It is my privilege to serve as the President of SEI starting in October 2023. In the years following the COVID-19 pandemic, the structural engineering profession faces both rapid change and unforeseen opportunities. Recognizing this dynamic environment, SEI has launched a society-wide reorganization, effective October 2023, its first since our founding in 1996. I would like to thank the outgoing SEI President, Don Scott, for his vision in conceiving of and leading the reorganization effort. I would also like to thank SEI Managing Director, Jennifer Goupil, and all the SEI staff for their diligent contributions to our profession. SEI will now have a smaller and more strategic Board of Governors; two Communities, the Technical Community and the Professional Community, rather than five Divisions in order to enhance cross-collaboration within both SEI and our profession; and several focused Board initiatives that will help us amplify our impact on the profession and our members. Don committed an exceptional amount of energy to the reorganization effort and to leading SEI over the last year, and we thank him for his commitment to SEI.
This is an historic time for SEI not only because of the reorganization. Our workplace cultures and expectations continue to evolve in the wake of the pandemic. We are expanding our focus on equity and diversity in our profession. We are harnessing the huge opportunities that are continually developing in technology, ranging from integration of artificial intelligence and data analytics into our designs, to incorporating new materials, modular construction, and robotics into our projects. We are increasingly addressing how our projects and our practices can best address climate change. Structural engineers are especially well positioned to lead in this critical area. During my presidential year, I look forward to advancing these topics as primary goals of my presidency and identifying how SEI can continue to provide a leadership role to address these issues.
The 2024 SEI Structures Congress, dubbed SEICon24will take place as part of the North American Steel Construction Conference, March 20-22, in San Antonio, Texas, in conjunction with the American Institute of Steel Construction and other organizations. Please mark your calendar: I look forward to seeing you there!
I will close by thanking those who are rotating off the SEI Board of Governors after years of outstanding service: John Cleary, Robin Kempner, Takahiko Kimura, and Victor Van Santen, the 2021-2022 SEI President. I would like to welcome our new members to the Board: Hamid Adib, Maria Garlock, Shuxian (Susanne) Wassenius, and Jennifer Zabik. Thanks again to all of these individuals for their service.
If you are interested in learning more about how to get involved in SEI committees and activities, always feel free to reach out to me.
Jerome F. Hajjar, Ph.D., P.E., M.NAE, F.SEI, F.ASCE