Register by Monday, March 21. To register, click here.

On June 24, 2021, the Champlain Towers South building in Surfside Florida collapsed without warning. The initial collapse occurred outside of the building tower, in the pool deck region. Seven minutes later, the central portion of the building collapsed; the eastern portion of the building collapsed quickly after that. The western section of the building remained standing. Professor Lehman worked with an investigative journalist team at the Miami Herald led by Sarah Blaskey to investigate the partial collapse using tools and technologies she had developed through her research on seismic evaluation of existing buildings and design of new concrete connections. The primary objective of the investigation is to understand how initial damage in a pool deck could lead to partial collapse of this flat-plate cast-in-place reinforced concrete structure with an eye towards improving evaluation methods for these structures. This talk will address the building collapse using:

  1. Timeline of the collapse as reported by witnesses,
  2. Building damage photographs and videos
  3. Building plans and repair drawings and permits, and
  4. Advanced nonlinear finite element analyses of the Level 1 slab to investigate possible initiation points and progression of damage.

WHEN: Tuesday, March 22, 2022, 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM ET.
WHERE: Online webinar.
FEE: Registration (members, non-members, life members, students): $5.
One (1.0) Professional Development Hour (PDH) will be awarded for attendance.
(Link to attend event will be provided to registered attendees via confirmation email)

About the Speaker

Dr. Dawn Lehman is a Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Washington. She received her BS from Tufts University in 1989 and her PhD from U.C. Berkeley in 1998. She worked as a structural engineer in Boston MA between these degrees. She has been a faculty member at the University of Washington since 1999. Her research expertise lies in seismic engineering of structural systems. She has conducted research on a range of systems including reinforced concrete walls and frames, steel braced frames, as well as concrete-filled-tube, precast and reinforced-concrete bridge systems. Her research results have been implemented in codes, design manuals and provisional structural engineering recommendations, including AASHTO, AISC, WSDOT BDM, Caltrans SDM, and ASCE 41. She has authored over 100 peer-reviewed research articles. She led the technical investigation of the partial collapse of Champlain Towers South as a consultant to the Miami Herald.

What is ASCE-NCS?

Welcome to the website of the National Capital Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), a professional society for civil engineers.  ASCE was founded in 1852, represents 130,000 members of the civil engineering professional worldwide, and is America's oldest national engineering society.

The National Capital Section was founded in 1916 and currently has more than 3,100 members.  The section is located in Region 2 (link to region 2: http://region2.asce.org/). The National Capital Section serves the District of Columbia; the counties of Montgomery and Prince Georges in Maryland, except College Park in Prince Georges County; the counties of Fairfax and Arlington, and City of Alexandria in Virginia. The National Capital Section's mission includes:

  • To advance the professional knowledge and improve the practice of civil engineering for our members and those we serve.
  • To advocate for our profession with those whose actions affect us, and to educate those whose actions and responsibilities could benefit from a better understanding of the contributions of civil engineers.
  • To improve our community through effective community outreach programs, local involvement and educational efforts.

Upcoming Events

<<  <  March 2024  >  >>
 Mo  Tu  We  Th  Fr  Sa  Su 
      1  2  3
  4  5  6  7  8  910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728293031

Own a Copy of Inspiring Stories and Images of Infrastructure in the D.C. Area!

Click HERE for details or to purchase your copy.

Outstanding Website Award

ASCE Recognizes NCS Website as Outstanding