©2023 STRUCTURAL ENGINEERS FOUNDATION OF WASHINGTON | A 501(c)(3) ORGANIZATION
Event Information
The Structural Engineers Foundation of Washington held its 10th Annual Fall Forum virtually on November 12, 2020, livestreamed from Town Hall Seattle.
The 7,300 bridges in Washington state are full of stories. Some are stories of history and culture, necessity and politics, or the challenges and marvels of civil engineering. Learning these stories connects communities more closely to their built environment and honors the design, engineering, and legacy of these significant spans. For the 10th Annual Fall Forum, SEFW was honored to host Maureen Elenga, local historian, and John Stanton, PhD., professor of civil engineering at the University of Washington, who together presented an educational evening showcasing bridges in Washington. Ms. Elenga shared the cultural, quirky, and even surprising histories of several local bridges, while Dr. Stanton revealed engineering mysteries that brought them to life for the technical observers in the audience.
About our Speakers:
Maureen R. Elenga is an architectural historian whose published works include Seattle Architecture: a Walking Guide to Downtown (2008, Seattle Architecture Foundation) and Bridges of Seattle (2020, Arcadia Press). She holds a master’s degree in art history from the University of Washington and an undergraduate degree in art history and communications from the University of Oregon.
Maureen has worked as the business manager for Arcade Journal, a quarterly magazine dedicated to architecture, urbanism and design in the Pacific Northwest. She also served as the technical manager of the University of Washington Library’s Cities and Buildings Database, an online resource for images and information on thousands of buildings and sites around the world.
Born and raised in Portland, Maureen developed an early interest in architecture from her father, a retired partner with BORA Architects. She now lives in Seattle with her husband and two children.
John F. Stanton is the Thomas & Marilyn Nielsen Professor in Engineering in the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering at the University of Washington. He began teaching at UW in 1978 and has been a professor since 1992, primarily teaching structural engineering.
John has bachelor's and master's degrees in mechanical sciences from Cambridge University in the UK, as well as a MSCE from Cornell University and a Ph.D. in civil engineering from University of California at Berkeley. He worked in design practice for six years in Britain, France, and Canada before joining the University of Washington.
He has taught and conducted research in several areas of structural engineering, focusing primarily on seismic engineering issues. Most recently, he has conducted work on developing new structural framing systems for buildings made from precast concrete.
During the last decade, his research has focused primarily on bridges, and he has contributed to the design and evaluation of several large bridge projects in the US and abroad.
Corporate Partnerships
THANK YOU to the sponsors for the 2020 Fall Forum:
PLATINUM
PCS Structural Solutions
GOLD
CKC Structural Engineers
DCI Engineers
Seattle Structural
SILVER
Anonymous Family Foundation
Cairncross & Hempelmann
Coffman Engineers
Contech Services
Coughlin Porter Lundeen
CT Engineering
Degenkolb
DLR Group
Douglas Engineering
GLY Construction
KPFF Consulting Engineers
Magnusson Klemencic Associates
MC Squared
Malsam Tsang Structural Engineers
Quantum Consulting Engineers
Swenson Say Faget
Vulcraft Verco Group
BRONZE
BTL Engineering
CG Engineering
DeWalt
Graphite Design Group
Jon Magnusson
Kramer Gehlen Associates
Lund Opsahl
Mark & Linda D’Amato
Mayes Testing Engineers, a Terracon Company
MLA Engineering
Simpson Strong-tie
Stoneway Concrete
Wetherholt & Associates
COOPERATING ORGANIZATIONS
ACE Mentor Program of Washington
AIA Seattle Chapter
ASCE Seattle Section
ASCE Student Chapter, Seattle University
ASCE Student Chapter, University of Washington
Concrete Reinforcing Steel Institute
Gonzaga University Department of Civil Engineering
National Council of Structural Engineering Associations
Northwest Cement Council
Northwest Concrete & Masonry Association
Seattle Architecture Foundation
Seattle University Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering
Structural Engineers Association of Idaho
Structural Engineers Association of Illinois
Structural Engineers Association of Oregon
Structural Engineers Association of Washington
Structural Engineers Association of Washington
Structural Engineers Association of Washington, University of Washington Chapter
University of Washington Department of Architecture
University of Washington Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering
Washington Aggregates & Concrete Association
Washington State University Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
FRIENDS OF THE FOUNDATION
Bill Maibusch
Craig Keller
David Goodyear
Diane Warner
Dick Hemmen
Greg Schindler
Herbert Ahten
Joyce Lem
Marga Rose Hancock
Matthew Copus
Michael Dunn
Nancy Devine
Peter Barlow
Richal Smith
Siri Ashworth
Thomas Kinsman
To make a donation, please contact the SEFW administrator at admin@sefw.org or 206.451.7475. You may also contact any of our Board of Directors with a pledge.
Video Recording
A recording of the 10th Annual Fall Forum, including both the presentation and Q&A portion, is available on the SEFW Vimeo page. Thank you to everyone who attended! We estimate we had just under 400 people viewing the event live on November 12.
Event Program