President's Letter

Dear Members, Colleagues, and Sponsors,

As my term on the board of directors comes to a close, I want to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to our membership for granting me the privilege to serve on this board for the past six years. I am truly grateful for the collaboration, inspiration, and professional growth that I have experienced during my tenure.

Congratulations to both Rebecca Lubrano and Jonathan Sproul who have been elected to fill the vacancies on the board left by both Jeff Karam and myself terming out. Your passion for the field of structural engineering and your commitment to the advancement of our profession make you excellent additions to the board. I have full confidence in the leadership of the incoming board and I am excited to witness the innovative ideas and initiatives that will shape the future of our organization. Both Rebecca and Jonathan bring new energy and perspective to the board and join an incredible group of existing board members.

At our May meeting, we were able to celebrate some of the incredible achievements of our member firms through the SENH Excellence in Structural Engineering Awards Program. We had five entries this year. The high quality of the projects made our judging panel’s job very difficult. Congratulations to our 2024 SENH Excellence in Structural Engineering Award winners:

·         Special Structures: Simpson Gumpertz & Heger – Great Lawn Pavilion

·         Buildings: TFMoran, Inc. – Highrock Church

Our Professional Development Committee is hard at work trying to schedule some unique in-person site visits/shop tours over the summer – so please be sure to check your emails from SENH as more information will be provided soon.

In closing, I would like to wish everyone a happy and healthy summer – I hope you are all able to take some time to relax with family and friends. Although my time on the board has come to an end, I plan to stay actively involved – please do not hesitate to contact me directly if you have any questions or comments [email protected].

Tim Polson, PE

President, SENH

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Announcements

Excellence in Structural Engineering Awards Nominees:

Awards Category: Special Structures

SkyLand Ranch - Horizon Skyride
The H.L. Turner Group

Project Location:

Sevierville, TN

Project Highlight:

The H.L. Turner Group Inc. (TTG), in collaboration with Skytrans Manufacturing, and service as Engineer of Record, provided Structural engineering services for a new Chairlift for the Horizon Skyride, located in Sevierville, TN.

The Horizon Skyride is a 1300 foot long hybrid chairlift with a vertical rise of about 150 feet. The new chairlift has a capacity of over 700 passengers per hour with a top speed of 200 feet per minute as it is driven by a 100-horsepower electric motor.

The chairs and gondolas are suspended from a 1.29-inch (33mm) special ski lift wire rope. Along with the main drive terminal and turnaround terminal at the top of the bluff, there are six intermediate 24-inch steel towers ranging in height from 25 feet to over 60 feet. The towers are supported by large spread footings up to 11 feet square for the tallest towers and the drive and return terminals are anchored to massive concrete footings requiring up to 100 cubic yards of concrete.

Great Lawn Pavillion

SGH

Project Location:

Cary, North Carolina

Project Highlight:

The Great Lawn Pavillion is located at the center of a six-acre park in downtown Cary, North Carolina. Completed in 2023, the pavilion now serves as the park's focal point and functions as a shaded gathering space and performance venue with a multi-purpose stage, concealed green room, and ceiling-suspended audio-visual equipment for concerts, shows and movies.

Awards Category: Buildings

Private Residence
Team Engineering

Project Location:

Newbury, New Hampshire

Project Highlight:

Team Engineering designed the new private residence on the west shore of Lake Sunapee in Newbury, New Hampshire. We are proud of this project for our creativity in designing a structure that accommodated the complicated architecture created.

 The complex roof lines required ridges, hip and valley beams to achieve vaulted ceilings, a shed dormer, and open floor plans. The two-story great room includes a "picture wall" with lake views.

Highrock Church
TFMoran

Project Location:

Arlington, Massachusetts

Project Highlight:

TFMoran Structural Engineers provided structural design to repurpose a former industrial building into a worship and community center for Highrock Church. Located in Arlington, MA, the existing building (c. 1900) originally built for manufacturing purposes, was most recently used for auto repair and parts warehousing. The project includes 19,700sf of worship and support spaces. Historic facades at the Great of the building were preserved, while replacing the roof structure and retrofitting foundations for a more functional, open worship space. Repairs were also made to the existing concrete structure. A new lobby addition provides accessibility and connection to an adjacent church property.

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Calendar of Events

SAVE THE DATE!  

Wednesday, July 17^th, mid-afternoon:  SL Chasse Steel fabrication plant tour in Hudson, NH.  Join fellow SENH members for a tour of SL Chasse's state-of-the-art steel fabrication plant.  This will be followed by an early evening social event to be held at 603 Brewery in Londonderry, NH.  Details will be provided in an official announcement in the coming weeks.

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Articles

Artificial Intelligence: Ethical Uses in Civil Engineering
Submitted by: Sean Brown PE, & Allison Widdop S.M. ASCE

This year the University of New Hampshire hosted the Northeast Regional Student Symposium. This included several student competitions for steel bridge, concrete canoe, and the Mead Paper. The Mead Paper competition is organized by the host school, and this year's topic was ‘Discuss how engineers need to evaluate their ethical responsibilities as they determine whether or how to use AI to aid in their work’. 

Amongst the responses that were submitted by 14 regional universities, one article written by a civil engineering student at UMass Lowell stood out for its deep insight and quality. After speaking with the author, Allison Widdop, she graciously agreed to share her response with the SENH membership in our next newsletter. With that said, I hope you find Allison’s perspective as interesting and intriguing as I did.

The Ethics of Artificial Intelligence Use Within Civil Engineering
By: Allison N. Widdop, S.M. ASCE

Civil engineering as a profession has had an incredible responsibility to protect and best serve the needs of both the built environment and the welfare of the public. Throughout history, civil engineering has adapted to changing technology such as the invention of calculators and the use of computer software. These technologies have greatly increased civil engineers' ability to create intricate solutions, especially to problems that arise with the growth of modern technology. As artificial intelligence (AI) develops and its use becomes more widespread, the civil engineering profession will adapt to it and continue to develop as it has over history. Technological change is inevitable and there are both positives and negatives to these advancements and how they impact the profession. With these changes, civil engineers must evaluate the benefits of technology along with the Code of Ethics to better understand how to utilize technology as a tool within their practice.

The American Society of Engineers Code of Ethics has been a model for professional conduct since 1914 and has been adapted over time to reflect the needs of society, the natural and built environment, the profession, clients and employers, and peers (ASCE). The ASCE Code of Ethics has gone through many iterations over a century and will continue to change as technology and the environment changes. The rapid advancement of technology and the use of AI poses a lot of questions within the profession, especially surrounding how the use aligns with an engineer's moral responsibility and the Code of Ethics. Again, as with any new technological development the use of AI should be considered and evaluated through the lens of the civil engineering profession. The benefits of AI should be considered on how it can be utilized as an important tool within civil engineering while also maintaining the ethics of the profession.

Assuming ethical and correct use, AI can have numerous benefits to civil engineers and help in advancing the profession. At the current stage of AI, it cannot replace the need for human civil engineers, but it can be used as a tool in engineering. For example, asking a person with no civil engineering background to solve a complex civil engineering problem would yield an incorrect answer, or they may not be able to solve it at all. But if the same person was taught the methods and how to solve complex engineering problems, they would be able to solve them. They may solve them incorrectly or not completely, but looking at their work and how they used the information given can provide insight into potential solutions for the problem. If this same person was taught more about civil engineering and how to solve complex problems, eventually they would be able to correctly solve the problems every time. Teaching AI to solve specific complex civil engineering problems will help it learn and understand what information is given and over time, it will be able to correctly solve problems and provide insight into solutions. Like calculators or design software, it is an excellent tool for solving civil engineering problems but does not eradicate the need for an engineer as engineers are the ones who utilize these tools.

Many parts of the Code of Ethics align with the use of AI and can be used to govern its use within the profession. With the correct use, AI has many benefits, however determining its correct use based on morals and ethics can highlight its downsides. The Code of Ethics states in its preamble that engineers must "consider the current and anticipated needs of society; and utilize their knowledge and skills to enhance the quality of life for humanity" (CITE). Part of considering the anticipated needs of society and using knowledge and skills to enhance quality of life is adapting to the use of AI and using it as a tool in a way that enhances the quality of life for the public and environment. It would be a disservice to the stakeholders to not use the knowledge of AI within the practice as well as not considering the needs of society as it shifts towards regular use of AI. However, the first part of the preamble emphasizes creating safe, resilient and sustainable infrastructure. The use of AI as a tool must align with this, or it is not considered ethical.

In deciding whether or how to use AI in their work, engineers must consider the ethical and moral implications of it. According to Canon 3 in the Code of Ethics, civil engineers have a responsibility to continue their professional development to enhance technical and non-technical skills, which aligns with the idea of understanding the use of AI in civil engineering. Ethically, civil engineers must continue their learning and expanding their skillset and using AI as a tool can be considered furthering their knowledge because of its capabilities to be utilized as a tool. According to Canon 5 of the Code of Ethics, civil engineers must also encourage the education and development of other engineers, which can be applied to learning and adapting to AI within the profession. Not utilizing AI as a tool, or at the very least, not being educated on AI is doing

the profession and society a disservice because technology and other engineering professions are adapting to the use of AI as it becomes more widely available. By not expanding the knowledge of AI and its use within the profession, the development of the profession will progress slower than other technological and engineering professions which will impact the implementation of safe, resilient, and sustainable infrastructure as other technologies advance.

However, using AI incorrectly or without the utmost ethical purposes, the use of AI within the profession poses some moral and ethical concerns. As important as it is to be educated on the latest technologies, it is important to understand their true uses when deciding whether to use AI as a tool. Because of the nature of the civil engineering profession, the role of a civil engineer cannot be replaced by AI, especially regarding ethical situations. Using AI correctly will

benefit the profession but the incorrect, ignorant, or inattentive use of AI poses ethical concerns based on the Code of Ethics. In Canon 1, the Code of Ethics states that the standard above all else is to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public by any means necessary. So, for some, this means not using AI at all or utilizing it in a limited capacity. Civil engineers must ensure that there is no issue with any of the information provided by AI to protect the public, as well as follow the Code of Ethics.  As well as protecting the public, civil engineers must also express their professional opinions truthfully and only when founded on adequate knowledge, according to Canon 1. Because it is difficult to know what exactly is true and correct when using AI, this poses an ethical concern. Using AI to supplement work and professional opinions can be beneficial but should not be the only tool used and any information based on AI must be confirmed as truth and have adequate information to support it to be considered ethical. Similarly, in Canon 1 of the Code of Ethics, civil engineers should consider capabilities, limitations, and implications of current and emerging technologies such as AI when it is part of their work. Using AI carelessly or inattentively without considering the implications of it or not understanding entirely its use can pose issues with their work because the information provided by AI is not founded on reliable truth and can lead to issues further into their work. Using false or inadequate information from technology can put the public at risk and doing so is not ethically correct.

Because AI uses machine learning, it does not always provide factual information and should always be verified, checked, or corrected. According to the Code of Ethics, Canon 4, civil engineers must only perform services in areas of their competence, supporting the fact that AI cannot replace the role of civil engineers because of its machine learning nature and should not be used in place of a professional with a different area of competence. Similarly in Canon 5, the Code of Ethics requires that engineers must only take credit for professional work they have personally completed. For example, if a structural engineer needed assistance with something geotechnical related, AI should not be used in this instance because the structural engineer would not be able to verify that the geotechnical information provided is factually accurate. Using AI incorrectly or in an inappropriate instance can create an ethical issue as well as issues within the work and jeopardize the safety of the public.

Overall, the use of new technologies, specifically AI, within the civil engineering profession provides many benefits for not only the profession but also society. With these new technologies, however, the ethics of the technology must be considered to further uphold the honor, integrity and dignity of the profession and the work done by civil engineers. Focusing on the use of AI as a tool and understanding the correct use and ethical implications of the technology will help civil engineers determine if using AI is the correct choice in their work. 

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Committee Updates

Young Members Group

Submitted by Dustin Wells, Chair

2024 ASCE Northeast Student Symposium

The Young Members Group volunteered at the ASCE Student Symposium for the Steel Bridge and Concrete Canoe competitions. This year the Northeast Symposium was held at UNH. 13 teams competed in the Steel Bridge competition, with the top three winners shown in the table below for each category. 

For concrete canoe, the final rankings were as follows:

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Last Meeting Attendance List & Meeting Minutes

March 19, 2024 Meeting

March 19, 2024, 5:30 PM @ Grill 28 / Peae Golf Course, Portsmouth, NH

Business Portion:

May 16, 2024 Meeting

May 16, 2024, 5:30 PM @ Puritan Conference Center, Manchester, NH

Minutes recorded by Dan Martel, Secretary

Business Portion:

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