2024 Lecture Series - Structural Engineering 2030: Shifting Paradigms in Engineering

Structural Engineering 2030:
Shifting Paradigms in Engineering

Sponsored by the Structural Engineering Institute Boston Chapter
Wednesdays, March 27 and April 3, 2024
Simpson Gumpertz & Heger Inc.
480 Totten Pond Road, Waltham, MA 02451
5:00 PM Registration/Networking, 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM Lectures

SEI Boston Chapter is pleased to present the 26th Lecture Series. 

The featured lecture on Wednesday, March 27 is:

Evolving and Diversified Design Roles, Responsibilities and Risks of Project Participants
David Hatem, PC, Partner, Donovan Hatem
In the last two decades the design and construction industry has experienced substantial evolutions in the conventional roles, responsibilities, and risks (“3Rs”) of project participants under the long-dominant traditional Design-Bid-Build (“DBB”) delivery method.

This presentation will commence with a brief “baseline” recap of the 3Rs under traditional DBB especially focused on design issues.  The discussion will then address 3Rs in:

• Varied DBB Approaches
• Conventional Design-Build (“DB”)
• Early Contractor Involvement Approaches
  • CM/GC
  • Progressive DB

The keys to successful implementation of these diversified approaches and their implications on the 3Rs of project participants are:

• Transparency
• Clarity and consistency
• Contractual documentation
• Fairness and balance

The featured lectures on Wednesday, April 3 are:

Reflections on Structural Engineering - Computers and Design
Derek Barnes, PE, Principal, LeMessurier
Computer-Aided Structural Engineering (CASE) is the use of software and associated tools to assist in the design and analysis of structures. CASE is essential for modern structural engineering, enabling engineers to handle complex problems, improve efficiency, and collaborate effectively with other disciplines. However, CASE also poses challenges such as interoperability, reliability, and an over-reliance on computer models. This presentation will demonstrate how CASE can be used to simplify design, bound design problems, and streamline workflow using examples of high rise commercial developments with multiple phases. The presentation will also discuss the importance of customizing commercial software with in-house add-ins developed and tailored to improve a firm’s workflow. In highlighting LeMessurier’s history of developing programs to assist with drawing production and structural analysis, Derek will showcase how CASE can help engineers create efficient and realistic solutions for complex design problems. 

Reflections on Structural Engineering - Simplified Design
Nathan Roy, PE, Principal, LeMessurier
Codes, methods of analysis, computer programs, and delivery methods continue to grow more complex, posing challenges to the structural engineering profession. As structural engineers respond and adapt amidst this complexity, it is essential to maintain focus on fundamental principles and simplified methods to guide the design process. This presentation will explore the concepts, methods, and importance of simplified engineering to SIMPLIFY how we work, SIMPLIFY the structural systems we create and SIMPLIFY how we communicate. The presentation will also highlight examples from practice.

Infrastructure Materials – Development of Non-Proprietary Ultra-High-Performance Concrete (UHPC) for Infrastructure Applications
Richard Mulcahy, Materials Field Control Engineer, MassDOT
Jianqiang Wei, PhD, Associate Professor, University of Massachusetts Lowell
Sergio F. Breña, PhD, Professor, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) is an extremely durable material with excellent mechanical properties, due to its ultra-high compressive, tensile, and bond strength, enhanced flowability and consolidation, resistance to creep, shrinkage, and chloride ion penetration, and near zero permeability.  To achieve this kind of performance, UHPC must be carefully formulated with precise and optimized quantities of cementitious materials, fillers, fine aggregate, water, chemical admixtures, and steel fibers, with a very low water-cementitious ratio, to create a composite material with discontinuous steel fiber reinforcement and pore structure.  The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) is exploring multiple infrastructure applications that can incorporate UHPC, including joints, overlays, repairs, rehabilitation, and bridge beam fabrication.  This research aims to develop non-proprietary UHPC mix design formulations with locally sourced and attainable materials that can be implemented at ready mix batching plants or precast/prestressed concrete fabrication facilities.  This presentation will review current and future MassDOT UHPC specifications and applications, development of non-proprietary UHPC mix design formulations, and results from laboratory and small-scale mockup testing. 

Registration Deadline: Tuesday, March 26, 2024 
Registration Fees (includes both nights)
$100 BSCES Members, $125 Non-Members
$85 Public Sector Members, $100 Public Sector Non-Members
$20 Senior Members (65+), First 12 students are free with Student ID

Information/Registration: 
Click here to view the event flyer with speaker biographies. Register to attend this meeting and pay by credit card online by clicking Registration above. To register online for an event at the BSCES member rate you must login using your BSCES assigned username and password. If you do not know your BSCES member login information, email bsces@engineers.org or call 617/227-5551.

Twelve students can register to attend this lecture series for free on a first-come, first-served basis by entering their contact information and student ID number here. 

You can also register for this event by mail or email. To do so, download and complete a BSCES Event Registration Form and follow the submission instructions. Cancellations received after March 22, 2024 and no-shows will be billed.