David Harvey takes the helm as IStructE President

In September, David Harvey, M.Sc., P.Eng., Struct.Eng., FIStructE, Senior Bridge Specialist in our Burnaby office, started his one year term as President of the Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE). For portions of next year, David and his partner, Cecilia Bernabe, will be based in London, England as David fulfills his role and responsibilities as president. For the next few issues of AE Today, we are pleased to present short articles from David chronicling his travels, observations, and insights as IStructE President.

By David Harvey, M.Sc., P.Eng., Struct.Eng., FIStructE

The Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE) is the world’s premier organization for structural engineering, with 22,000 members worldwide. Headquartered in London, England, IStructE accredits university courses, qualifies members, and disseminates technical information. Now in its 99th year, IStructE has just elected me as its second President who is based outside of the United Kingdom.

My year as IStructE President started on September 28, 2006, with my inaugural address in London, England. My presentation included my twelve favourite bridge designs, all carried out during my 24 years with Associated Engineering. I have subsequently received very favourable comments about these projects.

I was especially pleased to have Associated Engineering’s President, Kerry Rudd, and his wife, Jackie, along with thirteen former IStructE Presidents, at the Institution headquarters for my inaugural address -- quite an amazing experience! Also, for the first time, the inaugural address was accessible over the Internet. Several of my colleagues were able to view the event live from Canada.

My partner, Cecilia, and I have subsequently been extremely busy setting up our London base, and starting our tour of IStructE’s domestic branches. I have enjoyed excellent hospitality and been shown some memorable engineering projects. The tours started with Heathrow Airport Terminal 5, the largest construction project in Europe. This is a very complex project with some very impressive terminal buildings. I then visited the Docklands Light Rail Extension in East London, the National Hyperbaric Centre in Aberdeen, and the Forth Road Bridge in Scotland. As a Bridge Engineer, I was particularly interested in the problems that the Forth Road Bridge is experiencing after 42 years in service. The cables on this elegant suspension bridge are corroding. Currently, engineers are investigating when and how to replace them. Accommodating both the high volume of bridge users and the stringent health and safety regulations during this work will be major challenges.

I was also delighted to chair the technical meeting where the Bishop’s Road Bridge, Paddington replacement project was presented. Not only was this an incredibly constrained and meticulously-planned bridge replacement, but the project team also had to cope with encountering a previously unknown canal bridge built by I.K. Brunel.

Preservation of the historic structure was successfully accomplished without significant interruption to progress -- a credit to the dedication and skill of the project team.

After this wonderful start, two major events followed. First, the prestigious IStructE Structural Awards in November, which attracted 126 highquality entries from around the world, including two from Associated Engineering, which were both shortlisted! Also in November, I had the privilege of awarding Professor Roger Johnson, the world’s leading researcher of composite construction, with the Institution Gold Medal, its highest accolade.

Meanwhile, Cecilia and I are looking forward to meeting the IStructE members in the branches throughout the UK, and visiting some of the international divisions in the New Year.

Associated Engineering forms new operating company, Associated Geosciences Ltd.

Associated Engineering, in a joint venture with IMC Group from the UK, has formed a new company, Associated Geosciences Ltd. (AGL), which will undertake projects in the mining and geosciences fields. Associated Geosciences will provide minerals, coal and oil sands, water management, and geophysical consulting services. AGL's geophysical services will encompass oil sands and mineral exploration, engineering, pipeline, and environmental surveys.

The AGL Board of Directors has appointed Keith McCandlish, P.Geol. as Vice President and General Manager and Jim Henderson, P.Geoph. as Vice President, Geophysical Services for Associated Geosciences.

Alan Craven, P.Eng., President and CEO of Associated Engineering affiliate Associated Mining Consultants Ltd. (AMCL), will retire at the end of 2006, but will continue to provide advisory services as required to assist AGL on projects.

AGL will work out of offices in Calgary and Burnaby in the Vancouver area.

For information about the company, contact Keith at keith.mccandlish@associatedgeosciences.ca.