Of course I realize that summer is still in full swing and that many of you are juggling vacations with projects in order to enjoy the weather and capitalize on some much needed "R and R." However, now is the time to start planning for fall learning events, and the one you will not want to miss is the 2007 Structural Engineers’ Building Conference & Expo. Scheduled for Oct. 10-11 at the Grand Hyatt in San Francisco, this year’s event promises to be the best yet.

ZweigWhite’s media events team works extremely hard all year to gather many industry luminaries to participate in this annual, two-day event. As I have previously explained, this conference and expo was conceived to bring the magazine to life, as well as to provide a connection with Structural Engineer subscribers and the entire structural engineering community. Now in its third year, the conference continues to provide top-notch educational sessions, as well as an annual exhibit hall. New this year is a pre- and a post-conference seminar.

We are pleased that many of our regular columnists and contributors will be presenting this year, including the following sessions:

Future direction of U.S. seismic design provisions, presented by S.K. Ghosh, Ph.D., president, S.K. Ghosh Associates Inc.;
Embracing the emerging leadership role of structural engineers, presented by Richard G. Weingardt, P.E., chairman, Richard Weingardt Consultants, Inc.;
Significant structural changes from the 1997 UBC to the 2006 IBC, presented by John R. Henry, principal staff engineer, International Code Council;
Structural engineering ethics: You be the judge, presented by Arthur E. Schwartz, CAE, deputy executive director and general counsel, National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) ethics experts; and
Closed claims: What went wrong? A presentation of the Risk Management Program of CASE, presented by Douglas N. Elliott, P.E., president, Elliott LeBouef & Associates, and Nils (Val) V. Ericson, P.E., chairman/CEO, The Di Salvo Ericson Group and CASE Risk Management Program.

The pre- and post-conference seminars will provide additional learning opportunities on building information modeling and the 2006 International Building Code. These day-long, comprehensive seminars are finely tuned to specific industry needs and require separate registration. Discounts are available for multi-person and multi-event registration.

To learn more about this exciting event, see "Structural Engineers’ Building Conference & Expo: Providing knowledge and tools to build the future".  Also, look for the conference brochure in the September issue for the complete agenda, program, and presentation descriptions.

Be sure to take full advantage of the early registration discounts when you register before Sept. 10, 2007. Visit www.SEBuildings.com or call 800-466-6275 to register.