News / Press

I would be remiss if I didn’t start with… Happy Holidays!!! I’m sure it will sound trite, but, honestly, the year has flown by and it feels like rush…rush…. rush. It is hard to believe that it has been over four months since we kicked off our SEAONC year and so much has happened. For those who were able to attend the NCSEA Summit in Anaheim, I am sure you all concur that it will be one to remember. The days when SEAONC was off on its own island are long gone, replaced by a rich, multi-hued tapestry of structural engineering. It was amazing and inspiring to see what structural engineers, from all corners of the world have accomplished and the future we are building. I hope you came back from the Summit energized and inspired, and I see structural engineering as bright, full of technical excellence, and building diversity for our communities.

SEAONC would like to thank NCSEA for planning such a wonderful event and allowing SEAOC to sponsor the opening “Welcome to California” reception. NCSEA also deserves huge kudos for carving a part of the conference for the 2023 SEAOC Pathways Cohort to meet and establish their ties to our profession. It was fantastic to see such excitement from the students and young professionals, knowing that they truly are our future leaders. The bonds that they have built are a stepping stone for our future. It has been a long time, but I can still remember my own steps into our world and to say it was overwhelming is an understatement. Kudos to the State Pathways Group, headed by Ken O’Dell and Natalie Tse, and the committee’s passion. I would like to extend a special invitation to the Pathways Cohort to build on their experience and get involved with SEAONC. You won’t regret it.

Our ability to reach out and build partnerships is the key to all our success. One of our Association’s Pillars this year is to increase the engagement, connectivity, and collaboration within SEAONC, so we are excited to bring back SEAONC student nights, the first being with U.C. Berkeley. Another special thanks to PEER, for sponsoring CAL students, following the tradition established by Professors Jack Moehle and Professor Steve Mahin, former directors of PEER.

Our next association meeting is on Tuesday, December 5 and SEAONC is happy to return to the UC Berkeley Faculty club. This is always a fun event where our members can meet students and share their experience and insight. Come and introduce yourselves to our next generation of Structural Engineers and enjoy the Faculty Club, which is always adorned for the Holidays. The meeting features a presentation from one of our SEE Award of Excellence winners, Geoff Bomba and Steve Earl of Forell/Elsesser Engineers who will be presenting the Oregon Supreme Court Seismic Retrofit. Details for registration are below. We are looking forward to seeing you all in person and I hope you all have a chance to get together with your loved ones and enjoy the wonderful holiday season. Happy early New Years and in 2024.