2024 NCSEA Summit
By Jordan Terry, SEAU NCSEA Delegate
As NCSEA Delegate for SEAU, I had the opportunity to attend the NCSEA Summit in November. At this summit, I attended the NCSEA leadership meetings, connected with SEA counterparts from other states, and attended some of the technical program. Here are a few key takeaways from this meeting:
Key Take-away #1 – We are really lucky to have Nicole as our Executive Director! Any of you that have served on the SEAU board know the critical role she plays in our organization. She makes our organization function consistently at a high level. I have served in many organizations and talked with other SEA leaders that don’t have someone like Nicole and maintaining organizational momentum is one of the biggest challenges. I promise you that herding a bunch of Professional Engineers is no small feat. Our SEAU Education Conference is consistently well organized and successful due in large part to her tireless efforts. At the NCSEA Conference, Nicole spent most of her time at the with the vendors, encouraging them to register for our Education Conference. These vendors help keep your registration costs down and provide additional incentives for attendees. Please take a moment at the conference or elsewhere to thank Nicole for making our organization more awesome!
Key Take-Away #2 – One of the main themes of the NCSEA Summit this year was Artificial Intelligence’s role in shaping the future of structural engineering and there were several presentations and keynotes on the topic. This topic tends to elicit a combination of fear and excitement, depending on the audience. For those that are fearful, I was reminded that every new technology, such as personal computers in the 1980’s, access to e-mail and the internet in the 1990’s, and BIM in the 2000’s has caused some degree of concern and anxiety about impacts to our practice and potential liability. Can you imagine practicing structural engineering without these tools today? Those that lean towards excitement regarding AI should look to industry veterans to identify potential risks with a particular AI implementation. Those who have accumulated wisdom and engineering judgement from decades of practice can help refine your ideas and avoid potential pitfalls. Having both fear and excitement regarding the future of AI in our industry will allow our industry to cautiously look for and adopt AI strategies to make us better at what we do.
Key Take-Away #3 – For 13 years, the SEAU Education Conference has elevated our profession here in Utah by providing opportunities for continuing education, providing a forum for sharing ideas and lessons learned, and increased the exposure to SEAU to those in our industry. I’ve attended many conferences around the country and participated in organizing conferences in the Northwest. Since returning home to Utah 7 years ago, I am consistently impressed by the persistent quality and increasing participation at the SEAU Education Conference. Hats off to the visionaries that began this tradition 13 years ago! We look forward to seeing you at the conference in February!
