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Texas SEI Chapter Annual Meeting

The Texas Section invites you to join the Texas Structural Engineering Institute Chapter (TxSEI) for their first annual meeting on Tuesday, January 25, 2022.

This seminar is jointly organized by SEI Houston, Austin and Dallas branches and intends to connect Texas structural engineers together by hosting seminar sessions from projects across Texas. The event provides an opportunity for all civil and structural engineers to learn more about some of the unique engineering projects in Texas which span from transportation, entertainments, or building industries. Also the event is trying to provide an opportunity for Texas engineers to connect more broadly in state level and get a chance to meet their peers and network from different metropolitans. SEI Texas section is endeavoring to increase the profession knowledge of the unique aspect of our profession and establish this event as a media to connect more broadly within state.

When: 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM CT

Where: Virtual (In-person options to be announced)

Agenda

11:10 – 11:40 AM – Dallas Southern Gateway Bridge Overview presented by Elaine Jin PE (Vice President, WSP)

Session: The Dallas Southern Gateway project is a $666 million design-build project that is rebuilding and widening I-35E south of downtown Dallas, as well as widening US 67 between I-35E and I-20 and the I-35E/US 67 split. The project includes a total of 37 new bridges and bridge widenings and rehabilitation of 19 existing bridges. Elaine will provide an overview of the bridge design for this project and share some lessons learned during construction. She will also discuss some design aspects of two unique structures, the bridge supporting the deck park and the highly skewed steel bridge, Beckley Avenue Overpass.

Speaker: Elaine is a Vice President and the Texas Structural TEC Lead for WSP. In this role, she provides leadership to the structural team consisting of over thirty (30) engineers and CADD technicians that are responsible for delivering some of the most complex urban projects in North Texas such as IH 30 Canyon Project and IH 35E Phase II Design Build Project. Elaine has over twenty-three (23) years of experience in the transportation infrastructure industry with a primary focus on bridge project delivery and project management. She has extensive experience in Design/Build project delivery and served as the Structural TL for the Dallas Horseshoe project and the Dallas Southern Gateway project. Elaine lives in Dallas with her husband and two children and enjoys hiking, painting, and traveling with her family.

1:45 AM – 12:15 PM – Houston’s First Hybrid Steel & Mass Timber Building presented by John Hand PE, SE, LEED AP (Associate, Arup)

Session: John will discuss the structural design of the Houston Endowment Headquarters Building; Houston’s first hybrid steel and mass-timber building. Several site and architectural restraints required an innovative approach to reduce cost and meet the sustainability goals of the project.

Speaker: John is Arup’s structural building practice leader in Texas. In this role, John provides leadership to the structural team across Texas. With an academic background in architecture, philosophy and business, John excels in projects demanding innovative and architecturally expressed structures. John serves as an engineer for a diverse array of projects locally and internationally, including commercial developments, academic buildings, high rises, sculptures, retrofits and airports. John lives in Katy with his wife and five children, and (when not driving kids between soccer, school, and dance) John enjoys being a frequent architectural reviewer at several universities including the MIT, Roger Williams University, Boston Architectural College, University of Houston, Syracuse University, and Texas Tech University.

12:20 – 12:50 PM – Structural Design of Q2 Stadium for the Austin FC MLS Club presented by Mark Waggoner PE (Senior Project Manager, Walter P Moore)

Session: Major League Soccer arrived in Austin in 2021 with the debut of Austin FC at the newly built Q2 Stadium in North Austin. Q2 Stadium features the largest roof among MLS stadiums to provide extensive shade for comfort in the Austin climate. Walter P Moore led the structural design for this innovative venue. This presentation will describe the design and construction of the structural systems at Q2 Stadium.

Speaker: Mark Waggoner PE is a Principal in the Austin, TX office of Walter P Moore. His work focuses on long-span roofs and other complex structures. He has contributed to the design of more than a dozen long-span roofs for sports facilities, including AT&T Stadium, Circuit of the Americas, and the under-construction UT basketball Moody Center.