In February, SEAoT-TAMU had the pleasure of hosting Dr. Thomas Kang from Seoul National University, as well as Claire Barden and Piper Roman from L.A. Fuess Partners.
Dr. Kang is a professor at Seoul National University as well as a Fellow of PTI and ACI, and a member of Korean Academy of Science & Technology and National Academy of Engineering of Korea. During his presentation, Dr. Kang shared his expertise in the design, repair, and construction of nuclear concrete
containment structures. Concrete containments for nuclear reactors are no longer a preferred option in the US. Therefore, Dr. Kang has been researching a variety of design and construction technologies for the next generation of concrete containment vessels for nuclear power reactors. Specifically, his goal is to make them relevant and economically viable in the future, all while addressing common construction issues. There are currently no structural courses offered at Texas A&M that cover nuclear containment or blast design, so the members in attendance were very attentive listeners for this presentation and asked many questions during the post-presentation discussion.
SEAoT-TAMU was excited to welcome Claire Barden and Piper Roman as speakers for its last general meeting in February. Both speakers are relatively recent graduates of Texas A&M University and now work for L.A. Fuess Partners. After introducing the basics of L.A. Fuess Partners, Claire and Piper detailed work they had done on their favorite projects. Further, they identified some common hurdles new structural engineers encounter and explained that, when in doubt, it is okay to reach out to more experienced colleagues for support.
Claire and Piper gave great insight into what a typical day at work looks like for structural engineers fresh out of school and what level of work they could expect to see. Overall, the meeting was very succussful. The students enjoyed being able to speak with former classmates and learn about L.A. Fuess Partners!
