2025 Spring Seminar | Existing Buildings | 6 PDHs

Title Sponsor

Schedule

8:00 – 8:30: Registration and Breakfast
8:30 – 10:00: Indiana Fair Collapse and NOLA – Scott G. Nacheman, MSc. Eng., AIA
10:15 – 11:45: Machine Learning Research on Building Damage Assessment & Windstorm Impacts – Dr. Wei Song, Ph.D., Civil Engineering
11:45 – 12:30: Brain Break for Lunch
12:30 – 1:30: Recent Examples of Defects Causing Structural Failures – Rupert Price, SE, PE, CEng, MIStructE
1:45 – 2:45: 324 N. Main Street Partial Building Collapse – Scott G. Nacheman, MSc. Eng., AIA & Rupert Price, SE, PE, CEng, MIStructE

Speakers

Scott Nacheman, MSC.ENG., AIA 

President and Managing Principal, White Birch Group

Scott G. Nacheman is a forensic Architect and Engineer with diverse multi-disciplinary experience. Throughout his over 27-year career, Mr. Nacheman has been involved in many facets of emergency response, building/structure stabilization, failure investigation, and repair/remediation. Scott has responded to large commercial building failures following Hurricanes Katrina, Ike, Harvey, Irma, Maria, Ian, CAT90/Sandy, the Christchurch New Zealand earthquakes, the Joplin Tornado, and many other large loss events. He has also provided investigation and remedial design services for iconic structures such as the Chrysler Building and Empire State Building in New York City, and The Wrigley Building in Chicago.

Dr. Wei Song, Ph.D., P.E.

Professor at the University of Alabama - Engineering Dept.

Dr. Wei Song is a distinguished civil engineer specializing in structural condition assessment, advanced experimental techniques, and cyber-physical system design to enhance community resilience. His research integrates optimal control design for nonlinear stochastic systems, aiming to develop innovative solutions for resilient and sustainable infrastructure.

With a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from Purdue University, Dr. Song also holds master’s degrees in Systems Science and Mathematics from Washington University in St. Louis and Structural Engineering from Tongji University, where he also completed his undergraduate studies in Civil Engineering. His expertise lies in advancing next-generation structural assessment and retrofitting tools, addressing critical challenges in infrastructure sustainability and disaster mitigation. Through his work, he is committed to bridging theoretical advancements with practical engineering solutions that strengthen the built environment.

Rupert Price, SE., PE., CEng, MIStructE

Principal Engineer, SOCOTEC Engineering Inc.

Rupert Price has multi-national structural design experience, having worked in Thornton Tomasetti’s London, Abu Dhabi, and Chicago offices before joining SOCOTEC.

Having spent the first several years of his career on design projects, he now focuses on litigation cases involving construction defects, structural failures and construction-related site injuries. Mr. Price also has extensive experience with adjacent construction-related disputes and structural health monitoring techniques and analysis.

Throughout his twelve-year career, he has been involved in a wide range of projects developing skills designing and analyzing structures utilizing all the major construction materials. He leverages a strong background in design and applies this to forensic investigations and structural failures. Mr. Price is a Licensed Structural Engineer in Illinois, a Professional Engineer in Minnesota, Washington, Texas, and California, and a Chartered Member of the Institution of Structural Engineers in London. He also has a master’s degree in civil Structural and Environmental Engineering from the University of Cambridge.

Topics

The SEAoAL Spring Seminar: Existing Buildings will delve into critical case studies and emerging technologies related to structural failures and forensic investigations.The seminar will begin with an analysis of the Indiana State Fair Collapse (2011) and the New Orleans Hard Rock Hotel Disaster (2019), presented by Scott G. Nacheman, MSc. Eng., AIA. This discussion will highlight the structural failures, their impact, and the evolving regulations for temporary and permanent structures. Following this, Dr. Wei Song will explore Machine Learning Applications in Building Damage Assessment and Windstorm Impact Modeling, showcasing how AI-driven tools are revolutionizing the way structural engineers evaluate damage and predict vulnerabilities in the built environment. The seminar will conclude with a deep dive into the 324 N. Main Street, Davenport, Iowa Partial Building Collapse (2023), led by both Nacheman and Rupert Price, SE, PE, CEng, MIStructE. This presentation will outline the forensic investigation into the cause and origin of the failure, providing valuable insights into structural integrity and risk mitigation strategies for existing buildings.