March 2023 Newsletter 
President's Letter
Dear Members, Colleagues and Sponsors,
It is the beginning of March as I write this letter and spring is just around the corner. Construction season is expected to ramp up soon and it appears it will be another busy season for the contractors and also most of the engineering firms and our members. It is certainly challenging for some of us that manage the design and construction phase of projects as well. I know when the phone rings with a construction issue, that takes priority, and the main efforts are dedicated to putting out fires before they become problems. We all are doing what we can to minimize construction issues but sometimes they are just unavoidable due to the nature of construction, unforeseen conditions, or matters beyond our control. Learning from such issues and taking steps to minimize, or even better avoid them, should be our goal as we go from design plans to construction and back to designing new projects.
SENH previously nominated our long-time member, Sean James, PE for the 2023 Engineer of the Year Award based on his record of professional accomplishments, service, contributions to the engineering profession and his numerous volunteering efforts to his community. Sean was selected by a jury of his peers from New Hampshire's engineering societies as the 2023 New Hampshire Engineer of the Year. I had the pleasure of introducing him for this distinguished award that was presented to him on February 23rd at the annual Engineers' Week banquet at the Grappone Conference Center in Concord. Sean has been an active member of SENH since 1996 and has served as the chair of the Professional Development Committee (PDC), member of Board of Directors from 2009 to 2013, and as President from 2010 to 2012. He continues to assist our great organization and we all are grateful for his volunteering efforts and what he has done for SENH, the engineering profession, and his community!
Speaking of volunteering efforts, Manchester Central High School is organizing a Career Fair on April 18th. I have taken the liberty of signing up SENH to host a table and speak to high school students about the opportunities that the structural engineering profession will provide for their careers. If you would like to join us and provide advice and words of wisdom to this younger generation, please let me know so we can plan adequate coverage. The event will be held from 10 am to 1 pm and lunch will be provided.
Our next meeting is scheduled for March 29th, and we are excited to go back to UNH. As always, PDC has done a great job organizing this event and selecting a wide range of presentations from our members and UNH students. Please see the meeting announcement section of the newsletter and do not forget to sign up. I hope to see all of you at that meeting.
If you would like to participate on any of our committees, please feel free to reach out to me directly at (603) 460-5147 or [email protected].
- Josif Bicja, PE
President, SENH
Board Member of the Month
Timothy Polson, PE - SENH Secretary
Tim is a Lead Structural Engineer for WSP USA out of their Merrimack, NH office. Born and raised in New Hampshire, Tim briefly left the state to attend Lafayette College in Easton, PA. His career experience includes bridge inspections, ratings, and design for rehabilitation and replacement for both railroad and highway bridge projects. Tim has been fortunate to work on projects with varying scales; from culvert replacements in Downeast Maine to large Design-Build projects in New England and across the country.
Outside of engineering, Tim and his wife Ashley keep busy with their soon-to-be 3-year-old daughter, Lucy and their two energetic dogs: Ellie and Pilot (all three wish they could live outside all of the time). Tim and Ashley spend their remaining free time working to renovate their 1830’s farmhouse, working in their gardens, and actively competing with their two dogs in agility. Tim and Ellie recently celebrated a successful 2022 – placing in the Top 10 National Year End Standings for the United States Dog Agility Association.
Community Service
Volunteer Opportunity
Submitted by Josif Bicja, PE
Manchester Central High School will be hosting a Career Day on April 18, 2023 from 10am - 1pm. SENH has reserved a space for this event and we are seeking any members that are interested in helping educate students on structural engineering opportunities that exist in New Hampshire and beyond. Our goal, with your help, is to provide students a direction on their career pathways and help ignite their interest!
We hope that you can join us for this fun and exciting opportunity to help develop our upcoming talent pipeline. This is an exciting opportunity for students as this day is dedicated to helping educate students on the many unique opportunities available in structural engineering. Please consider participating in this event by inspiring the next generation of structural engineers. Several SENH board members will attend this event but there are still open spaces for you to participate.
Calendar of Events
SENH Meeting Announcement
Next Meeting: Wednesday, March 29, 2023
Place:
University of New Hampshire
Kingsbury Hall N101 (Large lecture hall right next to Albert's Cafe)
33 Academic Way
Durham, NH 03824
Directions:
From the west: Take Rt. 101 to Rt. 125 North. At the Lee traffic circle, take Rt. 4 East to exit 155A (Main St.) Go right to 155A (Main St.), pass UNH Field House, take the next right onto College Rd. veer left onto College Rd. Kingsbury Hall is the second large building on the left after passing the fire station.
From the East: Take Rt. 15 North to Rt. 4 East towards Durham. Exit Rt. 4 onto Main Street and follow directions from above.
Parking:
Please use visitor parking lots, which are "pay and display", or other "pay and display" spots around campus. Free parking is available in designated faculty/staff and commuter lots after 6:00pm. (Recommended lots are A, B, F, H, and P). Please be careful to read all parking lot signs and hours before parking, and see parking map (provided upon RSVP).
Agenda:
5:30 pm - 6:30 pm Registration / Social Hour / Dinner
6:30 pm - 6:45 pm Business Meeting
6:45 pm Presentations (See below)
Dinner:
Pizza, Assorted Sodas and water.
Cost:
Member: $30.00
Non-Member: $60.00
Faculty/Staff: $30.00
Student: FREE
"No-shows" will be billed at full amount
RSVP:
By Friday, March 24, 2023. There will be a $5.00 late fee for anyone wishing to RSVP past this date (with the exception of students and faculty/staff).
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.
Presentations:
UNH Student Presentations
Time slots will be available for Senior Capstone Groups to present.
Compression Testing of Traditional Timber Framing Truss Joinery
By Matthew McGinnis, EIT
Description: Timber framing is one of the earliest forms of construction, utilizing large cross-section timbers that connect to one another with interlocking joinery. These joinery styles were developed over millennium through trial and error, so there is limited research on the failure modes, structural capacities, and factors of safety associated with current design practices. This research project fills a knowledge gap, identified by the Timber Frame Engineering Council (TFEC) of Alstead, NH, regarding the joinery design of traditional birdsmouth (angled bearing) connections and how the connections act under compressive loads.
The three most popular truss peak joints (two angled compression members, single tension member) and truss heel joints (single angled compression member, single tension member) were determined through a survey designed by the author and distributed through the TFEC. A king post truss was chosen to simultaneously load the truss peak and truss heel in compression by applying a load to the truss king post, loading it in tension and forcing compression into the truss top chords. Thirteen truss specimens (nine unique and four replicates) were loaded to failure in The University of New Hampshire reaction frame. The specimens were designed with different joint types but with consistent geometry and materials to limit variability between the specimens. Each specimen was fabricated by the same team at Vermont Timber Works of North Springfield, VT.
Matthew currently serves as the principal engineer for Vermont Timber Works (VTW) of North Springfield, VT. He started working with VTW following his attainment of his BS in Civil Engineering from The University of New Hampshire (UNH) in 2017. Over the past five years, Matthew has completed over 120 projects in 20+ states, with projects that range in size and complexity, including custom homes, event barns, churches, park pavilions, and trusses for a myriad of purposes. After working in the industry, he returned to UNH to further his education and attain his MS in Civil Engineering in 2022, with his thesis project focusing on traditional timber framing bearing joints.
Kendall Square FRP Canopy
By Rebecca Lubrano, PE
Description: This 160-foot-long canopy was recently installed as part of a larger redevelopment project at the Kendall Square MBTA stop in Cambridge, MA. The canopy is intended to be an iconic structure for which the architect envisioned a sleek canopy supported on a few slender columns. To achieve the architect’s goal the team utilized machine learning to review approximately two million options. The final design consisted of a fiberglass reinforced plastic (FRP) shell on just twenty-four columns varying in size from 4.5in to 11in in diameter. For the FRP construction, the team had to navigate the challenges associated with an atypical building material both from a code perspective and in working with a non-standard subcontractor, a boat builder.
Rebecca is a Senior Project Manager with Simpson Gumpertz & Heger where she has over 12 years of experience in the Structural Engineering group. Rebecca draws from cross-disciplinary experience in structural engineering and building technology to provide comprehensive and innovative solutions. She has worked on a large range of project types, including structurally complex sculptures, historic renovations, and new building designs. Rebecca obtained her Bachelor of Science in Engineering Physics and her Master of Engineering in Structural Engineering, both from Cornell University.
Curved Integral Abutment Bridge Design
By Nevin Gómez, PE and Grant Erickson
Description: Straight integral abutment bridges have been used throughout the New England states to reduce bridge maintenance costs and extend the service life of structures. Extending integral abutment bridges to curved alignment applications offers bridge owners additional areas to reduce construction costs associated with the lengths of approaches and right-of-way acquisitions as compared to tangent alignments. The purpose of this research is to investigate the effects of various bridge parameters pertaining to the behavior of curved integral abutment bridges (CIAB’s). The results are to be used to make recommendations for a simplified design method for CIAB’s. The simplified design method is to be implemented in a design guideline to enhance the bridge design practice throughout the New England region. A finite element analysis parametric study was performed to investigate the behavior of CIAB’s. The results of this study have been used to develop the Curved Integral Abutment Bridge Design Guidelines to supplement the bridge design guides for the region’s state transportation agencies, and are intended to aid in the design of CIAB’s that would be encountered under typical conditions in New England, including cold climate thermal ranges and low seismic hazards.
Nevin currently serves as a senior structural engineer out of WSP’s Merrimack, NH office. He holds a BS in Civil and Environmental Engineering and an MS in Structural Engineering and Mechanics from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and is a licensed Professional Engineer in New Hampshire. Nevin has worked on several highway and railroad bridge projects throughout New England and Colorado. He has conducted railroad bridge inspections as a team leader in Vermont and Maine. He also has an extensive background in finite element modeling. He is currently the project lead on seven rehabilitation and two replacement railroad bridge projects in Vermont under a BUILD Grant.
Grant serves as an assistant structural engineer working for WSP’s northern New England bridge design group, splitting time between WSP's Eliot, ME and Merrimack, NH offices. He graduated from the University of New Hampshire in 2019 with a B.S. in Civil & Environmental Engineering. Grant’s involvement with the Curved Integral Abutment Bridge Design project began at UNH when WSP engaged the university for a student to work on the project’s literature review task. Since then, Grant has worked on all aspects of the project including the finite element model analysis, data processing, writing of the final report, and developing the resulting design guidance. Additional work experience with WSP includes design, rehabilitation, inspection, and load rating of highway and railroad bridges across northern New England.
Committee Updates
Sustainability Committee
Submitted by Tom Lamb, PE
SENH Sustainability committee member Torey Brooks along with SEACONN sustainability committee member Jamie Littlefield presented at the February SENH webinar. Their presentation focused on sustainable design topics for structural engineers including a brief introduction to the topic as a brief review of sustainability topics such as embodied carbon. They also presented on future goals of the committee including collecting resources for structural engineers on sustainable concrete.
Any members interested in joining the committee should contact Torey Brooks [email protected] or Tom Lamb [email protected] .
2023 WTS – SENH Joint Ski Outing
Submitted by Sean Brown, P.E.
Conditions were warm and spring-like on February 10th for the second annual joint ski outing with WTS at Pat’s Peak. Despite the warm temperatures, Pats Peak had nearly all of their trails open which made for a great day on the slopes. It was especially fun to have 12 people join us this year for skiing and tubing as well. Thank you to everyone who was able to attend, we’re looking forward to having this event again next season!
SENH Scholarship Committee
Submitted by Sean Brown, PE
Structural Engineers of New Hampshire (SENH) is very pleased to announce that two University of New Hampshire (UNH) Civil Engineering students have been selected for the 2023 SENH Scholarships of $1,000 each. Students entering their senior year of studies with a focus on structural engineering are eligible. This year, Mr. Nicholas Kenney of the University of New Hampshire was awarded the Arthur W. Rose, Jr. Memorial Scholarship and Mr. Gabriel Guertin of the University of New Hampshire was awarded the SENH Younger Member’s Group Scholarship. These scholarship winners were announced at the Engineer’s Week Banquet hosted by NSPE-NH.
SENH is proud to support students as they pursue their undergraduate degrees, the first step in becoming tomorrow’s engineers and problem solvers. Congratulations Nicholas and Gabriel!
Board of Directors Vacancy
Submitted by the Board of Directors
Looking for a way to be more involved with SENH? Consider volunteering your time to serve on the Board of Directors! There will be two board of director positions vacancies as Tom Lamb and Josif Bicja have served their maximum terms. Anyone interested in serving on the board of directors should contact Josif Bicja at [email protected]. An announcement and voting of the nominees will be made at the May meeting.
Member News
Engineer of the Year Announcement
Submitted by Josif Bicja, PE
Hoyle Tanner's Sean T. James Named 2023 New Hampshire Engineer of The Year
Sean T. James, PE has been selected by a jury of his peers from New Hampshire’s engineering societies as the 2023 New Hampshire Engineer of the Year. This distinguished award was presented on Thursday, February 23rd at the annual Engineers’ Week banquet at the Grappone Conference Center in Concord, New Hampshire. The Structural Engineers of New Hampshire (SENH) association nominated Sean based on his record of professional accomplishments, service and contributions to the engineering profession and his numerous volunteering efforts to his community. Sean is a Senior Vice President and Division Manager for Hoyle Tanner’s Ground Transportation Group, and member of the firm’s Board of Directors. In his role as Division Manager, he is responsible for delivering bridge and roadway engineering projects and associated permitting to a diverse group of clients including state agencies, municipalities, and private clients. He leads a team of 36 professionals that includes structural and transportation engineers, designers, and permitting specialists while executing the transportation related strategic goals of the company throughout New England. In this capacity, Sean works extensively with a team of dedicated professionals to provide educational, training and advancement opportunities which is a deeply rewarding aspect of his role.
Sean is a graduate of the University of Maine where he earned his BS and MS in Structural engineering in 1993 and 1995 respectively. While working full-time at Hoyle Tanner he decided to advance his career further by completing an MBA at the Southern New Hampshire University in 2008. He maintains professional licensure in New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont, New York, and Pennsylvania.
Sean is well known for the time he dedicates and volunteers to his local community, the Town of Candia, New Hampshire. His dedication was demonstrated over his 11-year tenure on the Candia Planning Board, having starting as an alternate member in 2006 and then becoming the Board chair from 2012 to 2017. During this time, Sean assisted and lead the Planning Board as it processed, reviewed, and voted on applications submitted by developers and other prospective builders for changes ranging from lot-line adjustments to major subdivisions. He also served as Chair of the Candia Master Plan Steering Committee which delivered the current 2017-2027 Town Master Plan. He currently serves as the Vice President of the Candia Youth Athletic Association (CYAA) Board of Directors, and through this organization has volunteered and assisted with spring cleanup of soccer and/or baseball fields, volunteered as an assistant baseball coach for a combined team of kids from Candia and Deerfield, coached a flag football team and also served as a T-ball coach.
Sean lives in Candia with his wife, Karie, and their two sons, Liam and Ryan.
Look for a SENH Member’s project on This Old House® this March!
Submitted by Jeffrey Karam, PE
When you were a 10-year-old did you enjoy watching This Old House® too? Well, Jeff Karam, P.E. of Evergreen Structural Engineering watched every Sunday. His family thought it was odd and he often watched alone but still he watched. Fast forward to season 44 on March 23, 2023 and you’ll see an Evergreen Structural Engineering project! The project is in fact a very old house; it dates to 1720 and is located in Ipswich, MA along the Ipswich River. The owners were committed to saving the oldest parts of the home including the original gambrel portion, posts and beams within the ell, and an original cistern that was built into the foundation.
Jeff was never filmed for the project but did meet the general contractor, Charlie Silva, prior to construction. While the framers were installing an almost 35’ long steel ridge beam, Jeff got a frantic call from the architect, Benjamin Nutter, who was watching that day of filming. Luckily, all Ben wanted to know was how much load the column would be supporting if the design snow load was ever to actually be on the roof so that Kevin O’Connor, the host, could mention the value before they moved on to film something else.
You will not get to see Jeff on air as the show highlights the trades more than the design professionals. However, the architect will be in episode two. So, if you tune in, you’ll see Evergreen’s work, but not Jeff. Similar to many projects, but literally true this time, structural engineers fill a behind the scenes role.
Last Meeting Attendance List & Meeting Minutes
February 1, 2023 Meeting - Red Blazer Restaurant & Pub, Concord, NH
Business Portion:
- Josif Bicja announced that SENH member Sean James, P.E. was recently named New Hampshire’s Engineer of the Year for 2023.
- Scholarship raffle winners were announced.
- SENH-WTS Joint Ski outing is scheduled for Friday, February 10th at Pats Peak (12:30 PM to 5:00 PM – meetup and social hour 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM)
- Excellence in Structural Engineering Awards – submissions due by March 3, 2023.
- SENH will be awarding two - $1,000 scholarship awards to current UNH students pursuing structural engineering – scholarships will be awarded during E-Week.
- The March meeting will be held in-person at UNH – still looking for member firm presentations (need 1 or 2).
- Website update – the website has been up and running for several months now, please provide any feedback, comments, and/or suggestions – the board is open to receiving feedback.
- Member firms are encouraged to submit project photos to be used for the rotating slideshow on the SENH website homepage.
Presentations:
NHDOT Bridge Program Update:
Presenter: Jennifer Reczek, P.E., NHDOT Consultant Design Chief
Jennifer provided the annual report on the ‘State of the Department’, highlighting the accomplishments DOT celebrated the past year as well as reviewing the Department’s strategic plan.
Being First: Installing the First 8-Place Chairlift in the East at Loon:
Presenters: Brian Norton, Loon Mountain; John Ashworth, Bull Stockwell Allen; Ed DiRosa, Doppelmayr, USA
“Kancamagus 8, or Kanc 8, is an eight-seat D-Line Doppelmayr chair with ergonomically shaped heated seats and tinted bubble. Replacing the Kancamagus Express Quad, the Kanc 8 transports 3,500 skiers per hour to the top of some of Loon’s most popular terrain. This new high-speed, eight-person chairlift also features an automatic restraining bar, individual footrests, and an adjustable loading carpet for young skiers and riders. The D-Line holds 205 new developments, including 31 innovations and 14 patents, making it the most modern chairlift in the world. Featuring new Doppelmayr Direct Drive (DDD) technology, a gearless drive allows whisper-quiet operation and low maintenance while increasing energy efficiency.” -Taken from the Loon Mountain website. The presentation focused on the planning, design and construction of the new lift, focusing on unique design and detailing challenges encountered during the project.
Attendees:
