President's Letter

Dear Members, Colleagues, and Sponsors,

I would like to wish you all a happy and healthy Thanksgiving and hope that you can spend time with family and friends to relax and recharge. The end of the year can be challenging and hectic for many, so remember to be kind to everyone, including yourself!

I wanted to focus this month’s President’s Letter on the importance of education and outreach to young students interested in structural engineering. Over the past decade, there has been a notable decline in college enrollment for civil engineering programs across the United States. (I will focus on ‘civil’ engineering as a whole, but the trends identified below are also applicable to our ‘structural’ discipline.) This year’s Freshman Civil Engineering Class at UNH is approximately 35 students – roughly two-thirds of what it has been in recent years. This trend is a cause for concern as civil engineering is a critical field that plays a significant role in the development and maintenance of infrastructure systems in our society.

One of the factors contributing to the declining enrollment is the perception that pursuing a degree in civil engineering is challenging and requires a rigorous curriculum. Many students may be intimidated by the coursework and the math-heavy nature of the field, leading them to choose other fields of study that they perceive to be easier. While yes, our field is challenging, we need to convey the importance of our work and how it impacts the daily lives of others.

Another factor contributing to this trend is the increasing cost of college education. Obtaining a degree in civil engineering requires a significant investment of time and money. With the high cost of tuition, many students may be discouraged from pursuing a degree in this field, especially if they will have to take out student loans to finance their education.

Additionally, the lack of awareness about the career opportunities available to civil engineering graduates may also be contributing to the declining enrollment. This is where I think our members can step up to help educate and inform. SENH already supports several initiatives throughout the year to engage with students at the secondary and college levels:

• SENH’s Young Members Group annually hosts a resume review day at UNH. This past September, members Nevin Gomez, Kathryn Dziadowicz, and Ryan McMullen spent the afternoon meeting with UNH engineering students to review and offer suggestions to improve their resumes.
• For the past several years SENH has attended the Manchester Central High School’s Career Fair. This event has allowed our members to directly engage with high school students to answer questions they have about structural engineering (and engineering in general).
• Numerous member firms participate annually in UNH’s Senior Capstone program, providing sample projects and mentors to the student groups.
• SENH maintains a scholarship program that provides current structural engineering undergrad and graduate students the opportunity to apply for two awards. The monetary award associated with these scholarships helps defray some of the increasing academic costs students experience.

So what more can/should we do? I strongly believe that having an in-classroom presence to provide students with hands-on experiences is one of our best ways to make an impact. Many students excel when they have the opportunity to apply what they've learned in a practical setting. By providing them with hands-on experiences, such as building models or participating in design challenges, we can help them understand the real-world applications of structural engineering.

As you will read below in the summary report from the 2023 New Hampshire Joint Engineering Society’s Annual Conference, several SENH members moderated a “hands-on” session at the conference where attendees competed to build paper straw bridges. This activity was modified from a larger lesson intended for middle or high school students. A big ‘thank you’ to Kayla Hampe for informing me of some of the great resources that NCSEA has available to assist in this kind of student outreach. Kayla currently serves as a Voting Member on the NCSEA Communications Committee. The NCSEA Communications Committee has compiled a rather extensive library of engineering activities targeting middle and high school-aged students that provide detailed instructions, learning objectives, and material lists, targeting classroom time anywhere from 10 to 45 minutes.

If leading a hands-on activity is not for you, consider presenting to students to help showcase real-world examples of the work we do. Through these presentations, we can help students appreciate the impact that structural engineers have on our daily lives. Josif Bicja and I met with Kearsarge High School students back in the fall of 2019 and made a presentation explaining ‘what structural engineering is’, ‘how you become a structural engineer’, and ‘what the career for a young structural engineer looks like’. This was a very rewarding experience for both of us.

How do you get involved?

1. If you already have established a relationship with a school and perform some of the outreach activities discussed above, kudos to you – keep up the great work! Please do reach out to me as I would like to compile a running list of where our members are actively involved.
2. Not currently involved with a school, but excited to get started? Consider contacting your local middle school or high school administration to inquire if they would be interested in having you present or provide an activity for students.
   1. If you need activity ideas or presentation help, please contact me and I will make sure the appropriate resource materials get shared with you.
3. Not currently involved with a school and not sure who to contact? Please reach out to me – I plan to coordinate with the Young Members Group to help pair up individuals and identify schools that would be interested in having our members talk with their students.

I know that we are all very busy, but by investing in education and outreach for young students, we can help build a more robust, diverse, and talented workforce for the future. Please do not hesitate to contact me directly if you have any questions or would like to discuss outreach opportunities in greater detail at [email protected].

Tim Polson, PE
President, SENH

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Announcements

Excellence In Structural Engineering Awards 

Call For Entries

The Committee has issued the Call for Entries for the EXCELLENCE IN STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING AWARDS Program, which is included in this newsletter. The deadline for project submissions is March 1, 2024. Award winners will be announced during the Awards Ceremony to be held during the May 2024 meeting. Detailed information on the Awards Program, entry requirements, etc. is posted on the SENH website. Go to: Members/ Excellence in Structural Engineering. The SENH Board may consider and select one award-winning project from the SENH Awards program in May, to sponsor project submission to the NCSEA Excellence in Structural Engineering Awards Program. If the board decides to advance a project to NCSEA, SENH will pay the project entry fee. See details on the SENH website.

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Last Meeting Attendance List & Meeting Minutes

September 21, 2023 Meeting

Derryfield Restaurant, Manchester (Annual SENH-ASCE Joint Meeting)

Business Portion:

• • President's Report - Tim Polson
    • Thank you to our outgoing board members Tom Lamb and Josif Bicja for their 6 years of service to the organization.
    • Welcome new board members Kayla Hampe and Dan Martel.
  • Professional Development Committee Report
    • Lunch and Learn by Dewalt Fasteners at Procon, October 11.
    • Call for Presentations at November meeting at UNH November 28.
  • Younger Members Group Report - Eric Caron
    • Resume review for UNH CEE students this month
    • Next social event in planning
      
      

Technical Presentation: Sustainable Concrete
Presenters and round table participants: Bill Lyons, Euclid Chemical Company, Justin Korda, Stone Fleet, Inc., various representatives of Aggregate Industries

Bill Lyons discussed the past, present and future of concrete cements, and supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) used to make concrete production more sustainable. Alternatives include fiber reinforcement. Challenges to more mainstream adoption include legislation, building code acceptance, and high costs.

List of Attendees:

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Calendar of Events

SENH Meeting Announcement

Next Meeting: Tuesday, March 19, 2024
Presentation:

Fiber-Reinforced Polymer (FRP) and Fabric-Reinforced Cementitious Matrix (FRCM) Strengthening Solutions for Concrete and Masonry Structures

This presentation will help engineers understand common strengthening applications for FRP and FRCM. This includes going over strengthening limit checks to ensure that FRP and FRCM are acceptable solutions for gravity load strengthening applications. The presentation will also cover some recent R&D studies to learn how FRP anchorage can improve FRP performance.

Speaker:

Jason Oakley, PE
Senior Field Engineer at Simpson Strong-Tie Co., Inc.

Jason is a California registered professional engineer who graduated from UCSD in 1997 with a degree in structural engineering and earned his MBA from Cal State Fullerton in 2013. Before joining Simpson Strong-Tie in 2002, he worked on reinforced concrete buildings, and provided structural solutions for nuclear power plants, refineries, offshore drilling platforms, movie sets, shipbuilding and fall protection. Jason has been a field engineer for Simpson Strong-tie for 20 years helping engineers in the South West USA, and now the North East, to solve problems using various products (connectors, anchors, FRP, etc.) manufactured by Simpson Strong-Tie. The first 17 years focused on teaching specifiers about cast-in-place and post-installed anchors used for non-structural and structural applications in concrete and masonry base materials. The last 3 years he has focused on helping engineers specify fiber-reinforced polymers (FRP) and fabric-reinforced cementitious matrix (FRCM) for strengthening concrete and masonry elements as a viable alternative to traditional solutions.

Place:

Grill 28 Restaurant (Pease Golf Course)
200 Grafton Road
Portsmouth, NH 03801

Agenda:

5:30 pm - 6:30 pm  Registration/Social Hour
6:30 pm - 7:15 pm  Dinner
7:15 pm - 7:30 pm  Business Meeting
7:30 pm - 8:30 pm  Presentation

Dinner:

Buffet with a choice of Chicken Piccata and Korean Style BBQ Short Rib. Served with a Tossed Caesar Salad, Yukon Gold Mashed Potatoes, and Buttery Green Beans.
Dessert choices are Mini COokie Cup or Blueberry Crumble.

If you have any food allergies or dietary restrictions, please email Katie at [email protected]

Cost:

Member: $65.00
Non-Member: $95.00
Student: $15.00

"No-shows" will be billed at full amount. Refunds will not be issued.

RSVP:

By Tuesday, March 12, 2024. There will be a $10.00 late fee for anyone wishing to RSVP past this date.

Registration and payments can be completed online at https://senh.org/meetinginfo.php. Please contact Julia Chartier ([email protected]) with questions about registration and payments.

Note:

2.0 PDHs have been assigned for attendance. Attendees are responsible for ensuring their check-in on the attendance list upon arrival at the meeting.

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Committee Updates

Excellence in Structural Engineering Awards Committee

Chair: Bob Durfee; Co-Chair: Bob Champaign; Members: Fred Emanuel, Josif Bicja

The Call For Entries for the 2024 SENH Structural Engineering Excellence Awards Program was published in the January newsletter. Deadline for entries was March 1^st, extended to March 8^th. Submittal of entries is now closed. The Board received five (5) entries. The Board will appoint a Jury to review projects and evaluate for awards. Award winners will be announced at the May membership meeting.

Membership Awards Committee

Co-Chair: Bob Durfee; Co-Chair: Sean James; Board Liason: Tim Polson

Member Katie Welch was awarded the 2024 New Hampshire Young Engineer of the Year. Katie received her award at the Engineers Week banquet at the Grappone Center in Concord on February 22^nd. SENH had nominated Katie for this year's award.

National Council of Structural Engineer Associations (NCSEA) Delegates

Delegate: Bob Durfee; Alternate Delegates: Tom Lamb, Kayla Hampe; Board Liason:

2023 Structural Summit

Delegate Bob Durfee and Associate Delegates Tom Lamb and Kayla Hampe represented SEnH at the annual NCSEA Structural Summit that was held in 2023 in Anaheim, California at the Disney Resport from November 7^th to 10^th.

Delegates Durfee, Lamb, and Hampe submitted a report to the Board on their attendance and activities at the summit. The 2023 NCSEA Summit Report is posted on the website.

2024 Leadership Retreat

NCSEA has announced date and location for the 2024 SEA Leadership Retreat. This year's 3^rd annual retreat will be held on June 5-6 in Chicago, Illinois. The retreat is hosted by NCSEA, and invites all SEA Delegates and Alternate Delegates to attend. The retreat provides resources and tools to assist SEA's in the management of their state organizations.

NCSEA covers the cost (travel, hotel and registration) for the delegate to attend, and provides discounted cost (hotel and registration) for Alternate Delegates to attend. At the past two retreats, SENH has sent our Delegate and one Alternate Delegate to the retreat.

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Welcome New Members

• Burak Duran
• Mahreana Hopson, PE
• Kevin Daigle
• Holly Lauzon
• John Liddle, PE
• Brandon Loiselle
• Cris-Hawk Farrin, PE
  
  

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