Give to Invest in the Future of Structural Engineering

To view the figures and tables associated with this article, please refer to the flipbook above.

The SEI Futures Fund supports programs beyond the SEI operating budget—programs that inspire, educate, and connect the next generation of structural engineers while advancing the art, science, and practice of the profession.

Through the generous support of donors, the Fund invests in high-impact initiatives that align with SEI programs and vision for the future of structural engineering. I am proud of the programs the SEI Futures Fund has made possible in 2025, through the support of your donations.

120+ scholarships were awarded to students and young professionals to help them get involved at Structures Congress and the Electrical Transmission and Substation Structures Conference, including informal mentoring for further involvement in SEI. This was the largest group of scholarship recipients to date, with former scholarship recipients leading and serving at all levels—on the SEI Board, committees, and with local and grad student chapters.

The Fund provided support for 17 Young Professional SEI Standards Committee Leaders (Secretary, Balloter, or Historian), to participate in committee operations, realizing critical knowledge transfer to next generation leaders. Past recipients now serve in several Chair and Vice-Chair positions.

“Serving as the balloter for the ASCE 7 Wind Load Subcommittee has allowed me to actively participate in the Steering Committee and gain a comprehensive understanding of the entire code development process—from proposal generation, to voting, approval, and final inclusion in the next code. The Committee brings together professionals from diverse disciplines, including wind and structural engineering, as well as consultants and researchers. This experience has strengthened my relationships with industry leaders, opened the door to new professional connections, and sparked cross-disciplinary conversations—even beyond the scope of code development. This code cycle has been particularly exciting, as it includes impactful changes, and I was able to engage directly with the researchers whose work is driving these advancements.”—Juliana Rochester, PE, SE, M.ASCE

Going forward this will expand to other SEI standards and technical committees.

At the Towards Zero Carbon 2025: Summit and Symposium, support was provided for speakers, representatives from SE2050 signatory firms, and members of the organizing committee to participate. In 2026, support will align strategic Towards Zero Carbon activities to address growing needs: to offer the SE2050 Signatory Summit at Structures Congress as a pre-conference workshop, to continue to educate about the SEI Embodied Carbon Prestandard, and to support data analysis of the new SE2050 database, enabling insights on design parameters that influence lower carbon and resource efficient designs, to develop a roadmap to net zero.

Funding brought together leading experts in a workshop to plan implementation of performance-based design for wind, identify next steps in developing standard provisions and performance objectives for performance-based design procedures, and produce resources and educational activities to advance the use of performance-based design procedures in practice.

Building Vibrant Local Structural Engineering Local Communities

Small grant funding was provided for 12 local SEI Chapters and Grad Student Chapters to run innovative programs leveraging local partnerships to engage students and professionals and to foster continuous membership and involvement in SEI/ASCE. Efforts included technical/networking and career insight events, site or firm visit, training, etc.

Educating for Impact

The SEI Futures Fund has supported the following resources:

Through your generous giving, the SEI Futures Fund Board has committed more than $300,000 to support SEI strategic initiatives in 2026.

Now more than ever we need your gift to continue growing and empowering the next generation of innovators, problem-solvers, and leaders who will define the future of structural engineering.

Our goals include supporting programs that:

Give now to show your support and invest in the future of our profession. Your gift is tax-deductible and goes 100% toward programs, with no administrative fees.

Thank you to SEI Futures Fund Donors, and especially Thornton Tomasetti for their match up to $5,000! If you or your firm want to set up a matching gift challenge, contact me or any other member of the SEI Futures Fund Board (www.asce.org/SEIFuturesFund ). And by the way, if you have a great idea to further these goals and want to submit a proposal, contact the leaders of SEI chapters or national committees for guidance on how to gain their support for a proposal.

Thank you for your gift and have a wonderful holiday season!

About the Author

Jim Harris, Ph.D, PE, NAE, F.SEI, Dist.M.ASCE, is the Founder of J R Harris & Co in Denver, CO, and Chair of the SEI Futures Fund FY 2025-26.