Black’s Law Dictionary defines structure as "any construction, or any production or pieces of work artificially built up or composed of parts joined together in some definite manner; a combination of materials to form a construction for occupancy, use or ornamentation whether installed on, above, or below the surface of a parcel of land." Engineered structures may be categorized as building structure or non-building structure.

As summarized in the Professional Engineers’ Act, "the design of a structure requires the application and knowledge of scientific laws, principle of mechanics, and specialized knowledge of stress and strain relationship of designed materials under the influence of predetermined applied loads or induced forces, including but not limited to such as seismic action, wind forces, gravity loads, impact load, temperature effects, and fluid pressures." According to current laws and rules, the title structural engineer is "an identification of competence and specialization in a subspecialty of civil engineering and necessitates education or experience in addition to that required as a civil engineer."

The practice of structural engineering includes the understanding of material properties; the use of common construction materials such as concrete, masonry, steel and wood as they relate to the design, rehabilitation and/or investigation of buildings or other structures; and the experience to select appropriate foundation and framing systems including consideration of alternative systems. It requires, in addition to the basic knowledge of civil engineering, the application of building code requirements, competence in earthquake resistant design, design of high rise buildings, special occupancy and irregular buildings. Structural engineering entails the professional practice to safeguard public safety, health and general welfare.

Today college graduates have better opportunities to use analytical tools and to pursue many practical research projects using high tech equipment and computer hardware and software. However, just as I wrote in the beginning of my presidency, the challenge which many young engineers confront in the engineering profession lies in the opportunity to continue one's education beyond what has been offered in a four-year college curriculum. A major portion of engineering experience can only be acquired through on-the-job training and observation of projects during construction. To supplement the acquired job experience, I strongly urge your participation in technical committees and practical research, reading of technical journals, and undertaking continued education through technical seminars.

One of the successes in the practice of engineering towards the end of the 20th century is the capability to use the Internet to transmit information in an extremely short time from one office to another and from one country to another country. The boundaries of distance, across the continents, and even time zones are all but irrelevant on the information super-highway. The use of computer-aided design and drafting enables more detailed analyses to solve complex problems and more organized construction drawings. The use of the high-tech production, however, demands greater care to oversee the input data, competent experience in interpretation of the output data and more time to keep current standardized details. In recent years, more design offices have resorted to the of CSI format in cross-referencing the material specification on plans and details. This trend must continue to facilitate a common base for the link between practice and construction.

Between 1959 and 1997, the Structural Engineers Association of California (SEAOC) has developed and maintained the update of the Recommended Lateral Force Requirements and Commentary, also known as the Blue Book. The Blue Book recommendation has been used nationwide as well as worldwide. It has served as the bases for most model codes as well as the NEHRP documents developed through the Building Safety Standards Council. The Blue Book recommendations represent the state-of-the-practice of the last 40 years.

Through the commitment of Vision 2000 in the last six years, SEAOC developed guidelines on performance-based engineering for buildings. The objective of performance-based engineering recognizes a full range of issues on seismic design of structures for which a set of procedures are used to engineer buildings for predictable and definable seismic performance within established levels of risk. Conformance to the minimum standards in the traditional building code will be replaced with different levels of building performance which can be categorized into fully operational, operational, life safety and near collapse. Various new design and analysis methods have been developed to better address the inelastic response of structures. More refinement is expected during the transition between current seismic design practice to performance-based engineering design. The client in consultation with the design professional should make the selection of the seismic performance level, based on economy and the users’ expectation of the acceptable level of risk .

The future of the structural engineering profession rests on how well members of our Association can expand our links towards worldwide development of common engineering design philosophy and on staying in the foreground in the development of performance-based engineering. Many of you are well aware that the year 2000 building code will be a national code published by the International Code Council (ICC). The future role of the structural engineering profession in the International Building Code development requires strong commitment from our membership and voluntary participation of our engineers of the future. The final chapter of the SAC research on steel moment framed connections is yet to be written. Yet it has impacted our understanding of structural steel as a non-homogenous material and our practice to effectively design steel structures. In the word of John F. Kennedy, "We stand today on the edge of unknown frontier…a frontier of unknown opportunities and perils – a frontier of unfulfilled hopes and threats."

Finally, the survival of our profession is in our own hands. I encourage the senior members of our Association to share their valuable life-long experience and continual participation in professional activities with the engineers of the future. To our students, younger members and engineers of the future, we expect you to be learned both technically and administratively, and to carry the torch forward into the next century.  

Program: Eiffel Tower II

Speaker: Farzad Naeim, S.E., John A. Martin & Assoc.

Menu: Shrimp scampi. (Vegetarian meal available if requested by Noon Feb. 2)

Location: Luminarias Restaurant, 3500 Ramona Blvd., Monterey Park

Time: Social hour: 5:30 p.m. Dinner: 6:30 p.m. Program: 8 p.m.

Menu: (Vegetarian meal available if requested by Noon.

Cost: $22 (Full-time undergraduate students: $10)

(See blue insert for reservation form and details.)

Program: Steel Welding and Fabrication

Speaker: Donald Lahr, Lahr Industrial Welding

Location: Harry's Plaza Café, 3313-B State St., Santa Barbara

Time: 5:30 p.m.: social hour; 6:30 p.m.: dinner; 7:30 p.m.: dinner

Menu: beef or chicken

Cost: $18 (Full-time undergraduate students $10)

American Society of Civil Engineers Forensic Engineering Technical Group will hold its Fourth Annual Seminar/Workshop, Lessons Learned in Forensic Engineering, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 7 at the University of California, Irvine. The cost is $135 pre-paid, $150 at the door. Included are continental breakfast, lunch, parking and workshop materials.

Guest speakers from the legal and technical fields will discuss lessons they have learned on the following topics: philosophy and usefulness of forensic engineering, case histories -- engineering and legal perspectives, mechanics of a forensic investigation, and contractual issues faced by forensic engineers.

Exhibit space is available.

"Last year the workshop sold out early, so make your reservations now!" said Lisa M. Shusto, P.E., member of the Forensic Engineering Technical Group Board.

For further information contact Lisa at 310-302-7221 or Gavriel Berghouse at 310-372-1695, Steve Kent at 949-224-3808, Steve Helfrich at 909-792-7366 or Steve Provenghi at 213-662-1184.

John Gaffey, a retired SEAOSC member, has available the following free of charge: paper-bound reports, mostly by EERI and CDMG, for numerous earthquakes worldwide (1980s -1990s); 20 issues of SEAOC Annual Proceedings 1973-1995; miscellaneous civil/structural/geotechnical texts, handbooks, etc.; Journal, Geotechnical Division (formerly Soil Mechanics and Foundation Division), ASCE (1954-1994) (about 12 shelfl-feet); Journal, Association of Engineering Geologists (1971-96) (about 2 shelf-feet); a few issues of "Geotechnique" and "Canadian Geotechnical Journal" (both pre-1970). Must pick up in Irvine. Phone/fax: 949-786-2313.

Thanks to a merger between Paul Revere Life, which has offered SEAOC members special rates on disability insurance since 1996, and Provident Life & Accident, association members may now receive discounts on both Paul Revere and Provident policies.

"Provident has recently developed some policies which add features Paul Revere had eliminated a few years ago," said Chuck Kofoed, exclusive agent to SEAOC members. "These changes will provide more ways in which engineers can be compensated during claim."

Due to the merger, Provident Life & Accident will become the carrier for business overhead expense and disability buy-sell. Kofoed says he will also be using Provident for group long-term disability and term life insurance.

In addition to handling the disability insurance program, Kofoed has arranged for Transamerica Insurance & Investment group to offer SEAOSC members special rates on administering 401K and other state-of-the-art retirement programs.

"I am excited about this new program, " Kofoed said. "Transamerica is innovative and has a strong commitment to offering personalized, professional and expert service. It has experience in working with other associations, as well as many engineering firms. Since many engineers like to be more in control of their retirement investing. Transamerica will offer 27 mutual fund choices to fund participating plans. This is more than double what other vendors offer."

For more information about either of these programs, call Chuck Kofoed at 800-274-9183.

SEAOSC welcomes its newest members:

Hess, Bruce, Member, Trus Joist MacMillan

Iacona, Matthew R., Affiliate, Structural Systems Inspection

Murray, David J., Affiliate, Earth Systems Consultants

Schillinger, Harold, Associate, Bekaert Corp.

Sengupta, Amlan, Associate, Ove Arup & Partners Calif.

Shah, Amar, Member, Perliter & Ingalsbe

Volnyyl, Vladimir, Associate, Robert Englekirk Consulting Engrs.

Yamini, Soly, Member, Soly Yamini & Assoc.

Taylor & Gaines seeks P.E. with two to three years experience and S.E. (prefer Ph.D. or M.S.) with five years experience in wood, steel and concrete. Written communication skills, teamwork skills, computer proficiency required. Send resume to 320 N. Halstead, Ste. 200, Pasadena, CA 91107. Fax: 626-351-5319. Attention: Ed Gharibans.

Fast-growing Glendale firm, freeway close to all Southern California, is looking for you. Work in private and public sector. Need structural engineers at all levels. Flexible working hours allow you to cut your driving time. Opportunity to grow. Great benefits. Modern working environment. Grossman & Speer Associates. Fax resume: 818-507-1556.

Loyd W. Martin Consulting Engineers seeks P.E. and/or S.E. for full-time or part-time contract work. Drafting not necessary. Flexible schedules, excellent compensation. All resumes will be given very serious attention. Contact Loyd at 310-541-8163. 512 Yarmouth Rd., Palos Verdes Estates, CA 90274.

Orange County structural engineering firm seeks P.E. or S.E. Must have five years structural design and detailing experience in steel, concrete, masonry and wood construction. Perform PML studies and building inspections. Exceptional written and verbal skills and experience with ETABS, SAP90, DRAIN required. M.S. degree preferred. Fax: 949-363-5848.

Feb. 2, 3 p.m., SEAOSC Board Meeting, Luminarias Restaurant.

Feb. 3, 5:30 p.m., L.A. Dinner Meeting, Luminarias Restaurant.

Feb. 4, 2 p.m., COLA/UCI Subcom.of Testing Stds. Mtg., SEAOSC.

Feb. 9, 2 p.m., Quality Assurance Committee, SEAOSC Office.

Feb. 9, 4 p.m., Existing Buildings Committee, SEAOSC Office.

Feb. 10, 5:30 p.m., Tri-Counties Dinner Meeting, Santa Barbara.

Feb. 16, 4 p.m., Non-Ductile Concrete Committee, SEAOSC Office.

Feb. 18, 3 p.m., Testing Standards Committee, SEAOSC Office.

Feb. 20, 8 a.m., Composite Construction Seminar, Commerce.

Feb. 23, 3 p.m., Flexible Diaphragm Subcommittee, SEAOSC Office.

Feb. 27, Auxiliary Trip to Long Beach Aquarium.

Feb. 30, NEWSletter Deadline.