Beca's technical professionals invited to speak at 2021 IABSE Congress Christchurch

Beca is proud to have five of its structural engineering professionals and thought leaders deliver special presentations at the International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineers (IABSE) Congress Christchurch, taking place from 3 to 5 February 2021.

The IABSE Congress is a major international event – delivered mostly online this year –, with participants connecting and sharing knowledge of varied and insightful approaches and experiences in structural engineering from around the globe. 

Beca's presenters will be speaking on a range of topics; from what young engineers can expect on their career journeys to innovation and the use of ever-evolving technology, and the emergency response to address structural damage inflicted on the Auckland Harbour Bridge.

In his presentation on special invited session for young engineers, Kam Weng Yuen, Beca Technical Director – Structural Engineering, will be joined by Dr Sakthy Selvakumaran of BKawi/University of Cambridge and Dr Manya Deyanova from Mott Macdonald, Bulgaria. The trio will be discussing how research knowledge can be innovatively put into practice and how this innovation can deeply and positively impact people's lives. Each presenter will share their own career journey to date and come together at the end of the session to take questions from their audience live.

Will Pank, Beca Technical Director – Structural Engineering, has been invited to discuss Beca and its Auckland System Management alliance partners' emergency response to support Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency in addressing severe structural damage to the Auckland Harbour Bridge. Spanning Waitematā Harbour, the bridge is a landmark feature and critical piece of transport infrastructure for Auckland and New Zealand at large. In September 2020, freak winds caused an empty container truck travelling over the main span of the bridge to overturn, damaging a critical diagonal member near the middle of the main 244m span and leading to major disruption to travel on the motorway network.

"I am really looking forward to sharing knowledge and hearing about innovations in bridge engineering from around the world. I'm only sorry that participants in the Congress cannot meet in person this year but the international structural engineering community will remain connected by this truly global event," said Will.

In addition to the two special presentations Liam Edwards, Beca Senior Associate – Bridge Engineering, and Kevin Ip, Beca Associate – Structural Engineering, will be presenting on their work using parametric and computational design for innovative steel bridges.

Also present at the Congress will be Ronald Wessel, Beca Associate – Bridge Engineering, who will be presenting on the repair and rehabilitation of the bearings of the Clarence River railway bridge which was severely damaged during the Kaikōura earthquake.

The technical programme and details of all presenters can be found on this link.

About the IABSE

The International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering is a non-profit organisation that aims to bring together members from across the globe to exchange valued knowledge about structural engineering, and to advance structural engineering practices to better service the profession and society. To find out more about the IABSE, visit their website here.