2024 Events 

Hybrid seminar on Renfrew Bridge a new Scottish Swing Bridge by Barry Keung, US

USA National Group, Vice Chair, Paul Skelton and his team organised a hybrid event in NYC where Barry Keung from Hardesty & Hanover, presented on the construction of a double cable-stayed swing bridge, the new Scottish Bridge in Glasgow. This project is part of a large waterfront renewal, like a lot of new infrastructure projects. You can view the video recording here:  (Click here to watch the video).

US NG visits IABSE Congress San Jose 2024

USA National Group Chair, Maria Grazia Bruschi, attended IABSE Congress San Jose 2024, along with the Secretary Paul Skelton and the Treasurer Salvatore Di Bernardo, and other members who actively participated at the Annual Meetings and the Congress. The Chair, also actively took part in the Young Engineers Mentoring Programme, MOLA design contest, and took part in the National Groups Meeting at the Annual Meetings. Here is an interview along with the National Group Chair of Italy. 

YEC Mentorship Programme: Hybrid event on Sept. 18, with Speaker Mariagrazia Bruschi.

The US Group is organising its first event co-sponsored with the Structural Engineers Association (SEA) sections of New York (SEAoNY) and the Illinois (SEAoI), to learn about these three interesting projects and network with industry professionals.

Topic: Three Supertall Slender Towers in Midtown Manhattan (Watch the 30 May 2024 Video: Click Here)

Presented by: William Baker, Charles Besjak, Preetam Biswas and Georgi Petrov; Skidmore, Owings & Merrill

One Manhattan West, Two Manhattan West and 35 Hudson Yards are three slender supertall towers recently designed and engineered by the authors' company that rise above the underground train tracks approaching New York City’s Penn Station on the west side of the island of Manhattan. Although the slender towers are neighbors and have similar heights and proportions, each tower resolves the constraints of the underlying tracks with unique structural approaches. The disparate below-ground conditions result in three distinct structural solutions that are all governed by the effects of the wind. All three towers were subjected to extensive wind tunnel testing programs in order to optimize their dynamic behavior.

The paper in the IABSE Journal Structural Engineering International (SEI) describing this project won the 2023 IABSE Outstanding Paper Award (OPA), watch the video (Click here), download the full paper (Click here).

In Person and Online: Thursday, May 30, 2024 - 6:30 pm ET/5:30 pm CT

Locations:

SOM - Seven World Trade Center, 250 Greenwich St, 27th Floor, New York, NY

SOM - 224 S Michigan Ave # 1000, Chicago, IL.

Registration:

In-Person: SEAoNY Members - $30. IABSE Members - $30 (Code: KV0B8F67). Non-Members - $45.

Online: Without PDH certificate: FREE.

With PDH certificate: IABSE Members - Free/ Without PDH certificate: Non-IABSE Members - $20.

To register for in-person attendance in New York City, please click here: https://seaony.org/event-5709613 [gmail.us13.list-manage.com]

To register for in-person attendance in Chicago, please click here: https://www.seaoi.org/event-5720007/Registration [gmail.us13.list-manage.com]

To register for online attendance, please click here.  [gmail.us13.list-manage.com]. 

Attendance to this Technical Presentation will award 1 PDH Credit.

IABSE-USA has met the standards and requirements of the Registered Continuing Education Program. Credit earned on completion of this program will be reported in RCEP.net. Certificates of Completion will be issued to all participants via the RCEP.net online system. Complaints regarding registered providers may be sent to RCEP at www.RCEP.net.

Two Hybrid Lectures took place on 25 and 29 April 2024

From left to right, first photo: Pere Alfaras, Ezra Groskin, Paul Skelton, Chiara Rosignoli, Ben Addy, Barry Keung, Craig Johnson, Callum Stewart, and Giacomo Mauriello.

25 April 2024 event: An Architect’s Role in Bridge Design: Watch the Recording (Click Here).

Moxon Architects have spent the last 20 years developing relationships which have led to fruitful projects and a thriving practice. From their portfolio, bridges stand out as they are experienced by the widest audience. However, the practice applies the same philosophy to all its works across sectors and scales. This diversity is intentional, bringing a fresh perspective to every project. 

This talk will highlight a specific thread running throughout Moxon’s portfolio. Economy or ‘doing more with less’ is a principle they apply to the design of products, buildings, public spaces, bridges and infrastructure. While this ethos predates the environmental challenges we face today, its importance will continue to grow as they contribute to a more responsible built environment.

This philosophy extends into less tangible/quantifiable areas of their work. A range of projects will illustrate its influence on aesthetics, technology and manufacturing methods. All of this couples nicely with Moxon’s engineering sensibilities and an eagerness to collaborate with like-minded professionals.

Moxon Architects delivered a riveting IABSE Lunch and Learn presentation in New York.  “An Architect’s Role in Bridge Design” featured several bridge case studies where their team applied ‘doing more with less’ as a design principle. H&H hosted the event and external engineers and architects met in-person. Afterwards, Moxon Architects joined H&H for a tour of Hudson Yards. H&H developed the mechanization system for The Shed’s kinetic shell, which extends out from the building and more than doubles the first-floor exhibition space. H&H also provided engineering services related to the design and construction of The Vessel's unique, articulating elevator.

• Short Biography: Ben Addy and Ezra Groskin are Directors at Moxon Architects. From their studios in the Scottish Highlands and London they oversee the practice’s infrastructure and bridge work. Together they have four decades of experience in this niche corner of the industry where they have developed a strong reputation and a diverse portfolio. In recent years they have played a critical role in the UK’s largest infrastructure projects, bringing the same care for craft and experience that the practice was built upon. They both enjoy the search for solutions that best meet the needs of their clients, sites and end-users, always delivering well above expectations. Both are makers and both are interested in the way structures perform.
• Questions asked: Do architects play a different role in bridge design in Europe, the UK vs USA? Are there advantages to working on different types of projects (sector, scale, location etc)? What lessons can bridge designers learn from buildings and vice versa? How is the process of design related to the outcome and general enjoyment/satisfaction? Moxon turns 20 this year, what will the next two decades look like?

29 April 2024 event: Improvement of Al Shindagha Corridor with Infinity Arch Bridge in Dubai. Watch the Video Recording Here.

Mr. Gernot Komar, Dipl-Ing, PE presented the precast and cast-in-place segmental concrete project “Improvement of Al Shindagha Corridor with Infinity Arch Bridge in Dubai”, at the University of California at San Diego. The hybrid event took place at 12 noon Pacific Time, and was available online for those wishing to connect remotely. The event was free for members and non-members and will provide one Professional Development Hour (1PDH) which is free to IABSE members and $20 for non-IABSE members. 

The Improvement of Al Shindagha Corridor in Dubai has captured regional and international attention for its exceptional design and construction, most notably the spectacular Infinity Arch lying at the heart of both the project and the city itself. The bridge's design features twin arches curving above the road deck, creating a visually stunning figure-eight shape which gives the bridge its name, evoking the symbol for infinity (∞). Mr. Gernot Komar, Dipl-Ing, PE, Senior Program Director for Global Bridge Engineering with Parsons, presented the precast and cast-in-place segmental concrete project at the University of California at San Diego on April 29. The hybrid event took place at 12 noon Pacific Time, and was available online for those wishing to connect remotely. The event was free for members and non-members and was also part of the graduate class SE 290 at the Department of Structural Engineering, UCSD.

The seminar was introduced by Prof. Alessandro Palermo, IABSE-US Board Member, and students were briefed on the value of joining the Association prior to Mr. Komar’s presentation. About 80-90 attendees were over (see photos below) plus over 15 participants who followed the seminar online.

January 2024 events: 

IABSE-US NG continued to promote the exchange of knowledge regarding international practices by sponsoring the presentation of a unique project: “Construction of a Double Cable Stayed Swing Bridge in Scotland” at the Transportation Research Board -Construction of Bridges and Structures Committee (AKC40) meeting, last January 9 in Washington, DC. Barry Keung, PE led an engaging presentation on this unique bridge. The event was coordinated by IABSE-US Board member Chiara Rosignoli, PE, who is also the incoming Chair of the Committee, and gave us the opportunity to present IABSE’s mission in front of an audience of over 50 bridge engineers. After a full day of meetings, several IABSE members convened for dinner at a local restaurant where various initiatives for the year ahead were discussed. 

IABSE-USA – Technical and Social events at TRB in Washington, DC, 9 January 2024, 8am-12pm in Washington DC 

Technical Presentation

IABSE-USA is promoting the exchange of knowledge regarding international practices by sponsoring the presentation of a unique project: “Construction of a Double Cable Stayed Swing Bridge in Scotland” at the TRB Construction of Bridges and Structures Committee (AKC40) meeting.

How to attend?

Attendance to the committee meeting is free and does not require registration for the conference, so whether you are attending the Annual Meetings or you are in the area, please join this session! If you have questions, please contact Chiara Rosignoli at crosignoli@hardestyhanover.com.

TRB’s Annual Meeting attracts thousands of transportation professionals from around the world. The program covers all transportation modes, with sessions and workshops addressing topics of interest to policy makers, administrators, practitioners, researchers, and representatives of government, industry, and academic institutions. Standing CommitteeAKC40 is concerned with all aspects of the construction of structures for transportation systems excluding tunnels. For information on the full event program, check https://www.trb.org/AnnualMeeting/Program.aspx [gmail.us13.list-manage.com]

IABSE-USA continues to look for opportunities to promote our association at various events across the country.

Social Event

IABSE members are invited to join us for dinner at the nearby Tortino Restaurant (1228 11th St between M St NW and N St NW) at 6:00 pm. Space is limited - if you are interested in attending, please email Maria Grazia Bruschi at maria.g.bruschi@parsons.com.

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The US NG Chair, Maria Grazia Bruschi, represented IABSE and gave a talk and shared a few slides about IABSE and its activities at the ASBI event in November.

US NG with the Speaker Michael Stein, and participants.

Technical Lecture "Build More with Less"
Michael Stein P.E.,  schlaich bergermann partner

HYBRID EVENT: H&H, 1501 Broadway, 6^th Fl. Entrance on 43^rd St, New York, NY

On May 11 the IABSE-USA National Group sponsored the first hybrid technical lecture/webinar on the subject “Build More with Less”, presented by Michael Stein. The well-attended presentation, co-sponsored by the IABSE-Canada National Group, was held in the New York offices of H&H in Times Square, and was followed by refreshments and an opportunity for in-person attendees to network and continue the conversation on the subject of sustainability. The event was open to both members and non-members of IABSE.

For the first time ever, IABSE-USA was able to provide Professional Development Hour (PDH) Certificates to engineers who hold a Professional License in the United States and need these certificates to maintain their license.

Mr. Stein presented a historical perspective on elegant, lightweight design solutions that were ahead of their time in terms of innovation, and then showcased several projects developed by the office of schlaich bergermann partner. The goal of the presentation was to inspire engineers to design elegant and efficient solutions that minimize materials and have a lighter footprint in the built environment.

The webinar was recorded and is available at https://www.iabse.org/elearning/webinars

Click here to download the brochure.