Dear SEAOI Members,

I was in 8th grade. First period advanced literature with Mrs. Fuller had just finished. Second period was my favorite – US History with Mr. Lawton. I just had to go up the stairs and across the hall; plenty of time to get there before the bell rang.

I walked into the classroom, and Mr. Lawton wasn’t at his desk. Unusual, but the bell hadn’t rung yet. I went to my desk and started chatting with my friends. The bell rang and he still wasn’t there. Something was wrong. Then he came in, with a slightly panicked, deer-in-the-headlights look on his face. He turned on the TV to the news, and life was never the same. The rest of the day and week are a blur, but those 10 minutes will never be forgotten.

Most of us have a similar story. We know exactly where we were and what we were doing when we found out about the terrorist attacks. And many of us now work with individuals who were not even alive on the day the world changed forever.

September 11, 2001, changed the way we travel, the way we think about security, and the way we understand the threats facing our communities. It also changed the building industry. In the years that followed, engineers, architects, researchers, code officials, and others studied what happened and reconsidered how buildings respond to extraordinary events. Conversations surrounding structural robustness, redundancy, progressive collapse, fire protection, blast resistance, emergency preparedness, and resilience took on new significance.

But the role of the structural engineering profession on September 11 did not begin with the lessons learned afterward. It began that day.

As we approach the 25th anniversary, we remember the 2,977 lives lost in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Shanksville, Pennsylvania, as well as the first responders and others who risked their lives in the rescue, recovery, and rebuilding efforts that followed.

Among them were structural engineers, who worked alongside first responders and construction crews at Ground Zero to evaluate damaged structures and debris, identify hazards, and help make an extraordinarily dangerous site safer for those working within it. Although the heroic stories of firefighters, police officers, and other first responders are well known, the critical role structural engineers played in the aftermath of 9/11 is less familiar.

As structural engineers, it is a part of the story that I believe is especially important for us to remember – and to share with the next generation of our profession.

Please join SEAOI on Thursday, September 24th for a screening of Engineers at Ground Zero, a documentary produced by the Structural Engineers Association of New York (SEAoNY) highlighting the extraordinary contributions of structural engineers following the attacks.

The film tells the story of their leadership, resilience, and technical expertise during one of the most challenging recovery efforts in our nation’s history. A founding member of SEAoNY will also join us for Q&A and a conversation about the role structural engineers play in recovery efforts following disasters.

I hope you will join us – and invite your colleagues throughout the AEC community to join us as well – as we remember the innocent lives lost on September 11, honor those who served in its aftermath, and reflect on the responsibility our profession carries when our communities need us most.

With purpose,

Michelle Ryland, SE, RA

SEAOI President