I'm Ed Huston, and I am excited to be your SEI President for Fiscal Year 2026. I joined an ASCE Student Chapter before there were Institutes of ASCE. SEI was the first of those Institutes, and SEI celebrates its 30th Anniversary this year! We've come a long way in those 30 years! SEI is a dynamic, forward-looking leader in Structural Engineering.

  • We looked at our governance model a few years ago and realized that we had become a representational Board of Governors. There is nothing wrong with that, but to thrive, we realized that we needed to become a strategic board. We made that change and we are midway through the implementation process.
  • Our planet is warming at an alarming rate, and construction continues to add carbon dioxide, and other greenhouse gasses, to our environment. SEI responds to that challenge by being part of the 2050 initiative. Beyond taking the 2050 pledge, SEI hosted a climate symposium in Boston in 2024. In June of this year, SEI hosted the “Towards Zero Carbon” workshop. Structural Engineers gathered in Boulder, Colorado for this two-day event, and the energy and enthusiasm in the rooms was palpable! We are planning on holding another workshop in 2026, and are discussing elevating this program to a specialty conference in the near-term. SEI's membership of research engineers and consulting engineers gives us a great advantage to advance and implement solutions to this critical problem.
  • Many of you have contributed to our Futures Fund. Through your gifts, accelerated by matching funds, SEI has been able to implement forward thinking projects, and set aside scholarships for our younger members to attend the Towards Zero Carbon workshop and Structures Congress. These younger members are our future, and I encourage you to continue to be generous. If you haven't contributed yet, I invite you to do so.
  • Speaking of Structures Congress, Structures Congress 2026 will return to Boston on April 29th through May 1st. The planning is underway, and it looks like the programs may be the best yet. Save the date, I hope to see many of you there.

SEI leverages our impact by working in conjunction with other structural engineering organizations. NCSEA and CASE work with us to further our efforts on structural licensure. We are near completion on a new Joint Vision Statement with them.

SEI has also been collaborating with the Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE), an international organization, headquartered in London, with members in 105 countries. IStructE has made great progress in sustainability. Watch for an announcement about a possible joint conference with IStructE in London in November.

I know from talking to past presidents, that this year will go by quickly. Still, I hope to meet with many of you at the various events this year. In closing, I want to encourage you to stay involved or get more involved in SEI activities. You will find that you get more out of participation than you put into it.

Edwin Huston, P.E., S.E., F.SEI, M.ASCE, SEI
FY26 President, Structural Engineering Institute
Huston Structural Engineering, PLLC