The four U.S. groups representing the interests of about 40,000 structural engineers have formed a coalition to promote structural-engineer licensing—a somewhat controversial subject among professional engineers. To date, 11 states have some form of SE licensing, which the structural groups maintain is critical for public safety.
"It is very important for us to really speak with one unified voice on the issue," said Sam A. Rihani, the 2013 president of the American Society of Civil Engineers' Structural Engineering Institute (SEI), at the group's 2013 Structures Congress, held on May 2-4 in Pittsburgh and attended by more than 1,000 structural engineers. "There is a lot of work for us to do, but we have set a foundation," added Rihani, principal of the Reston, Va., firm that bears his name.