You can take an engineer out of the office, but you can’t take the engineer out of their brain. An engineering degree is, at its…
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origin: starting the conversation
Archive for the ‘Structural’ Category
Why is the Bob Dylan Center in Tulsa? It’s Really the Only Logical Choice.
When you hear “Bob Dylan,” what words come to mind? Iconic? Unique? Timeless? Tulsa? Up until recently, Tulsa would likely have never been included on…
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Construction of New USA BMX Headquarters in Tulsa Creates Racing and STEM Opportunities for Kids
Lately, downtown Tulsa has been buzzing with new construction and…BMX bikes? That’s right, as of February 15, 2022, the city that’s known for hosting the…
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Just Your Standard Engineer DIY Project: Above-Ground Storm Shelter Footing and Anchorage
Normally, new homeowners get indoctrinated into the cult of “homeownership” with the standard DIY projects: painting, caulking, building IKEA bookshelves, etc. Unless the new homeowners…
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Structural Engineering Terms 101: Top 3 Commonly Confused Structural Engineering Terms
Every profession or industry has its own lingo. And if you’re an industry insider, you may not give some terms a second thought – they’re…
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Champlain Towers South Condo Collapse: An In-Depth Look at Concrete Spalling
The collapse of the Champlain Towers South condo in Surfside, FL has left us with a number of questions. Most importantly, what caused this 12-story…
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Structural Forensics Engineering Breakdown: What are building owners’ top structural concerns?
In a previous post, I presented an overview of various routine forensic structural engineering projects our team tackles and broke down our forensics work to…
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The Gathering Place: More than Meets the Eye
There’s more to Tulsa than meets the eye. But don’t be fooled, it’s not because there’s nothing to see at first glance. It’s because there’s…
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How to Prep for the 16-hour Structural Engineering Exam: Tips and Advice from Licensed SEs
If you’ve looked into taking the NCEES PE 16-hour Structural exam (usually referred to as the “SE exam” in structural engineering circles), you have probably…
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Tune Into Forensic Structural Engineering
Sounds like it would be a great TV show, doesn’t it? Picture it: a bunch of nerds (cool nerds, mind you) running around in their…
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How to Calculate Snow Weight from Depth and Density
Last week, the Northeast got another heavy dose of snow when a winter storm dropped more than 17 inches in Central Park and upwards of…
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Who We Are and What We Do: Structural Engineering
If you’re familiar with the TV show “How I Met Your Mother,” you might remember the episode “Mosbius Designs” (S4E20), where Ted Mosby, Architect (*wink*),…
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Making Lives Better Through Food Security
When the pandemic began affecting our grocery shopping last spring, most people experienced relatively minor inconveniences ranging from fewer options in the bacon aisle to…
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Engineers Without Borders – Bolivia
As many of you are aware, I recently traveled to Bolivia to participate in a humanitarian mission with the University of Tulsa student chapter of…
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Find Some Fun
Sometimes, it doesn’t matter how much we love our jobs there are going to be times when things may get monotonous, repetitive, or you may…
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What’s Shakin’ in Tornado Alley?
Having grown up in the Oklahoma City area and now living in Tulsa, it has always been tornadoes, thunderstorms and the occasional snow or ice…
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Team Unity
My youngest son plays soccer for a team that has had success both at the state level (two-time state champions) and at the regional level….
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Quality Control
I recently gave a presentation on quality control policy. During preparation, it dawned on me that as engineers we often miss the boat as to…
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Saferooms for Schools – One Year Later
It’s been nearly a year since my last blog post. At that time, South Oklahoma City and Moore were just really getting started with the…
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Stop and Smell the Roses
Stop and smell the roses…sure it’s an old cliché, but do we really stop and do it? As engineers and architects, we create structures that…
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“To boldly go where no engineer has gone before…”
Architectural Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of Wallace Engineering. Its thirty five-year mission: to explore strange new geometries, to seek out new…
Read More Safe Schools 101 – FEMA and Oklahoma Emergency Management
As residents of Oklahoma we are fully aware the month of May means severe weather and tornadoes are likely to occur at any time throughout…
Read More It’s Not Always About The Numbers
As engineers, we tend to focus on the calculations and drawings and not on the other aspects of running a successful business. I think a…
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March Madness
When the month of March rolls around I think most everyone is aware of March Madness in college basketball. First, there are the conference tournaments,…
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Naturally Curious
“Curiosity is a willing, a proud, an eager confession of ignorance.” -S. Leonard Rubenstein. I wonder if I act and think the way I do…
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A Different Perspective
Several years ago, I started providing metal stud shop drawings for sub-contractors, and it made me change the way that I detail the construction drawings…
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Retaining Wall Design
As a structural engineer, I am frequently called upon to investigate and develop repairs for failed or failing earth retaining wall structures. The call often comes…
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The Art of Engineering
At Wallace Engineering, we often talk about the “art of engineering”. But what does that mean? The American Engineers Council for Professional Development (ECPD), an…
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Watch Where You Step
PPE – Personal Protective Equipment. These small items are there to protect you, typically from making some careless decisions. I, unfortunately, have gone through more…
Read More Positively Stable
If a structural system includes an unstable element, a sudden (and possibly catastrophic) failure will eventually occur. In addition to safely resisting the applied gravity…
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Be Aware of Your Surroundings
I have the privilege, together with my wife, of raising three daughters. They are usually eager to learn, and they also like to teach. Yes,…
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Fulfilling A Dream
Over 30 years ago, a man named Allen Sappington was called to be a missionary to the Kuna, a people indigenous to Panama and Colombia….
Read More What is an Architectural Engineer?
This is a discussion that I have had several times with relatives, friends and other engineers as a graduate of the Architectural Engineering program at…
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Planning Ahead
My wife and I do a small amount of gardening and one thing we always plant are some hot chili peppers. Varieties vary depending on…
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Shelters for Schools, It’s Time to Start the Conversation
Growing up in Oklahoma City, you just get used to springtime weather warnings. Local news stations preempt your favorite shows or sporting events to shout…
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Pay It Forward
I sincerely appreciate working for a company whose culture encourages employees to give back to the community. Most have done more than I, but to…
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