAONC is committed to advancing the art and science of structural engineering. For more information, please contact:
Karl Telleen, SEAONC Member, 415-568-4400
Ibbi Almufti, SEAONC Member, 415-957-9445
Peter Revelli, SEAONC Board Member, 415-568-4400
Patricia Coate, PR Contact for SEAONC, 415-309-2231