Within the broad field of civil engineering, structural engineers have perhaps been among the slowest to embrace and adopt the concepts of sustainability in the built environment. Many sit by with mounting frustration as architects, other types of engineers, and urban planners have defined “green” agendas for their disciplines, and successfully embraced and marketed them. …

How many of you notice the number of significant figures presented within your firm’s calculations? Prior to the advent of pocket calculators, engineers prepared their calculations by hand, supplemented with a slide rule. Their tool of choice was the traditional 10-inch slide rule limited to three figures. The few who owned a 20-inch slide rule could interpolate results to four figures. …

It was a pleasure to read the 2013 report by the SEI Board of Governors Task Committee, A Vision for the Future of Structural Engineering and Structural Engineers: A Case for Change. This document provides great suggestions for significant changes in the profession if structural engineers are to remain a respected and vibrant part of the global community. …

An article in the August 2013 issue of Scientific American, “Learning in the Digital Age,” addresses the abilities of gaming technology ported over for educational use in Massively Online Open Courses (MOOC). Sugata Mitra, BBC news, noted that students in rural Africa can use Skype to get the best teachers. These stories address the availability of knowledge, not the presentation of knowledge for comprehension, speed of transfer, or integration, and are chained to the two-dimensional world. …

During my first NCSEA conference in 2011, I was inspired by the passion for the structural engineering profession displayed by my more senior peers. Throughout the conference, a major discussion topic was the need for structural licensure in addition to generic professional engineering licensure. As I listened to the arguments, I did not fully understand the reasoning either for or against structural licensure. …

In Part 1 of this article (July 2014), I examined the wind load provisions in ASCE 7-10 to illustrate how the ever-increasing complexity of code provisions has negatively impacted our profession. In this second and final installment, I would like to take a look at where we have been as a profession in recent decades, and perhaps extrapolate where we are heading if current trends continue. …

As an engineer, I believe that our highest obligation is to provide for the public welfare. Most jurisdictions and many professional societies express this obligation in their laws, rules or bylaws. In keeping with this, the NCSEA Structural Licensure Committee believes that the public would be better protected by establishing structural licensure in all jurisdictions – legislation requiring a licensed Structural Engineer to be in responsible charge for the design of significant structures. …

Part 1

In a recent Structural Forum column, A Remarkable Profession!, September 2013, Stan Caldwell pointed out some of the negative aspects of structural engineering that often prompt complaints from its practitioners. Those comments resonated with me and, I suspect, many of the more seasoned engineers who have witnessed significant changes in the profession over the past few decades. …

The British have tasked two organizations – CROSS (Confidential Reporting on Structural Safety) and SCOSS (The Standing Committee on Structural Safety) – to work jointly to collect information on structural failures, to maintain a database and to provide reports interpreting the data. When reading CROSS’ alerts and reports in its newsletters, I cannot help but reflect on the way we communicate risk within the United States, and question if our current practice is capable of providing adequate warnings about some potential structural risks. …

Unlike the students aspiring to enter many other professions, structural engineering students in most states are not permitted to take their licensing examinations immediately upon graduation. Rather, they must first serve an apprenticeship of three or four years. During this period, they typically have titles such as Engineer-In-Training (EIT), Engineering Intern, or Graduate Engineer. By state law, EITs are required to perform engineering work only under the direct supervision of licensed professional engineers. …