engineers at ground zero
Engineers at Ground Zero: A Screening & Conversation
When the Twin Towers fell, the world watched first responders run toward danger. What most people never saw were the structural engineers working alongside them – assessing collapsed and compromised structures in real time, keeping rescue crews safe, and racing to stop the Hudson River from flooding the entire NYC subway system.
Engineers at Ground Zero tells that story for the first time. Featuring firsthand accounts from the engineers and first responders who lived it, along with never-before-seen archival photos and footage, this documentary is a powerful look at how 9/11 reshaped building design and emergency response – and a story our profession owes to the next generation.
Join SEAOI for a special screening, followed by a live Q&A with a Founding Member of the Structural Engineers Association of New York, the very organization whose members are featured in this film.
The events of September 11, 2001, changed the world – and the AEC industry – forever. Structural engineers, architects, contractors, trade partners, material suppliers, and friends are all welcome.
Event Details
- Date: September 24, 2026
- Social Hour: 5:00 PM | Screening: 6:00 PM
- Location: AON Building - 200 East Randolph Street - Chicago, IL
- Runtime: 1 Hour + Q&A
- RSVP by: September 22, 2026
Upon arrival: Check in at the security desk, inform you are here for an event in the auditorium.
Registration
Attendee - $25.00
Sponsor - $250.00 (includes 4 tickets + your company logo in all future marketing)
All proceeds will be donated to Tunnel to Towers Foundation.
MEET YOUR PRESENTER
Edward M. DePaola, PE, SECB, F.SEI
President & CEO
Severud Associates Consulting Engineers, PC
Ed DePaola, PE is President and CEO of Severud Associates Consulting Engineers PC, New York. He is licensed in 21 states, and a member of numerous professional organizations including The American Concrete Institute (ACI), The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and The American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC).
He is a past President and Founding Member of the Structural Engineers Association of New York (SEAoNY), an ex-member of the Board of Governors of the Structural Engineering Institute (SEI), a director on the Board of Directors of the Structural Engineering Certification Board (SECB), the past chair of the Structural Engineering Institute Futures Fund (SEIFF), and a Life Member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE).
In 2023, he was awarded the Homer Gage Balcom Award from the ASCE Met Section, and the ASCE OPAL Award for Design.
He received a Bachelor of Science Degree and a Master of Science Degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Notre Dame, and his Juris Doctorate from Seton Hall School of Law. In March of 2012, he was made a Fellow of The Structural Engineering Institute of ASCE.
Over the past 40 years at Severud, he has designed numerous projects including high-rise buildings, long-span facilities and special structures requiring innovative structural solutions. His structural designs include the Jeppesen Terminal Roof and Glass Enclosure Structures of the Denver International Airport and the American Airlines Terminal at JFK International Airport. He was the principal-in-charge of the “Bank of America Tower at One Bryant Park”, formerly the second tallest building in NYC and the first high-rise office structure in the world to receive a LEED Platinum rating.
His current projects include the recently completed One Vanderbilt Avenue and the new headquarters building for JP Morgan Chase at 270 Park Avenue.
Ed will join us after the screening for a live Q&A – a rare chance to hear directly from someone with firsthand ties to the community this film honors.
