Structural Engineers Association of Southern California (Since 1929)

5360 Workman Mill Rd., Whittier, CA 90601

Structural Engineers Association of Southern California hosted a very successful convention in Santa Barbara for the Structural Engineers Association of California. The convention was attended by nearly 600 people including over 400 engineers and engineering students.

Some of the highlights of the convention were:

Tom Harris and his technical committee provided a great program, and the papers presented were outstanding. The "Proceedings", which includes all the papers, was distributed to those in attendance. Those members not attending the convention can receive a copy of the Proceedings free of charge upon request to the State Office of SEAOC at 916-443-9023.

Also available for convention attendees were copies of the recently published 1999 edition of "The Recommended Lateral Force Requirements and Commentary", also known as the "Blue Book", which will be mailed and should be received around Nov. 1 by Member SE's, CE's and Associates who did not attend the convention. Industry members can also receive a free copy by contacting the SEAOC office at 916-443-9023.

SEAOC's new incoming President is Ronald Hamburger, a Member SE of SEAONC. President-elect is Bob Hendershott from SEAOSD, and Joe Sutton of SEAONC will be continuing as Treasurer.

John Shipp's term of office as SEAOC president terminated at the convention. As echoed by all the state board members and many others outside the state board, John Shipp did an outstanding job in bringing the four regional sections together, and thereby accomplishing much more meaningful programs.

The State Board of SEAOC has hired the firm of Messersmith Group, Inc. to manage the state office for SEAOC. The new executive director from this Group is Lee Adler. The Messersmith Group has 20 years experience in managing non-profit associations, and we look forward to their services and assistance. Lee Adler attended the entire convention and it became very evident that he was an excellent choice for this position.

When the technical sessions were over, the social functions began. Lunches on the patio and dinners each evening were lavishly decorated and planned by the women members of the Structural Engineers Auxiliary. Also planned were trips to nearby Lotusland and a coastline cruise on a catamaran.

The 48 exhibit booths were set up in two large rooms and visited by all the attendees. The vendor areas were also where the evening cocktail receptions were held, which added much more exposure for the exhibitors.

The Presidents Cup was held at 6:30 a.m. at the hotel pool under the noble direction of Rawn Nelson. The task was to retrieve from the middle of the swimming pool plastic puzzle pieces that were cut in odd shapes, and then attempt to spell SEAOC with these pieces. Although it was a very close race, SEAONC was declared winner with SEAOSC second.

Croquet: SEAOSD must have been practicing as they won handily with SEAOSC again coming in second.

Many favorable comments were received before and at the convention regarding the new method for convention registration. Shafat Qazi and Bill Warren spent hundreds of hours preparing and testing the new program for on-line registration. We anticipate that this program will also assist the other sections with their conventions.

The convention begins another year for SEAOC under a new president, a new Board of Directors and a new Executive Director. Based on the cooperation and teamwork received from all the regional associations at this beginning, I believe we can look forward to another productive year.

Program: World's Tallest Building: Petronas Twin Towers, Kuala Lumpur

Speaker: Thornton-Tomasetti Representative

Menu: Chicken Teriyaki

Location: Luminarias Restaurant, Monterey Park

Time: Social hour: 5:30 p.m.

Dinner: 6:30 p.m.

Program: 8 p.m.

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

(See blue insert for reservation form and details.)

Program: Taiwan Earthquake

Speaker: Tall Buildings Design Council Representative

Location: Costa Mesa Country Club, 1701 Golf Course Dr.

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

Menu: Buffet

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

A Practical Design and Detailing Seminar on "Practical Design of Steel SCBF's, an Alternative to Steel Moment Frames" will be held from 3 to 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 3 at Luminarias Restaurant prior to the Dinner Meeting. Presenters are Michael Cochran, S.E., President of AISC Los Angeles Regional Chapter, and Lanny Flynn, S.E., AISC West Coast Regional Engineer.

The seminar will cover practical design and detailing considerations when designing steel SCBF's following the 1997 UBC and AISC Seismic provisions. The first half of the presentation will be a review of braced frame design, emphasizing the advantages and reasons for using SCBF's and items to be specially aware of, including example notes to put on the drawing for the steel fabricator. The second half will be a building design example comparing/using LRFD and ASD for design of column beam, and brace members and the brace connections occurring at both the beam/column connection and beam midspan will be presented. Handouts will be provided.

SEAOSC welcomes its newest members.

Carter, David, Member SE, Applied Engineering, San Luis Obispo

Corman, David, Associate, Thornton-Tomasetti/Coil & Welsh, Tustin

Hernandez, Alberto, Affiliate, San Gabriel

Kehl, Russell, Associate, Degenkolb Engineers, Los Angeles

Koh, William, Member SE, William Koh & Associates, Los Angeles

Lander, Blake, Associate, Thornton-Tomasetti/Coil & Welsh Engineers, Tustin

Lapraik, Michael, Associate, Boyle Engineering, Ventura

MacDonald, David, Member, MacDonald-Stephens Engineers, Mission Viejo

Markarian, Kris, Member, Nabih Youssef & Associates, Los Angeles

Marr, Patrick, Member, Patrick Marr, AIA, P.E., Santa Barbara

Matt, Steve, Industry Member, Matt Construction Corp., Santa Fe Springs

SEAOSC has purchased a Toshiba digital data projector for use at its seminars and dinner meetings. Speakers are encouraged to create their presentations so that they can be electronically shown via the projector and later sold on the SEAOSC Web page at seaint.org following the seminar.

The new unit also has a digital camera that enables projection of any type of document – whether the document is an overhead transparency or a regular, typed paper document. This feature eliminates the need to create transparencies.

SEAOSC members may also rent the projector from SEAOSC at the discounted rate of $95 per day plus shipping as a benefit of their membership in SEAOSC. The unit normally rents for $200 per day.

To advance the science of structural engineering;

To assist the public in obtaining dependable structural engineering services;

To encourage engineering education;

To maintain the honor and dignity of the profession;

And to enlighten the public with regard to the province of the structural engineer.

3 Noon SEAOSC Board Meeting Luminarias Restaurant,

3 p.m. PD&D Seminar on Steel Luminarias Restaurant

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

9 2 p.m. Quality Assurance Com. Mtg. SEAOSC Office, Whittier

4 p.m. Existing Bldgs. Com. Mtg. SEAOSC Office, Whittier

10 4 p.m. Flexible Diaphragm Subcom. Mtg. SEAOSC Office, Whittier

5:30 p.m. Orange County Dinner Mtg. Costa Mesa Country Club

18 3 p.m. Testing Standards Com. Mtg. SEAOSC Office, Whittier

23 4 p.m. Light Frame Subcom. Mtg. SEAOSC Office, Whittier

Non-Ductile Concrete Subcom. Mtg. SEAOSC Office, Whittier

A seven-member team from EERI (Earthquake Engineering Research Institute) is carrying out a field investigation of the Taiwan earthquake which struck about 90miles south of Taipei. The Sept. 21 quake of 7.6 magnitude has killed more than 2,000 people and left 100,000 homeless according to the government. Most of the buildings that collapsed were new high-rises built during a burst of development in the epicentral area, according to EERI. More than 1,000 aftershocks have occurred, several with magnitudes greater than 6.0.

The EERI team is lead by Michael O'Rourke of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, and Joe Uzarski, consulting structural engineer from Richmond, CA. Other team members include Norman Abrahamson, Pacific Gas and electric, San Franciso; Jim Goltz, Caltech, Pasadena; Ignatius Po Lam, Earth Mechanics Inc., Fountain Valley; Navin Amin, Middlebrook + Louie, San Francisco; and Wen Tseng, International Civil Engineering consultants, Berkeley. The team coordinated its field efforts through Professor Chin Hsiung Loh at Taiwan National University. The investigation focused on damage to buildings and lifelines and societal effects of the earthquake.

The team, supported by the National Science Foundation as part of EERI's Learning from Earthquakes Program, spent approximately one week in the field and will provide preliminary information via the EERI Newsletter and web site.

Henry Layne, SEAOSC Honorary Member, died Aug. 27. He had been living in Sierra Madre and had been a member since 1940. Services were held at Good Shepherd Church in Arcadia.

However, all was not lost. The Slip Stickers came back and with the help of a home run by Lloyd Spear narrowed the gap to 7-5 at the end of the 4^th inning. Then the Slickers scored 4 more runs in the top of the 5^th and all seemed lost. But hope springs eternal and Tony Gaoiran got on base. Then Matt Verti hit a screamer that looked like a double, but somehow Amer's second basewoman, Cathy Clark, speared it a foot off the ground and Tony was doubled at first. The rest is history.

Amer Soudani said that there were 88 golfers and no tennis players. Well, would you believe that there 42 people at the ball game either playing or watching. The best turnout I can remember. One glitch was that the beer ran out quickly -- probably why the Slip Stickers lost.

Alice Loevenguth did the scoring again. Do you have any idea the confusion that exists around her when she's trying to get the lineup and keep track of the hits, runs and outs? (She was lucky to get the first names.) Well, she did her usual good job. She doesn't record errors, so here were the tallies. All balls hit to or at someone (not caught or fielded) she calls a hit. Slickers: 13 hits. Slip Stickers: 12 hits.

This, I guess, is my last softball game with SEAOSC. (I had my right hip joint replaced June 23.) How many years I can't remember, but one of the first softball games was at Riviera Country Club out on one of the fairways with a sand trap close by and a big mound between the pitcher and the outfielders. We used to use a larger ball (pumpkin ball) so the scores were a lot lower. The new younger players wanted a faster game, so probably 10-15 years ago we went back to a regulation ball.

I have so many memories in the last 40 years of playing. I wish I could share more with you. I guess this year I was almost the last of the "old timers." Warren O'Brien played 2^nd base this year, but he is a young 62. He played with one foot in a cast. Honest!

Lastly I remember so well playing again Al Dambros year after year. He hated to lose and so did I. Every time he came to bat, it was a sure home run, except since we had no fences, our outfielders just played deep and it was an easy out. (Sometimes.)

Rawn Nelson is our new Slip Stickers captain. He has been a strong enthusiastic participant for 20 years or more. Amer does it all: he's a good ball player and a good person. His wife, Yvette, is a strong supporter as well as a player, sometimes.

I will miss you all. Keep up the enthusiasm! Rawn, play your best players in the outfield and provide more beer. We have to get the title back. Thanks, Don Gilbert, for making all the arrangements. God bless you all!

Photo Caption: John Loevenguth, who with Al Dambros, started the softball rivalry between the industry reps and the structural engineers, throws the first pitch. John’s name appears with Al’s on the SEAOSC softball perpetual trophy.

Photo Caption: The 1999 SEAOSC Softball Tourney teams: The Slipstickers and the Slickers

Photo caption: Emcee Rawn Nelson had to eat a big dinner to provide enough energy to award all those prizes stacked up behind him.

Photo caption: Jackie Edwards, right, accepts the grand prize, a color television, from Yvette Soudani.

Simpson Strong-Tie Company

Spancrete of California

Superior Gunite

Twining Labs of Southern California

Verco Manufacturing Company

BQE Engineering

Ted Christensen

Concrete Masonry Assoc. of California & Nev.

The Herrich Corp.

Junior Steel Company

Law/Crandall

The McIntyre Company

Standard Structures

KLT Consulting Engineers

BHP Steel Building Products USA

Columbia Steel

Hillman, Biddison, Loevenguth

Master Builders

Ben Schmid

Neil Palladay

Platinum: $300+

Gold: $150+

Silver: $75+

Oliver Bowen Cup for Individual Low Gross Calloway: Lynn Weigeis

Cy Biddison Trophy for Individual Low Net: Jim Kirkgard

President's Trophy for Individual Low Gross: David Breiholz

Longest drive: Jim Watson

Closest to Pin: Anthony Masolini & Lynn Weigeis

Honey Pot (50/50): Steve Finney

Contributions have been received from the following people in support of SEAOSC's programs:

E. Brad Graves

James Lai

Ken Bondy

Tom Kamei

Henry Layne

Don Kay

Frank Burke

Ted Christensen

Hassan Sughayer

Spancrete of California

Hans Steinmann

Tarek Mokhtar

Ajay Ray

Edward Twining Jr.

Hossein Hosseinian

LeRoy Crandall

Carl Johnson

Nasser Motavvef

Philip Ashanallah

Michael Emde

Warren Minner

Francisco Gavina

Alexander Robertson

Dale Peery

Max Falamaki

Matthew Iacona

Platinum: $300+

Gold: $100-$299

Silver: $50-$99

Bronze: $1-$49

Structural Autocad Drafter with 2.5 years experience in Autocad 14 (Softdesk 8) and 23 years in structural engineering on board, with background in structural engineering. Seeking structural drafter (Autocad) position in a structural engineering company. Contact Nina Calin at 818-788-9836.

Sato & Boppana Consulting Engineers seeks engineers for the structural design of steel and concrete buildings. Send resume to Sato & Boppana, 8939 S. Sepulveda Blvd., Ste. 500, Los Angeles, CA 90045. No phone calls please.

Ventura structural engineering firm seeks both EIT and registered engineers for new designs, seismic retrofits, and occasional out-of-town field investigations. Teamwork and verbal/written communication skills are essential. Send resume to Howard Stup & Associates, 260 Maple Court, Ste. 221, Ventura, CA 93003 or fax 805-642-0090.

Thornton-Tomasetti/Coil & Welsh, seeks structural engineer with 10 years experience in high-rise design and management for the California office. Applicant must be a licensed California structural engineer and have excellent analytical and communication skills. Fax resume to 714-505-1689.

Ventura County (Thousand Oaks) structural engineering firm is looking for engineers with minimum of three years California working experience. B.S. or M.S. Knowledge of design steel, concrete, masonry and wood structures. P.E. or S.E. preferred. Fax resume to Li & Associates at 805-495-4083, attention Joe.

John A. Martin & Associates Inc. seeks structural engineer preferably with M.S., California registration, and a minimum of five years experience. Must be proficient in English and have proven technical report writing skills. Fax resume to 213-483-6490, attention: Steve Hagen.

The Allen Company seeks structural design engineer. Two to three years of structural design and detailing experience in steel, concrete, masonry and wood construction. Perform building inspections. Exceptional written, verbal and computer skills and experience with ETABS, SAP, RAMSTEEL required. P.E. license preferred. Fax: 949-363-5848.

The Allen Company (structural engineering firm) seeks structural drafter. Two to three years of structural drafting in steel, concrete, masonry and wood design. Fax resume to 949-363-5848.

Ficcadenti & Waggoner Consulting Structural Engineers Inc. seeks engineer with two plus years experience in structural design. Communcation skills a must. Mail or fax resume to 16969 Von Karman Ave., Ste. 240, Irvine, CA 92614. Fax: 949-474-1801, attention: Seb J. Ficcadenti.

Anderson & Doig Structural Engineers has opening for structural engineer designer for design of school and hospital buildings. B.S.C.E. required. Registration and two or more years experience preferred. Send resume to 10308 Placer Lane, Ste. 100, Sacramento, CA 95827-2511.

Taylor & Gaines Structural Engineers seeks California P.E. with three to five years in wood, steel and concrete. Written communication skills, teamwork skills and computer proficiency required. Send resume to 320 N. Halstead St., Ste. 200, Pasadena, CA 91107. Fax: 626-351-5319, attention Ed Gharibans.

Tildin Engineer seeks a senior engineer with a minimum of five years experience in the structural design of commercial and residential buildings. Send resume and salary history to 9550 Warner Ave., Ste. 325, Fountain Valley, CA 92708. Phone: 714-962-9705. Fax: 714-962-4797. Attention Farid Dinari.

Grossman & Speer Associates Inc. in Glendale is looking for you. We need structural engineers at all levels. Fax resume to 818-507-1556. Email: loyd@grossmanspeer.com.

Fax: 541-826-0262

Equal Opportunity Employer

1/4-page ad:

please call BYA Publications at (800)-566-2906

KPFF Consulting Engineers seeks motivated and energetic structural engineers.

2+ years of structural design experience with steel, concrete, masonry and timber desired.

M.S. degree and a California P.E. or S.E. preferred. Excellent communication and teamwork skills are essential.

Substantial growth opportunity for all levels, and the opportunity to work on some of the most exciting and challenging projects.

Please contact or fax resume to Kacy Rufener at

Get involved! Members and interested parties are invited to join a SEAOSC committee.

Contact the chairperson for information on current projects and meeting times, dates and locations. Check your roster for phone, fax or email information or contact the SEAOSC office: Phone: 562-908-6131, Fax: 562-692-3425, Email: seaosc@seaint.org.

President-Elect James Hill

Vice President Jack Bruce*

Treasurer Dan Novak

Secretary Dirk Bondy

Immediate Past President James Lai*

Directors Graeme Dick

Saif Hussain

Shirin Ader

William Nelson

Shafat Qazi

Fred Schott

*Denotes Delegates Albert Chen

to SEAOC John Shipp*

Board Advisory Mel Green

Business Forum Ike Ikeda

Building Code Doug Thompson

Computer Applications Bill Warren

Disaster Emergency Services Sandy Pringle

Education Ming Yeh

Existing Buildings Vahe Petrossian

House Eric Rodriguez

Legislative David Weiss

Membership Juan Carlos Esquivel

Online Newsletter Dennis Wish

Professional Practice Les Tso

Program Dilip Khatri

Tom Harris

David Pomerleau

Public Relations Cecil Teoh

Quality Assurance David Breiholz

Research Farzad Naeim

Seminar James Hill

Seismology Saiful Islam

Steel Structures Peter Maranian

Yeuan Chou

Vision 2000 James Hill

Younger Member Jason Tani

Speakers Bureau To Be Determined

Web Site Administrator Shafat Qazi