In the month of November, SEAoT-TAMU held its final general meeting for 2024. To
close out a great semester of presentations, SEAoT-TAMU welcomed Corbett L. Freeman from
Pape-Dawson. Mr. Freeman is a Vice-President with Pape-Dawson Engineers and leads the
structural practice for the firm. He has nearly 30 years of experience in structural design,
specializing in the analysis, design, inspection, and rating of bridges. His most recent signature
project is the Grand Parkway/Tomball Tollway Interchange that pioneered the use of spliced
curved continuous concrete U-girders in Texas.
For the first time, SEAoT-TAMU partnered with the professors teaching the
undergraduate Theory of Structures course in order to encourage participation in student
organizations and increase engagement with A&M civil engineering students who may be
interested in the field. As a result, this meeting smashed the previous record for attendance
with a total of 163 students present! Mr. Freeman gave a summary of a day in the life of a
structural engineer and what it takes to become one. He displayed a large array of
infrastructure-related projects that the structural division at Pape-Dawson have worked on.
Further, Mr. Freeman introduced the utilization of post-tensioned concrete in many long span
overpasses and gave great examples to showcase the importance of shoring throughout the
construction process.
The students enjoyed the presentation and the chance to speak to Mr. Freeman
afterward. This meeting was successful in introducing realistic structural projects to many
young civil engineering students. With the year of SEAoT-TAMU meetings drawing to a close,
we’d like to thank the officer team of president Isabel Mlô, vice president Shriya Mehendale,
treasurer Mikhail Lanier, and general officer Gouri Praveen for their hard work in leading and
growing the student organization. Information regarding the new SEAoT-TAMU leadership team
for 2025 will be shared in January. Happy holidays from SEAoT-TAMU! Thanks & Gig ‘Em!
