ASCE Structural Engineering Institute Announces Research Grant on Advancing Performance-Based Structural Fire Engineering Design in the U.S.

Reston, Va. — On September 7, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Structural Engineering Institute (SEI) and the Charles Pankow Foundation signed an agreement for a $230,000 research grant to develop, write and publish the state-of-the-art exemplar procedural guidance to properly execute a performance-based structural fire engineering (SFE) design in accordance with the new ASCE/SEI 7-16 Appendix E industry standard. The project will employ a scientific and engineering approach using the procedures outlined in ASCE/SEI Manual of Practice Structural Fire Engineering (MOP 138) to quantify the fire exposure and structural behavior of existing building designs during fire. Recognized experts in performance-based design will peer review the design brief and final report. The final document will be freely available to the public.

The project team is led by Principal Investigator (PI), Kevin LaMalva, P.E., M.ASCE, Senior Staff II/Fire Safety with Simpson Gumpertz & Heger, Inc. He helped lead the effort for development of Appendix E and Editor of MOP 138 and is a recognized expert in structural fire protection engineering with a profound understanding of the building code environment for fire safety and the challenges raised by the adoption of SFE in practice. Including the PI, the following collaboration of structural engineering firms and academic advisors create design teams that will be Industry Champions. The design teams have been selected to provide regional representation and will serve as Team Leads:

• Najib Abboud, Ph.D., P.E, M.ASCE, Senior Principal, Thornton Tomasetti, with Thomas Gernay, Aff.M.ASCE – Johns Hopkins University
• Larry Griffis, P.E., F.SEI, M.ASCE, Senior Principal, Walter P Moore, with Jose Torero, CPEng, CP, M.ASCE – University of Maryland
• Ron Klemencic, P.E., S.E., F.SEI, F.ASCE, Chairman and CEO, Magnusson Klemencic Associates, with Erica Fischer, P.E., M.ASCE – Oregon State University
• Kevin LaMalva, P.E. M.ASCE, Sn. Staff II Simpson Gumpertz & Heger, with Negar Elhami-Khorasani, Ph.D., A.M.ASCE – University at Buffalo

“We are grateful to the Charles Pankow Foundation for their overall vision and funding of this important project to help advance performance-based design,” says LaMalva. “Our team seeks to demonstrate the benefit of structural engineers serving as integral participants in the field of structural fire protection, which has remained relatively unchanged for a century. Specifically, structural engineers have the ability and tools to deliver more efficient and economical designs while also providing more intrinsically-safe structures to fire. ASCE/SEI’s new Standard Appendix and Manual of Practice are key advancements that will guide this effort.”

Work on the project will begin in September 2018 and is to be completed in October 2019.

About ASCE

Founded in 1852, the American Society of Civil Engineers represents more than 150,000 civil engineers worldwide and is America’s oldest national engineering society. ASCE works to raise awareness of the need to maintain and modernize the nation’s infrastructure using sustainable and resilient practices, advocates for increasing and optimizing investment in infrastructure, and seeks to “Raise the Bar” on engineering knowledge and competency. For more information, visit www.asce.org and follow us on Twitter, @ASCETweets and @ASCEGovRel.

About ASCE Structural Engineering Institute

SEI advances our members’ careers, stimulates technological advancement, and improves professional practice. SEI drives the practical application of cutting edge research by improving coordination and understanding between academia and practicing engineers. For more information, visit www.asce.org/SEI and follow us on Twitter, @ASCE_SEI