School Name Career Day Speaker Name Company Name Date Introduce yourself: Name Where you went to High School, College, Masters Where you currently work Introduce Presentation: Today, I would like to describe what a Structural Engineer does and introduce you to the field of earthquake engineering. Structural Engineers make structures safe for the community. They do this through the careful design of new buildings and through strengthening, or retrofit, of existing buildings.

What is a Structural Engineer? Bridges Some of the larger structures that we see around the Bay Area are bridges. These very large structures are designed by structural engineers who specialize in bridges. Some of our older bridges were designed in the 1930s. We may know more about earthquakes now, and these bridges will be strengthened, or replaced.

What is a Structural Engineer? Buildings Most structural engineers are involved with buildings. New buildings in the United States are designed to strict building codes. The codes are the rules for design and construction. The codes in California are much stricter than in other parts of the country. This is because we have large earthquakes in California. Our building codes include all the lessons we have learned from past earthquakes like the 1989 Loma Prieta and 1994 Northridge earthquakes. New buildings need to be designed for many different things. First, to resist gravity loads, or to hold themselves up. Then, buildings in seismic areas are also designed to resist the lateral, or horizontal loads that earthquakes produce. Since the layout and aesthetics of new buildings are typically designed by Architects, structural engineers provide architects with information on the structural system and structural elements. Structural Engineers designed all the buildings you see in these pictures.

What is a Structural Engineer? Prevent Earthquake Damage In many areas of the world, including the Bay Area, structural engineers do a lot of work to make buildings safer during earthquakes. Earthquakes are natural hazards that do not happen very often. However, the consequences of earthquakes can be very serious and, often, life threatening. The role of the structural engineer in society is very important. Their job is to prevent life-threatening damage due to earthquakes, both by designing new structures properly and by fixing old ones.

What does a Structural Engineer do? Design of New Bridges & Buildings These are pictures of the new construction at the San Francisco airport. Structural engineers helped design and construct many new buildings, bridges, and parking garages here. Structural engineers build mathematical computer models that represent the building structure. The models are then loaded with lateral loads that represent the earthquake. Using the mathematical model, the computer program analyzes the stresses that the individual structural elements may experience in an earthquake. With this information the structural elements can be sized to resist large earthquakes without experiencing life threatening damage. The new buildings and bridges at the San Francisco airport each had a detailed computer model made for their design.

What does a Structural Engineer do? Design of New Buildings One of the most important decisions that a structural engineer makes is what materials and earthquake resisting system should be used. Buildings are constructed of wood, concrete, masonry, steel or some combination of materials. These buildings are made of steel. The steel columns and beams resist gravity loads. The building on the left is a steel braced frame, and the one on the right is a steel moment frame. You can see the steel columns here and the steel “X” braces here. The braces are designed to resist earthquake forces.

What does a Structural Engineer do? Design of New Buildings Lately there are many new buildings being built around the Bay Area because the economy is doing well. There are many types of buildings: from office buildings, to school buildings, to churches, to hospitals, and even houses. All of them need to be designed by structural engineers so that they stand up under their own weight, in earthquakes or high wind, and are safe.

What does a Structural Engineer do? Retrofit of Old Buildings While we design to strict building codes that include new information on earthquakes, older buildings may have been constructed to out-of-date codes. Consequently, they may require retrofit to make them safer. Structural engineers evaluate the existing buildings and make recommendations for strengthening. Strengthening may include putting in new concrete walls or new steel braces. Because there is not much space left in the Bay Area to build new buildings, structural engineers do a lot of work retrofitting old buildings.

What does a Structural Engineer do? Retrofit of Old Buildings This is a picture of the San Francisco City Hall. It was damaged in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake but it did not collapse. The seismic retrofit of this building was just completed. The Structural Engineers used a new technology called base isolation. This photo shows rubber bearings that act like shock absorbers, and allow the ground to move under the building. The bearings will isolate the building from the earthquake ground motion.

What does a Structural Engineer do? Retrofit of Historic Buildings One of the most challenging retrofit jobs is the strengthening of an historic building. Some buildings, like this older ornate church, have expensive and detailed finishes. They may have detailed tile mosaics or marble finishes on the walls. The structural engineers who do historic preservation have to introduce new structure that will protect the church in an earthquake but will not disturb the beautiful finishes of the building.

What is a Structural Engineer? Shoring/ Excavation When a new building is constructed, it might need a deep basement or foundation. This is typical of new high rises that will have underground parking. Some structural engineers specialize in shoring. They design the structure that will hold back the soil around the location of the new foundation or basement. Some of these shoring structures can get very deep as you can see in the middle picture.

What does a Structural Engineer do? Repair of Damaged Buildings Following an earthquake, structural engineers are needed to help building owners make repairs. The building on the left was damaged in the 1989 earthquake. The first floor was seriously damaged but the top floors did OK. A structural engineer may work with a contractor to design a system for shifting the building back into place and repairing and strengthening the structure. The building on the right is a church that was damaged by fire. A structural engineer worked with the owner, an architect, and a contractor to repair the building and to save the church.

What does a Structural Engineer do? New Technology Like any profession, structural engineering involves new technology. Some new items are shown in these photos. This is a damper that works just like a shock absorber in a car. As the floors of a building try to move relative to each other in an earthquake, the damper pushes back, to slow down the movement. This is a close up of the base isolation bearing I described earlier, and an illustration of the different building response with these isolators and without.

The Building Team Structural engineers are part of a team that builds or retrofits a building or bridge. The top of the team is the building or bridge owner. Directly below is the architect. In many projects, the structural engineer works for the architect, providing their expertise with regards to the structure. The contractor is also directly under the owner. All of the various construction workers work for the contractor. Building a building is a collaborative effort that requires communication and team building skills. The project structure is sometimes different from this. For many repair, retrofit, or reports when structural engineering expertise is necessary, the structural engineer will work directly for the owner.

What is a typical day like? Calculations... ...Computers Building Codes... A typical day for an engineer will involve a number of different tasks. It may include the preparation of calculations, the use of computers for modeling building structures, and the use of building codes.

What is a typical day like? Analysis... Structural analysis involves comparing the capacity of various structural members to the loads the member must resist, either from gravity from an earthquake, or wind. Structural analysis may or may not utilize computer modeling. Smaller or simpler structures may not warrant a detailed computer analysis. Large computer models are built for large complicated buildings. As in all professions nowadays, the computer is a powerful tool that helps improve the quality of our work.

What is a typical day like? Drawings... Drawings are prepared to illustrate the often difficult structural concepts to the contractor. Drawings in structural engineering offices are typically prepared on a computer, by a person who specializes in computer drafting. Sometimes engineers do this too.

What is a typical day like? Research... In order to benefit from new technology and to continue learning about a building’s behavior during earthquakes, structural engineers must dedicate time and resources to research. Most research is done at Universities by graduate and Ph.D. students. There are also private research institutes who are testing and researching new technologies and new structural systems.

What is a typical day like? At Work… …In Meetings Most structural engineers work in an office and have their own desk. At work, they collaborate with each other and with older engineers that they work for, and learn from. I have about 5 years of experience and my typical day on average consists of about 2 hours on the phone with clients and other team members, 2 hours working on the computer, 2 hours doing calculations, and 2 hours working with other engineers in my office. Despite the emphasis on math and science in school, engineering involves written and verbal communication skills. Most engineering work is team work, and teams need to communicate. A mis-communicated idea will lead to mistakes in design or at the construction site.

What is a typical day like? Client Service… Commercial Electronics & Manufacturing Educational Structural engineers also spend a lot of time providing service to their clients in many areas. Clients can be from many different areas of business- anyone who owns or rents a building, like these companies I’ve shown. A lot of a structural engineers work comes from repeat business from the same client. Therefore, good communication and performance with clients is vital to the success of a structural engineering firm. Some clients that have a lot of buildings need many different types of service. The same client may need consultation on their buildings, retrofitting of their buildings, and design of their new ones. For example, we have reviewed almost all of the Kaiser hospitals and medical office buildings,and have either built or retrofitted several of them. We have also set up a plan following an earthquake where we make sure their buildings are safe so that they can provide care to the injured. Entertainment Health

What is a typical day like? At the Job Site... Once a design is complete, the engineer must observe construction to make sure that everything is built according to the plans and specifications. Small mistakes or omissions during construction can lead to disastrous consequences, especially in earthquakes.

Graduate School (encouraged) Education Required High School College Graduate School (encouraged) High School students should take all the math and science they can if they want to pursue an engineering career. At a minimum, a four year bachelors of science (B.S.) degree in engineering is required. However, some structural engineering companies are requiring a masters degree. This is especially important in the field of earthquake engineering. A masters degree (M.S.) is a one or two year program after a B.S.

Math... …Science Drafting... Skills Necessary Engineering is problem solving and those skills are developed in math and science classes. Drafting classes are helpful in learning how to communicate visually with drawings and details. Engineering students should not forget to practice their verbal and written communication skills as well.

Computers... …Problem Solving Construction... Skills Necessary The tools that engineers use include computers, and students who are familiar with computers have an advantage in college. Also, any practice with problem solving and construction, how you build things, help develop the analytical tools necessary to become a good engineer.

Important Classes to Take Math (analytic geometry, algebra and calculus) Science (physics) Drafting Computers Classes in High School should include advanced mathematics and science, especially physics. They should also include computer classes and drafting classes, if available. Make sure you research the requirements of the engineering program in college that you are interested in.

Benefits of Being an Engineer Satisfaction of seeing your work getting built, The benefits of engineering are tangible - you can see the product of your hard work. Structural engineers are important members of the community, providing safe new building designs and existing building strengthening. The engineers that designed Pacific Bell Park will enjoy using their work for many years. and watching people use the finished product.

Benefits of Being an Engineer Design future landmark structures, or help save old ones Structural Engineers: Design future landmark structures Save old ones Make dreams a reality Make dreams a reality

Benefits of Being an Engineer Contribute to the safety of society Engineers contribute to the safety of society. There is enormous pride in being a professional, knowing that your work makes a difference and that you are responsible for something that is important. Any questions?? Pride in being a professional