About - Structural Engineer

Structural Engineers are now involved in many different areas besides just "traditional" building design such as: Bridge Design, Ports and Harbors Design, Offshore Deep sea drilling platforms, Tunnels, Oil Refineries, Amusement Park rides, and the final frontier: space itsef

Birth of a Profession: Structural engineering is a noble profession, having been established for thousands of years, though under different names over the centuries. In the early years they were the builders; having left us the Great Pyramids of Egypt, the Great wall of China, the Roman aqueducts. In Medieval times they were often referred to as architects, having left us the castles, churches and mosques of Europe and Asia. With arrival of the 1850s through early 1900s, with the beginning of more sophisticated use of steel and concrete in building design, the specialization of Structural Engineering was truly being born. Building design now required more knowledge and understanding of how to use concrete, steel, masonry and wood to build larger and taller buildings and bridges. Architects began realizing that to put there best talents towards designing a building to meet and satisfy their clients demands, they needed to find people, structural engineers to be exact, that could design the skeleton or structure of the building for them. Engineering achievements and marvels of this time period include the Eiffel Tower, the Panama and Suez canals, The Brooklyn Bridge.

The 1900s began the design of high-rise buildings, what we commonly refer to as Skyscrapers which would include the Empire State Building, the John Hancock Building, The Sears Tower, The World Trade Center Twin Towers, The Petronas Towers of Kuala Lumpur. Longer and longer span bridges were being designed such as the Golden Gate Bridge.

Today the field of Structural Engineering has become even more sophisticated, specialized and diverse. Structural Engineers are now involved in many different areas besides just "traditional" building design such as: Bridge Design, Ports and Harbors Design, Offshore Deep sea drilling platforms, Tunnels, Oil Refineries, Amusement Park rides, and the final frontier: space itsef. Structural Engineers have been involved in the past design of rocket and the space shuttle launch platforms, the current orbiting international space station itself, and will be in future space exploration.

Website Created and Maintained by Member:
Aswin Rangaswamy, P.E.