The NCSEA Foundation Artificial Intelligence (AI) Grant Team and AI Advisory Board traveled to San Francisco in February for a two-day road mapping session. The team spent this time thinking big and challenging the status quo.
While discussions took place on current trends, challenges, and opportunities, much of the time was spent focusing on a desired future state of the profession and how advancements in technology will help achieve this vision. The team discussed how AI applications could revolutionize structural engineering and identified opportunities for expanding the scope of structural engineering by leveraging AI technology.
“By prioritizing AI, our grant program spearheads a seismic shift in structural engineering — fostering unprecedented collaboration, embracing technological change and cultivating a community willing to push the boundaries of what’s possible,” said Emily Guglielmo, NCSEA Foundation president and member of the Grant Program’s Executive Team.
The AI roadmap will define future short-term and long-term areas of study, topics for direct consumption, and education in future funded programs or initiatives. It will address the main barriers to the wider adoption of AI in structural engineering and explore how to overcome them. The roadmap will suggest ways to foster a culture of innovation and continual learning in the field to keep pace with AI advancements. It will also identify the roles structural engineering organizations and firms play in promoting AI integration in the field.
The April edition of STRUCTURE magazine will provide more background on the initiative and include the team’s report on the initial road mapping session. Subsequent articles will share the project team’s findings and recommendations for the field.
NCSEA Executive Director Al Spada said, “Our project team of thought leaders and experts are driving the future of AI in structural engineering. This strategic plan empowers the structural engineering profession to embrace this advanced technology and steer the direction of its usage.”
The NCSEA Foundation was established in 2020 to advance the science and practice of structural engineering by supporting NCSEA, the state SEAs, and practicing structural engineers.
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