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President’s Message..................................March Dinner Meeting........................... Rebuilding Together................................Engineers Alliance for the Arts...........March Business Forum ..........................Seismology Jamboree..............................SEAONC Spring Seminar.......................New & Pending Members.....................Job Forum....................................................

President’s Message

VOL. LXIV, NO. 3 FOUNDED 1930 March 2009

575 MARKET STREET SUITE 2125 415/974-5147 WWW.SEAONC.ORG Editor: Ephraim HirschSAN FRANCISCO, CA 94105-2870 editor@seaonc.org

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In the March News:

March 3rd San Francisco Dinner Meeting/Stanford Student Night

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13 Meeting Notices

SEAONC MarchMonthly Meeting

Tuesday, March 3, 2009The City Club

155 Sansome St., San Francisco

Registration Deadline:

12:00 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 27th (Details above to the right, regis-

tration form on back of news)

SEAONC March Business Forum

Wednesday, March 18, 2009The City Club

155 Sansome St., San Francisco

Registration Deadline:

12:00 p.m. Friday, March 13th (Details on page 6)

SEAONC Spring Seminar

Wednesday March 4, 2009 &Wednesday March 11,2009

PG&E Auditorium77 Beale St.,

San Francisco

Registration Deadline: 12:00 p.m. Monday, March 2nd (Details on page 7 and inserted)

State-of-the-Art Seismic Design in JapanYasuhiro Tsuneki, Principal, Nikken SekkeiNobuyuki Mori, Chief Structural Engineer, Nikken SekkeiTakashi Yamane, Senior Structural Engineer, Nikken SekkeiMasanori Tasaka, Senior Structural Engineer, Nikken Sekkei

Founded in 1990, Nikken Sekkei today is Japan’s biggest structural design firm, with experience in designing every kind of building, including tall, wide, and complex struc-tures. The staff comprises 1600 planners, architects, engi-neers and other employees, including 110 engineers in the Structural Design Department. This presentation will in-troduce Nikken Sekkei’s structural design technologies, in-cluding seismic isolation, energy dissipation, and simulated earthquake ground motion.

Here is some SEAOC news before I continue the CAL 1950-1980 SESM faculty story I started in January. The SEAOC State Board met on February 7. The SEAOC Board has a phi-losophy to provide financial support and Association lead-ership so SEAOC committees can accomplish the goals that they have set. The Board agreed to support some new ini-tiatives including editing and publishing some Seismology Committee technical articles in STRUCTURE magazine. It authorized a new subcommittee, chaired by Mark Gilligan, to develop the SEAOC position and to establish guidelines for structural system and product seismic performance cer-tification and engineering capacity, such as those certified as ICC-ES certified reports. There are some disagreements among the engineers, building official, product manufac-turers and the construction industry about the testing pro-tocols and “certification” reports. This SEAOC committee plans to help sort this out and provide better guidance for testing protocols and structural engineers and building of-ficials use of the test reports.

SEAOC will have a long range planning session March 13/14 and Greg Luth, Doug Hohbach and Caroline Tsang will be representing SEAONC at that two-day session. A member survey will be distributed to some SEAOC members to so-licit ideas and suggestions to improve the programs, educa-tion, communication, and benefits that SEAOC provides to you. If you have ideas or suggestions, get your thoughts to these representatives before the session.

SEAOC has members that represent the Association and our profession on many California and national boards, com-mittees, and advisory panels. The list of these represen-tatives will be posted on the SEAOC web site so you can communicate with these members, and they can carry your message/request to the state or national group.

SEAOC has a public charity called the SEAOC Foundation, a 501 (c) 3 tax exempt charitable organization that supports re-search projects, student scholarships, and SEAOC technical

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Continued from Page 1A Message from the President

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publications. We encourage SEAONC members to make the SEAOC Foundation one of the tax deductible charities you support. This then helps us support young students and the technical work of the Association.

Publications are a legacy of SEAOC. The Blue Book has been the benchmark publication of the Association for over forty years. SEAOC agreed to support a new publication, Plan Review and Inspection Manual. This manual will “set the standards for structure construction plans, building depart-ment plan review for construction permit, and construction inspection by local building officials by building type”. A SEAOC Board steering committee is formed to guide this publication and committees that will prepare the content.

The story of the 1950 – 1980 CAL SESM professors contin-ues. They are the developers and leaders of finite element analysis in structure engineering, material science and strength of materials, dynamics and earthquake engineer-ing, non-linear analysis, prestressed concrete engineering and construction, concrete shells and long span structures. The best structural engineering in the world is in Northern California because these men provided the inspiration, edu-cation, resources, and tools we use every day.

SESM FACULTY 1950 – 1980

Egor Popov, Ray Clough, Boris Bresler, Jerome Rafael, T.Y. Lin, Alex Scordelis, Vitelmo Bertero, William GoddenGraham Powell, Anil Chopra, James Kelly, Edward Wilson Joseph Penzien, Jacob Lublinier, Robert Taylor, Frank Baron Hugh McNiven, Povindar K. Mehta, Karl Pister, Jerome Sackman, Robert Taylor, Milos Polivka, Howard Eberhart

The underlined faculty member’s story is in this month’s ar-ticle.

Joseph Penzien

Professor Penzien’s pioneering research contributions cov-er a broad range of subject areas in structural engineer-ing, including structure dynamics, earthquake response of highway bridges, dynamic response of offshore oil-drilling platforms, and probabilistic methods in earthquake engi-neering. His teaching and research experience in dynamics of structures and earthquake engineering led to publication of the book, Dynamics of Structures, which he co-authored with R. W. Clough. Joe Penzien is still providing his engi-neering knowledge with ICEC in Berkeley and his research support at U.C. Berkeley.

The design and construction of the first modern shake table at U.C. Berkeley in 1969 built for dynamic physical model testing using earthquake ground motion time history re-cords is attributed to Professor Joseph Penzien. This was comprised of a heavy compressed air supported concrete support mat structure, a computer controller, and servo driven – hydraulic mechanical actuators system with in-strumented test structure data collection system. He con-ceived, designed and built this complex system with many copies around the world. Even today this shake table is one of the largest in the United States and among the most so-phisticated in the world. The central feature of the Berkeley Earthquake Simulator Laboratory is this large earthquake shaking table.

The shaking table in this laboratory was the first of its kind ever built in the world, with a 20 ft. x 20 ft structure support table. The table is configured to produce three trans-lation components of motion-one vertical and two horizontal. These three degrees of freedom can be programmed to reproduce any wave forms within the capacities of force, velocity, displacement, and frequency of the system. It may be used to subject structures weigh-ing up to 100,000 lbs to horizontal accelerations of 1.5 G. The concrete shaking table is driven by hydraulic actuators that drive the table horizontally, and vertical actuators are attached to the table by prestressing rods located in 2-in. diameter openings piercing the table vertically on a 3-ft square grid. The table itself weighs 100,000 lbs. It was designed to be stiff enough to have a natural frequency greater than 20 Hertz and thus behaves essentially as a rigid body in the operating range of 0 - 10 Hertz.

The shaking table is driven horizontally by eight 75,000-lb hydraulic actuators, and vertically by four 75,000-lb actua-tors, located in the pit below it. The length of the actuators helps to decouple the horizontal and vertical components of motion; further decoupling is accomplished in the control system.

A table controller provides for closed loop control of motion on translation and rotation about the three principal axes. The controller is designed so that each of six degrees of free-dom can be programmed individually to run concurrently. Earthquake records of acceleration are used in program-ming and controlling the shaking table motions. In opera-tion, the air in the pit beneath the shaking table is pressur-ized so the total weight of the table and the structure being tested is balanced by the difference in air pressure in the pit and ambient air pressure.

Thanks to the vision and imagination of Joseph Penzien, an impressive research tool that was created used by the U.C. Berkeley faculty and graduate students to develop many of the structure systems, reinforcing details, and code require-ments that we use to today. Thanks to the vision and imagi-nation of Joseph Penzien.

T. Y. Lin

I have a special place in my heart for TY and his partners. They are all my friends. I worked with him, Felix Kulka and Y C Yang for seven years at T Y Lin International early in my career.

Pioneer – “a person or group that originates or helps open up a new line of thought or activity or a new method or techni-cal development”. This definition applies to the late T.Y. Lin, Professor Emeritus in Civil Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. He was a visionary whose pioneering work in prestressed concrete had a profound influence on modern structural design. T. Y. Lin’s professional contribu-tions through his firm’s projects, and the vision he had cre-ated lasting monuments to his vision and imagination. His career led the development of the United States prestressed

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Continued from page 2A Message from the President

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and precast concrete industry, economic parking structures still favored today, arena roofs, cable supported structures, fabric roofs, and long span segmental concrete bridge con-struction.

Born in Fuzhou, China, on No-vember 14, 1912, Lin was the fourth of 11 children. He was raised in Beijing, where his fa-ther moved the family when he joined China’s Supreme Court. In 1931, at the age of 19, Lin earned his bachelor’s degree in civil en-gineering from the Tangshan College of Jiaotung University. He then left for the United States and began his graduate studies at UC Berkeley. Early in his ca-reer, Lin gained recognition in his field with his Master’s thesis on direct moment distribution. The innovative paper advanced structural analysis and was the first student thesis published by the American Society of Civil Engineers. After receiving his UC Berkeley Master’s degree in civil engineering in 1933, Lin returned to China to work with the Chinese Ministry of Railways. He quick-ly moved up the ranks, becoming chief bridge engineer of the Yunnan-Chongqing Railway four years later at the age of 25. In his position, Lin oversaw the survey, design and construction of more than 1,000 bridges throughout China’s mountainous regions.

While Lin was working in Taiwan to help in the transition from Japanese to Chinese rule after the end of World War II, he accepted an invitation to join UC Berkeley’s faculty. It was here that Lin began his groundbreaking research in prestressed concrete, dramatically simplifying the design process for using the material, which combines the tensile strength of steel wires with the compressive strength of con-crete. Colleagues said the research on prestressed concrete spearheaded by Lin was key to popularizing the system, which was relatively unknown in the United States at the time. Lin believed so strongly in the material that in 1957 he helped assemble the first World Conference on Prestressed Concrete, which was attended by 1,200 engineers, scientists and manufacturers in San Francisco.

TY was respected as one of the greatest structural engineers of his time. Lin earned a reputation for combining elegance and strength in his designs. His mark can be seen world-wide, from San Francisco’s Moscone Convention Center to the Kuan Du Bridge and other new bridges in Taiwan and China, to the roof of the National Racetrack in Caracas, Venezuela and “wing girder” bridges in Bogota, Columbia. The Moscone Center’s 22,000-square-foot Exhibition Hall was the world’s largest underground room at the time it was constructed in 1980. His imagination created the 1978 Ruck-A-Chucky cable supported bridge slated for construc-tion over the American River in Auburn, California after the Bureau of Reclamation constructed the Auburn Dam. This bridge led to numerous media headlines including Popular Mechanics covers and a national focus on the “art” of bridge engineering.

Milos Polivka

The story of Milos Polivka, Professor of Civil Engineering at UC Berkeley, is one that spans four generations of civil engineers. His father, Dr. Jaroslav J. Polivka was an inter-nationally known architect-engineer who designed and constructed numerous buildings and bridges in Prague and other parts of Europe. His two sons, Milos and Jenda, both graduated in civil engineering from Charles University in Prague and came to the U.S. in 1938 to help him with the design and construction of the Czech Pavilion at the New York World’s Fair. In 1940, Dr. Jaroslav Polivka moved to Berkeley, California where he lectured in structural engi-neering at both the University of California at Berkeley and at Stanford University. He also had his own private struc-tural engineering consulting practice, during which time he collaborated with Frank Lloyd Wright between 1946 and 1959 on the design of several projects, including the Johnson Wax Research Tower in Racine, Wisconsin, the Guggenheim Museum in New York, and a proposed reinforced concrete Southern Crossing of the San Francisco Bay, known as the Wright-Polivka Butterfly Bridge.

Dr. Polivka’s son, Milos, followed in his father’s footsteps. During the period 1941 - 48, he attended U.C Berkeley and while working part-time as a laboratory assistant at the Engi-neering Materials Laboratory, he obtained both his B.S.(‘44) and M.S.(‘48) degrees in Civil Engineering in 1944 and 1948, respectively. In 1949, he joined the faculty as a professor in

the Civil Engineering Depart-ment, where he remained for 32 years until his retirement in 1981. In addition to his teaching and research responsibilities, Professor Polivka served as a Vice Chairman of the Division of Structural Engineering and Structural Mechanics from 1970 to 1973 and as Chairman from 1976 to 1979. In 1974, he also served as Assistant Dean of the College of Engineering.

Professor Polivka is remem-bered nationally and interna-tionally for his significant con-tributions to the science and

technology of concrete. He was the author of more than 70 publications on properties of cements, pozzolans, aggre-gates, and concrete. In particular, his research findings in the areas of thermal stresses and creep in mass concrete, behavior of expansive cement concrete, and properties of concrete behavior for nuclear reactors are considered to be of great value to the construction industry. His numerous research contributions were considered to be a major factor when, in 1971, the Engineering Materials Laboratory at the University of California at Berkeley was selected to receive the Charles S. Whitney Medal for, “fifty years of significant contributions to knowledge of properties of cements and concrete, pioneering work in construction practice, and out-standing leadership in engineering education.”

In January 1958, Professor Polivka served on a Task Group whose objective was to establish a local ACI Chapter. As a result of itsin efforts, a Charter was granted by ACI in November 1958. The Northern California Chapter of ACI

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Continued from Page 3A Message from the President

was the number two chapter to be formed in the U.S. The chapter was formally incorporated by the State of California on April 25, 1961 as the Northern California Chapter of the American Concrete Institute, and was led by its first Presi-dent, Milos Polivka.

In 1975, the American Concrete Institute awarded Professor Polivka the Arthur R. Anderson Award. The medal citation reads, “For innovative research in expansive cements and concrete, concrete for nuclear reactors, and on the influence of environment on creep of concrete.” Thereafter, other awards and honors were bestowed upon him for his teach-ing and research, his writings of technical publications, and his distinguished service in academia. Finally, in 1984, Roy W. Carlson of Berkeley established the Roy Carlson-Milos Polivka Fellowship for superb research in concrete technol-ogy “to acknowledge the contributions to concrete technol-ogy of Professor Polivka and to perpetuate research and teaching in this important field.”

Professor Polivka was a Fellow of both the American Society of Civil Engineers and the American Concrete Institute, a member of the American Society for Testing and Materials and the U.S. Committee on Large Dams. His Honor Soci-ety Memberships included Sigma Xi (Science), Chi Epsilon (Civil Engineering), and Tau Beta Pi (Engineering).

As a teacher, Professor Polivka was truly outstanding. His student evaluations frequently contained the words: kind, considerate, concerned, and sympathetic. For his habit of tirelessly and selflessly working to help others, he was deeply admired by students, staff, and faculty colleagues. In 1977, he received the “Best Professor Award” from the U.C. Berkeley student chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers. His grandson, Danny Polivka, the fourth generation civil engineer, is completing his civil engineer degree at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo following in the foot-steps his dad, Ron Polivka, now managing principal for the San Francisco office of a Desimone Engineers.

Bibliography and Reference

Much of the record provided here is based on interviews, research and personal record, Ron Polivka.

Faculty information on the SESM UC Berkeley web site and uni-versity records.

I edited some text, and some text is used directly from the sources on the web.

http://www.ce.berkeley.edu/faculty/index.php

What’s New at DSAby Michael Fretz

In the February 2009 President’s Column, Reinhard Ludke reported on a meeting that he and other SEAONC members recently held with Nat Chauhan and others from DSA. I spoke with Reinhard after the meeting, and we thought this article, expanding on two of the topics that they discussed, would be of interest to SEAONC members.

DSA Academy

The DSA Academy opened for business in April 2006. Class offerings and registrations have doubled since then with more than a dozen current classes being offered and hun-dreds of registrants each year.

The Academy’s target audience is school and community college district staff, private-sector architects and engineers, DSA staff, construction managers, project inspectors, and others. With the Academy, DSA hopes to promote a uni-form understanding of processes, procedures, and interpre-tations of code and regulations needed for successful plan review and construction.

Two classes in particular would be worthwhile for SEAONC members who work on DSA projects. They are “Plan Re-view – Structural” (March 24-25th) and “2007 CBC – Struc-tural” (April 22nd). Both classes will be held in Sacramento. Class descriptions, additional class offerings and dates can be found by visiting the DSA Academy website at www.dsaacademy.dgs.ca.gov.

I have attended these classes and I am an instructor for the Academy’s inspector overview class. A number of SEAOCC members have told me that they have benefited from attend-ing these classes, and I am sure the same would be true for structural engineers who work in the Bay Area.

SB 588 – Community Colleges

Proposition 1D – approved by voters in November 2006 – in-cluded funding for community college projects. In the text of the law was a statement that allowed community colleges to build to the special requirements of the Field Act or the California Building Code. This new law, SB 588, went into effect in January 2009. It is an attempt by the legislature and the governor to define the option of building community college facilities to a standard other than the Field Act.

The law clarifies that community college projects – regard-less of design criteria – remain within DSA’s jurisdiction. An alternative set of design criteria that meets the seismic performance levels of the Field Act is being considered in conjunction with an alternative process for plan review and approval of community college projects. DSA is given regu-latory authority to develop this alternative process, and an ad-hoc committee has been established to provide input that that includes two SEAONC members, Doug Hohbach and Colin Blaney.

A review of changes to Field Act requirements that should be incorporated into the alternative process is being dis-cussed in SEAONC’s Seismology Committee. If you have any ideas on what should be included or would like to re-view the proposals, you are encouraged to get involved in the Seismology Committee soon. DSA will be submitting its final package of proposed regulations to the Building Stan-dards Commission by June 30, 2009.

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Rebuilding Together: It’s Not Too Late To Donate!

Save the date! We are two months away—this year’s Re-building Weekend will take place on April 25th. We are still collecting donations and now sounding the call for volun-teers for this year’s event.

Rebuilding Together is a nationwide, non-profit organiza-tion that coordinates volunteers and sponsorship in an effort to renovate neighborhood facilities and repair the homes of low-income, disabled and elderly homeowners. Rebuilding Together San Francisco (RTSF) began in 1989 in response to the Loma Prieta earthquake, and since then RTSF has reno-vated about 600 homes and 200 community and nonprofit facilities in San Francisco.

SEAONC participates annually in this charity event, and our goal for this year is to raise $7,500 so that we can sponsor a facility project. Contributions are used to purchase tools and materials for projects. We are looking forward agian to providing this very worthwhile service to the commu-nity again this coming April, and we cannot do this with-out your help. Thank you to everyone who has responded so generously to our requests for contributions so far. We are close to reaching our goal, but we still need donations. We appreciate every dollar we get; no amount is too small. Please mail your tax-deductible donation, payable to Re-building Together, to:

Rebuilding Together c/o Lisa Cassedy Rutherford & Chekene 55 Second Street, Suite 600 San Francisco, CA 94105

If you are interested in being part of our volunteer team this year, please contact Lisa Cassedy at LCassedy@ruthchek.com or Jennifer Baylson at jbaylson@degenkolb.com or call (415) 568-4482 to speak directly with Lisa.

Thanks! Look forward to seeing you in April!!

Continued from page 1March 3rd Dinner Meeting

Seismic design is always the primary issue when designing buildings in Japan. In fact, it is the dominant quality of the overall design. Seismic isolation systems reduce the seismic energy that is directly applied to the building. Moreover, designs that incorporate seismic isolation systems are easier to develop, have higher quality, and can be used for a wide range of applications. Since the Kobe earthquake in 1995, Ja-pan has constructed a number of seismically isolated build-ings based on codes and government appraisals. Nikken Sekkei has designed more than 130 buildings with various types of seismic isolation systems, including base isolation, middle-story isolation, and retrofitted systems. For exam-ple, Nikken Sekkei has retrofitted historic buildings with base isolation systems to improve their seismic safety while preserving their original design. Nikken has also applied middle-story isolation systems to high-rise vertically multi-purpose buildings.

After witnessing the damage caused by the Kobe earthquake in 1995, Japanese structural engineers realized the validity of energy dissipation systems and have since incorporated such systems into many of their building designs. Since the early 1990’s, Nikken Sekkei has worked with Japanese blast furnace steelmakers to develop low-yield steel for use in buildings. Examples of buildings that incorporate low-yield steel include the Meiji University Liberty Tower (1998), the Saitama New Urban Center Government Office (2000), and Tradepia Odaiba (2001). Over the past twenty years, Nikken Sekkei has designed more than 110 buildings with seismic energy dissipation systems incorporating steel dampers, friction dampers, oil dampers, etc. This presentation will introduce a unique application of en-ergy dissipation in a building with a twisted-shape design, the Mode Gakuen Spiral Tower. The building design com-bines a rooftop damper with column dampers. Also intro-duced will be a design for the New Tokyo Tower, a 600m tall, steel broadcasting tower that incorporates an energy dissipation system.

Nikken Sekkei has developed a variety of simulated earth-quake ground motions for use in testing structural designs. The synthesized waves reflect the source characteristics of earthquakes, the propagation characteristics of seismic waves, and the characteristics of a site’s sedimentary layers. Therefore, the time histories of the accelerations of simu-lated ground motions reflecting those characteristics can be applied to dynamic analyses of a structure’s design. This presentation will briefly introduce the method of simulat-ing earthquake ground motions and compare the displace-ments of high-rise buildings subjected to the synthesized waves. The findings suggest the importance of using simu-lated earthquake ground motions to evaluate the dynamic behavior of buildings in performance-based design.

Special Excellence in Structural EngineeringAwards Insert Copies Available

For the second consecutive year the SEAONC Excellence in Engineering Award winners were featured in a spe-cial supplement of the San Francisco Business Times. All SEAONC members should have received the supplement within a complimentary edition of the September 19, 2008 Business Times which focused on Construction, Engineer-ing and Design. If for any reason you did not receive this, the SEAONC Office has additional copies available upon request. Simply email office@seaonc.org to request your copy. Information for the 2009 Excellence in Engineering Program is available online at www.seaonc.org

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SEAONC’s Philanthropic Activities: Highlight on Engineers Alliance for the Arts

By Nick Bucci, EAA Vice President

Each year SEAONC, as an organization donates money to worthy philanthropic causes. For the last several years SEAONC has been one of the primary supporters of the En-gineers Alliance for the Arts (EAA), a small, local organi-zation dedicated to educating and inspiring future genera-tions of engineers. For ten years now, EAA;s sole initiative has been to bring volunteer SEAONC engineers into high school classrooms to lead a model bridge design project as a part of the classroom curriculum. Students are excited to learn about the connection between arts and engineering. The “hands-on” teaching creates a life changing experience for the students, who learn problem solving and team build-ing, create model bridges, develop written and verbal pre-sentation skills, and achieve this in an environment that ties engineers and students in the artistry that unites our world. Along the way, relationships are formed and students begin to see the possibility of actually becoming structural engi-neers.

Each year EAA reaches approximately 200 students with the help of volunteers from SEAONC member firms, to-taling over 500 volunteer hours, reaching a total of almost 2000 Bay Area students and adding up to millions of dol-lars’ worth of SEAONC members’ volunteer time. In order to maximize the program’s impact and diversity, it is taught during school hours in a variety of subject slots (including Art, Math, Science, and English). The program occurs over two months each spring, and this year’s program just start-ed up. The program culminates in a final design charrette scheduled for Saturday April 25th at PG&E Auditorium; all are welcome to see the students present their work. It is al-ways an inspiration to see how much the kids learn and the excitement of students, parents, and community members alike, during the presentation of the original student work.

One of the most telling signals of EAA’s success is when the bridge competition inspires students toward a career in en-gineering. Two of these success stories concerns Luyin who participated in the program in 2001 at San Francisco’s Wash-ington H.S. and Stevon, who participated in the program in 2002 at Thurgood Marshall high school in San Francisco’s Bayview neighborhood. Luyin’s team, coached by SEAONC member Eph Hirsch, took the first place award in the first year of the competition and, thus inspired, she applied to UC Berkeley to study Civil Engineering, won a scholarship, graduated, and now works for PG&E. As the leader of a student team, also coached by Eph, Stevon’s team built an elegant arch bridge that ultimately held the test weight with no excess bulk. But this design was achieved only after Ste-von’s team had tested - and broken failed - their original, ultra-light bridge. With help from Eph, Stevon and his team retrofitted their bridge to just the right strength stability, suffering a small bloody cut in the thumb during the pro-cess. During his impassioned presentation speech, Stevon told the judges, naming their bridge “perseverance” in hon-or of the process gone through, that just like life, creating the bridge took “blood sweat and tears - literally!,”. Stevon’s team went on to win that year’s competition. After partici-pating in the program, Stevon applied to an exclusive east-coast university – Williams College in Massachusetts - not sure if he would get in. But with letters of recommendation from the EAA engineers, he not only got in, he received a scholarship as well! Now, after graduating, he is back home in the Bay Area with an engineering job at the Department of Public Works.

Thanks to volunteer structural engineers, EAA, and SEAONC philanthropy, stories like this are a reality and dreams come true.

Come to the Final Event!

Saturday April 25th at PG+E Auditorium (245 Market Street, San Francisco) from 2:00 to 4:30pm. Bridge gallery opens at 12:00pm.

March Business Forum Luncheon

MEETING TOPIC:“The PC Storm: Public Construction Projects and Design

Professional Liability”

DATE & TIMEWednesday March 18, 2009

12:00 pm – 1:30 pm: Lunch/Program

LOCATIONCity Club San Francisco

March’s Business Forum meeting will be presented by David Ericksen of the law firm of Severson & Werson, San Francisco. The subject of Mr. Ericksen’s presentation is “The PC Storm: Public Construction Projects and De-sign Professional Liability”, in which he will review the “Seven Deadly Sins” of public project pressure points, including the uneven playing field in which design pro-fessionals currently operate, the impact of limited fees on design professionals and the dangers of scope creep, poor contracts, low bid contractors and State design over-sight & controls in the public project arena. David Ericksen is well known in the Bay Area design community as one of the top defense counsel represent-ing design professionals in litigation. He specializes in the representation of architects, engineers, construction managers and design-builders in construction litigation, as well as professional liability and insurance issues. He is a graduate of Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California, Berkeley, a former law clerk to the Washing-ton State Supreme Court, and a member of numerous construction and environmental-related professional or-ganizations. If any SEAONC members have suggestions for subjects or speakers which they think would be interesting to the Business Forum, please contact Alan Burr at aburr@mbcse.com or 415.546.0431. We look forward to seeing you at the next meeting.

Cost: $25 Business Forum Members $30 SEAONC Members $40 Other Attendees

Meal Selections: Lunch will be provided. If you prefer a vegetarian meal, please specify this when you send in your registration.

RSVP: Contact the SEAONC office at office@seaonc.org or 415/974-5147 (RSVPs sent via e-mail will receive e-mail confirmations)

Registration Deadline: Friday, March. 13th at 12:00pm

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Seismology Social Jamboree

Please join the Seismology Committee as we host the 1st An-nual Seismology Social Jamboree. We are seeking engineers of all ages and experiences to join us for this event. Come prepared to let your hair down and eat and drink while Patxi Uriz speaks about braced frames.

Topic: Braces and Beer (What we understand about earth-quake behavior of braced frames and free beer!)

Speaker: Patxi Uriz, Ph.D., P.E. Senior Engineer, Exponent

Concentrically braced steel frames have become an increas-ingly popular and economical means to resist lateral earth-quake loads. Seismic performance of braced frame struc-tures, particularly conventionally braced frame structures, have unique earthquake response characteristics when compared to their previously more common moment frame counterparts; these characteristics are important to consider when designing a braced frame for the first time or for the 100th time. Although these systems have been in use for many years, it is only recently that extensive large-scale test-ing of these systems has begun. An International research efforts including those in the United States, Taiwan, Japan, and Canada, are currently underway where the principal objectives are to develop better tools to characterize brace frame performance, understand the existing hazards as-sociated with as-built structures, and develop improved methods for design and construction of these economical systems.

The presentation will include: 1) an overview of past seismic performance of concentrically braced steel structures in the United States, Japan, and Mexico; 2) a comparison of funda-mental behavior of simplified systems and what philosophi-cal design assumptions we currently make in the design of braced steel structures; 3) results from SCBF and BRBF testing at UC Berkeley, along with a summary of extensive analytical studies on expected braced frame performance; 4) review of typical analytical methods and how they influ-ence design; and 5) an overview of some of the many steel braced frame research efforts on-going around the world.

This presentation will attempt to answer the fundamental questions that arise in earthquake resistant design: what performance is expected; what performance is desired; and develop an understanding of what we know and don’t know about braced frames.

Dr. Patxi Uriz is a Senior Engineer at Exponent and special-izes in earthquake engineering and has extensive experi-ence with non-linear analysis; performance-based design and assessment of steel, reinforced concrete, and wood frame structures; and expertise in the design, instrumenta-tion, and testing of large scale laboratory experiments. Dr. Uriz has also served as a Lecturer for graduate courses in the department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Stanford University. Prior to joining Exponent, Dr. Uriz was a researcher at the University of California at Berkeley, where he focused on performance-based seismic design and analysis of concentrically-braced steel frame structures, studying the potential hazard of both buckling restrained brace frames and conventionally buckling steel frames, when subjected to earthquake loading. Dr. Uriz has served

at the chair of the SEAONC steel subcommittee (2007-2008), which has recently published a SEAOC Blue Book article on concentrically braced frames, and is currently the chair of the state-level steel subcommittee.

Thank you to all past and current Seismology Committee volunteers. This event has been approved by the SEAONC Board as a way to thank you for your continued efforts. If you would like to volunteer for the first time or rejoin the Seismology Committee, please do join us for this special event.

Please direct any questions to the Chair of the Seismol-ogy Committee, Nicolas Rodrigues at NRodrigues@de-simone.com or the event coordinator Bryan Cortnik at BCortnik@hohbach-lewin.com. RSVP Requested: RSVP to Bryan Cortnik at BCortnik@hohbach-lewin.com or (650) 617-5930.

MEETING SCHEDULE:Date and Time: Tuesday, March 10, 20095:30 pm General Assembly COST: Free to all (Beer and appetizers will be provided)

LOCATION: SIMPSON GUMPERTZ & HEGER The Landmark @ One Market, Suite 600San Francisco, CA 94105

SEAONC Spring 2009 Seminar: Concrete Topics for New and Existing Construction

Dates: Wednesdays, March 4 and 11, 2009

Registration: 5:15 PM to 6:00 PM

Seminar: 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM

Location: PG&E Auditorium245 Market Street, San Francisco

The spring seminar will be on a variety of topics for new and existing concrete construction. For the first evening, lateral analysis topics will include wall and boundary el-ements and diaphragm and collector elements. In addi-tion, Appendix D requirements and the effective use of anchors will be presented. On the second evening, the seminar will focus on case histories of earthquake dam-age and retrofits of existing concrete buildings, concrete repair basics, and sustainability. See the flyer insert in this newsletter for more information.

Evening 1Diaphragms and Collector Elements – Badri PrasadSeismic Response of Tall Reinforced Concrete Wall Buildings – Marios PanagiotouEffective Use of Anchors – John Silva

Evening 2Earthquake Damage/Retrofits of Concrete Buildings – Joe MaffeiConcrete Repair Basics – Dan EilbeckSustainable Design of Concrete – Mason Walters

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AKH Structural Engineers, Inc. (For-merly Ahearn, Knox & Hyde, Inc.) is seeking talented and motivated entry and mid-level Structural Designers with good communication skills and who are looking for a long-term career, to join our San Jose team. Our firm has over 35 years of diverse experience with challenging and innovative design projects that include commercial, municipal, educational, healthcare structures and custom residen-tial in the SF Bay Area. Join our firm and experience all aspects and phases of the design and building process in a small, responsive, team-oriented engineering firm. Cultivate valuable management and engineering skills, enhance your professional growth and realize your own potential as a member of the successful AKH team. We are seeking full-time de-signers to help our firm enhance the built environment.For information please call 408/978-1970. Or send resumes to Tim Hyde at hyde@akhse.com.

Cornerstone Structural Engineering Group has immediate openings for motivated staff and project engineers with 2-10 years of experience to work in our San Francisco office. Cornerstone provides excellent opportunities to work on a variety of projects and types of con-struction including educational, civic, and commercial buildings as well as bridges and infrastructure. Our goal is to foster a collaborative environment for all phases of structural design and construction. Visit our website at www.cseg.com. Fax resumes to 415-369-9101, attention: Tom Swayze or e-mail to: Careers@cseg.com

Crosby Group is looking for self-mo-tivated project engineers and project managers with a minimum of 5 years of experience for our offices in Redwood City, Sacramento, and Colorado. The Crosby Group offers its engineers excellent growth opportunities with a solid career path, a highly collaborative environment, and ex-posure to a variety of large and challenging projects. At the Crosby Group, you will get the opportunity to participate on an exciting mix of new design-bid-build and design-build projects that average more than $300 million annually. A sampling of current project types include: Conven-tion Centers, Libraries, Community Col-leges, Hotels, Elementary Schools, Justice Facilities, and Manufacturing Plants. The Crosby Group offers generous compensa-tion packages including Full Health cov-erage, 401K, profit sharing, and generous educational stipends. If you are looking for the company with enough flexibility to suit your demanding life-style, please view our website at www.crosbygroup.com and send a cover letter and resume to resumes@crosbygroup.com. Both fulltime and part time positions will be considered.

Job ForumPending Members Welcome New MembersAssociateOmer Ulker, Design Engineer, Rutherford & Chekene Janice Mochizuki, Graduate Structural Engineer, ARUP

Mahshid Maleki, Design Engineer, Mark Thomas & Company, Inc.

Onur (Aaron)Uras, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill

Jeffrey Perrotti, Design Engineer, Rutherford & Chekene

Member Erika Hansen, Project Engineer, Quantum Consulting Engineers

Kevin Kramer, Cal Poly

Caleb Knudson, R&D Engineer, Simpson Strong Tie

Thomas Manning, Principal, Manning Engineering

Erin Steiner, Project Engineer, TRC Engineers

StudentXiaoyu He, Student, UC Berkeley

Joseph Tonneson, Student, University of North Dakota

AssociateRupa Garai, Grad Student, Skidmore Owings & Merrill, LLP

Peter Park, Design Engineer, Mark Thomas & Company, Inc.

Sudarshni Ramesh, Bridge Engineer, Moffatt & Nichol

Graeme Ballantyne, Senior Engineer, Thornton Tomasetti

Insung Kim, Designer, Degenkolb Engineers

Matthew Davidson, Design Engineer II, GFDS Engineers

Adam Tufte, Staff Engineer, Mesiti-Miller Engineering, Inc.

Lee Glassford, Project Engineer, KPFF

MemberAdrian Parkinson, Staff Engineer, Self-Employed

Joseph Sarmiento, Project Engineer, Paradigm Structural Engineers, Inc.

Edward Adamson

StudentVeronica Crothers, Student, UC Berkeley

Ying Guan, Student, Stanford University

Matthew Yamasaki, Student, Stanford University

Daniel Wilcoxson, Student, UC Berkeley

Opinions expressed in the SEAONC NEWS are not necessarily those of the Structural Engineers Association of Northern California. Advertising rates and information can be sent upon request. Acceptance of advertising and informational brochures in the SEAONC NEWS does not con-stitute endorsement or approval by SEAONC of the products or services advertised. SEAONC reserves the right to refuse any advertising.

The SEAONC NEWS is published monthly by the Structural Engineers Association of Northern California, 575 Market Street, Suite 2125, San Francisco, CA 94105-3411. It is distributed to members of SEAONC as a membership benefit. Reproduction for noncommercial purposes is allowed if the source is acknowledged.

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Job Forum

Routinely recognized as one of the best places to work, Degenkolb Engineers is actively recruiting structural en-gineers looking for a long-term career with a clear path to leadership and ownership. We encourage lifelong learn-ing and support professional and community-based activ-ities. Degenkolb engineers have the opportunity to follow their interests and develop their own book of work. And when we’re not doing that, we are playing...sometimes in one of four company cabins in Tahoe, Big Bear, Monterey, and Sunriver. As renowned leaders in seismic and struc-tural engineering, we offer a diverse, challenging mix of projects on both new and existing structures. Minimum requirements are an MS in Structural Engineering, excel-lent communication skills, and a desire to work in a chal-lenging, collaborative environment. We have offices in San Francisco, Oakland, Los Angeles, San Diego, Portland and Seattle and are seeking engineers with all levels of experi-ence. EOE

If you’re interested in joining our award-winning firm, please contact: Stacy Bartoletti , 415.354.6501 or email your resume to recruit@degenkolb.com.

For more information, please visit www.degenkolb.com.

The Earthquake Engineering Research Institute in Oakland, California, seeks a new Executive Director to begin work during the fall of 2009. Visit http://www.eeri.org/edsearch for a job description and instructions. Application deadline: March 15, 2009. The ED oversees services for EERI’s 2,300+ members. Required: a BA or BS; supervisory experience; familiarity with association management, fundrais-ing, donor relations, and membership development. Desirable: knowledge in the field of natural and other hazards.

Forell/Elsesser Engineers, Inc., is seeking talented, registered engineers with 5 or more years of Experience to be members of our team. Are you looking for that “dream job” that will allow you to work in a dynamic downtown San Francisco office with a collaborative, fun group of engi-neers on some of the most challenging and exciting structural and seismic projects in California and around the world? If so, FORELL/ELSESSER ENGINEERS, INC., is eager to hear from you! Join an exciting and thoughtful team in a dynamic work environment that actively encourages and supports individual professional growth through ongoing education, training, and mentoring. Our firm offers a competitive compensation package that includes major medical, dental, vision, life/disability in-surance, 401(k) match, profit sharing plan, incentive compensation plan and a flexible spending account. Find out more about FORELL/ELSESSER at www.forell.com Please contact Mason Walters at (415) 837-0700 or send resumes to Mason Walters, FORELL/ELSESSER ENGINEERS, INC., 160 Pine Street, 6th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94111 or e-mail mason@forell.com

KPFF Consulting Engineers is seeking engineers at all levels for full time employ-ment in our San Francisco and Walnut Creek offices. KPFF offers a supportive business environment unencumbered by bureaucracy that allows you to chart your own career development. Our culture sup-ports personal and professional growth, education and training, and the freedom to pursue individual career goals. Applicants must be motivated and possess excellent communication skills. If you have at least 2 years of design experience, (PE license and an advanced degree in structural engineering preferred) and an interest in Structural Design, we want to hear from you. Send cover letter and resume to KPFF at jobapp@kpff-sf.com. EOE.

MIDDLEBROOK + LOUIE (mplusl.com) invites experienced Structural Engineers to contact us about rewarding careers in our San Francisco office. Preferred quali-fications? 5+ years experience, an MSCE degree and a California SE license. We are a

design-oriented firm offering competitive salaries, an outstanding benefits package, great clients and fulfilling assignments! Resumes to: careers@mplusl.com.

Peoples Associates Structural Engineers Inc. is a leading SE consulting firm in the South Bay. Now hiring engineers at all levels of experience. Mid-sized company specializes in challenging SE projects including commercial, industrial, residen-tial, municipal, and bridges. Team-oriented atmosphere. Competitive salaries, benefits, profit sharing, retirement. BS req./MS pref. Resume & cover letter to: mail@pase.com fax: 408-957-9221 www.pase.com

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM), an award winning domestic and inter-national Architecture and Engineering design firm invites bright and talented structural engineers and draftspersons to join their San Francisco office. SOM offers exciting career opportunities for professional growth and experience work-ing in an interdisciplinary group practice on creative, innovative and challenging projects. Please contact Peter Lee at peter.lee@som.com or by phone at 415-352-6878; also, hrsomsf@som.com attn: HR, Fax: 415-352-3888, mail: One Front Street, Suite 2400, San Francisco, CA 94111. Include letter of introduction with resume.

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BYA Publications presents theS T R U C T U R A L E N G I N E E R I N G R E V I E W S E M I N A R S

Following 8 successful years of presentations, BYA Publications is pleased to announce this year’s most comprehensive Structural Engineering Review program. These Seminars also provide a great in-depth review even for those not taking the SE exam.

I just want to thank you for assembling the great minds of the engineering community into one location to ensure that we are properly prepared for the grueling exam. I would highly recommend the course to the other engineers in our firm when they are ready to take the SE. - Park Hui, SE, Murphy Burr Curry, San Francisco

I I think you do a great job with this review seminar. The various presenters are all very knowledgeable and they definitely helped me focus my studying. Attending your seminar, in a sense, gave me a chance to go back to school and, once again, learn from the experts. - Lisa Minakami, De Simone Engineers, San Francisco

I took both the National and CA and passed! Thanks again for your class. It was definitely a great help. - Erik Kneer,SE, Degenkolb Engineers, Oakland

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Raves & Reviews from last year’s participants

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May 16 Wind & Seismic Provisions Ben Yousefi, MS, SEMay 30 Steel Design, Part I (ASD/LRFD/IBC) Dr. Michael Engelhardt, Ph.D., PEJune 13 Concrete Design, Part I (IBC) Dr. S.K. Ghosh, Ph.D.June 20 Advanced Analysis/Dynamics Dr. Farzad Naeim, Ph.D., SE, Esq.July 18 Bridge Design ( AASHTO/CALTRANS) Fahim Hakemi, MS.,SEJuly 25 Wood Design (CBC/IBC) Kelly Cobeen, MS., SEAugust 8 Masonry Design (CBC/IBC) Dr. Chukwume Ekwueme, Ph.D., SEAugust 16 Steel Design,Part II (CBC,IBC) Dr. Michael Engelhardt, Ph.D., PEAugust 29 CBC/DSA/OSHPD Provisions, New Buildings Chris Tokas, MS, SEAugust 30 CBC/DSA/OSHPD Provisions, New Buildings Chris Tokas, MS, SESeptember 20 Concrete Design, Part II (CBC/IBC) Dr. S.K. Ghosh, Ph.D.September 27 CBC/DSA/OSHPD Provisions, Existing Bldg. Chris Tokas, MS, SE October 3 General Overview Ben Yousefi, MS, SE

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3rd SEAONC Dinner Meeting/Stanford Student Night City Club, San Francisco

4th & 11th SEAONC Spring Seminar PG&E Auditorium San Francisco

18th SEAONC Business Forum City Club, San Francisco

Get Your Newsletter ElectronicallyThe SEAONC News is available electronically to all members. You can choose the electronic option at any time and help SEAONC save costs on printing and

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Cost -Monthly Meeting Pre-Registration Late Reg. SEAONC o $39 o $44 Junior Mbr. o $33 o $38 Student o $15 o $15 Non-Mbr o $44 o $49

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SEAONC - March 3rd San Francisco Meeting

Monthly Meeting Registration Deadine: Noon, Thursday, Feb. 26th

• Paying by check make payment to SEAONC.• Paying online (monthly meeting only) go to: http://www.seaonc.org/member/member_s/events/order_form.asp • Paying by credit card provide the following: (SEAONC Accepts VISA, MC, AMEX)

Register early, seating is limited. No cancellations after deadlines listed above. No-shows are still responsible for full attendance fee.

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STRUCTURAL ENGINEERS ASSOCIATION OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

2009 EXCELLENCE IN STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING AWARDS February 4th, 2009 Dear SEAONC Member, The Structural Engineers Association of Northern California (SEAONC) proudly announces the 2009 Excellence in Structural Engineering Awards program. All SEAONC Members and Member SE’s are cordially invited to participate. The purpose of the SEAONC Excellence in Structural Engineering Awards program is to publicly acknowledge outstanding achievement in creative design, technical innovation, best practices and demonstrated contributions to the public and profession. Additionally, it is the intent of the SEAONC Awards program to educate the public as to the contributions of Structural Engineers to the built environment and public safety. Founded in 1930, SEAONC is committed to advancing the art and science of structural engineering. You are encouraged to submit your best work that demonstrates outstanding achievement and excellence in structural engineering practice and project work. The project entry must have been constructed or completed between December 31, 2005 and January 1, 2009. An Excellence Award and up to two Certificate of Merit Awards may be awarded in each of the seven award categories. The Jury may consider additional awards in each category for both small and large projects so that projects of all scales may be properly recognized for their excellence. This year, the descriptions of the Award Categories have been updated for clarity only. Additionally, for constructed projects, the Display Board presentation shall include one or more photographic images illustrating a significant aspect of the structure while under construction. The format of the Awards program is now in general agreement with the other regional SEAOCC, SEAONC, SEAOSC and SEAOSD Award programs allowing for an Award Entry submitted to a regional program to be re-submitted to the SEAOC Awards program without change to entry eligibility and submission requirements. As a reminder however, note that the regional entries will not be automatically entered in the SEAOC Awards program. Entry information packet and forms may be downloaded from the SEAONC website (www.seaonc.org). Review of Entries and the selection of Award recipients will be made by a distinguished Jury panel consisting of five professional jurors. The deadline for Entry submission is Friday, March 27th, 2009 at 5pm to the SEAONC office as noted in the Entry packet. Award recipients will be individually notified by email no later than April 21st, 2009. SEAONC 2009 Awards will be recognized as a part of the May 5th, 2009 SEAONC dinner meeting and Awards Ceremony. Additionally, the Awards will be published in the SEAONC Newsletter and Website, as well as, made available to local media, professional journals and press releases through SEAONC’s Public Relations Committee. In 2007 and 2008, the SEAONC Awards were featured in a special advertorial supplement of the San Francisco Business Times. We look forward to your entry submission and your continued support of SEAOC’s Awards program !! Excellence in Structural Engineering Awards Program SEAONC Public Relations Committee