YOUNG MEMBERS` NEWSLETTER

The Institution of Structural Engineers Young Members’ Committee Newsletter 02 — May 2003

Be the best – just pay less!

If you want to be the best in structural
engineering that means joining the Institution
of Structural Engineers. Structural engineering
is a worldwide profession and membership of
the IStructE provides a passport and
qualification which will allow you to work
almost anywhere in the world.
There are a variety of different grades of
membership within the Institution and many
different routes to professional qualifications.
One route involves becoming a Student and
then a Graduate Member before progressing to
Chartered or Associate-Membership.
However, the Young Members’ Committee
and the Institution recognise that after
graduation, unless you are very lucky, money
will probably be in short supply. The last thing
you need is a Graduate subscription fee of £105.
In response to this the Young Members’
Committee and the IStructE are pleased to
announce a massive reduction in subscriptions.
The new rates are available to those graduates
from accredited courses who transfer to
Graduate Membership immediately upon
completion of their studies (within one year).
Rather than paying the full subscription rate of
£105 (for 2003), students who make the
immediate transfer will only have to pay £35 for
their first year of Graduate Membership, £70 in
their second year of Graduate Membership and
only in their third year of membership will they
pay the full Graduate subscription fee.
But the savings do not stop there! If for
some reason you should decide not to become a
Graduate Member but decide some years later
to apply for the Chartered Member Professional
Review, and are successful, you will be required
to pay an admission fee of £400. However, this
admission fee is reduced by £100 for each year
of Graduate Membership you have held. So,
based on current fees, if you become a Graduate
Member for four years prior to your election as
a Chartered Member you will actually end up
saving money.
There are many benefits of Graduate
Membership of the IStructE including 11 Upper Belgrave Street
involvement with your local Branch and the London SW1X 8BH
opportunity to start on one of the most flexible, T +44(0)20 7235 4535
comprehensive and user friendly training F +44(0)20 7235 4294
systems offered by any institution. mail@istructe.org.uk
What do you have to do to benefit from this www.istructe.org.uk
amazing offer? Simply register as a Graduate
Member immediately upon completion of your YMC Contact: Darren Byrne
studies. Application forms are available at the T +44(0)20 7201 9138
website (www.istructe.org.uk/membership/ byrne@istructe.org.uk
index.asp?page=16).
But why wait for graduation, get on board
today and become a Student Member – it’s In this issue...
FREE!!
It couldn’t be easier, so come on, apply today.
Page 1
Take a step on the road to becoming the best in
structural engineering and just pay less! Be the best - just pay
less!
Rowen Travel Award

Rowen Travel 2003

Page 2
How to pass the Part
Award 2003 3 exam...
Page 3
The Rowen Travel Award is administered by the Professional Review
Institution of Structural Engineers’ Educational Trust
and makes available grants to Institution members who
timetable
wish to spend four to six weeks outside their own Engineering
country studying practice or trends related to the use of Architecture prize for
any construction material in the field of structural students
engineering.
Each award will be for a sum between £1,500 and Book review
£3,000, depending on the detailed programme agreed.
Successful candidates will be required to complete a Page 4
report of 5000 – 10000 words detailing what has been Rising star? Not quite
undertaken and setting out the conclusions drawn. - he has made it
For further information and details of the
application please refer to the Institution website at
already (an interview
www.istructe.org.uk/about/files/Educational/Rowen_Travel_Award_03.pdf with Paul Westbury)

1

How to pass the Part 3 exam…
Mark Richards, a member of
the Institution’s Young
Members’ Committee gives his
view on how to pass the Part
3… he did it on his first
attempt last year!
The Institution’s Part 3
examination is certainly a
challenge. Over seven hours of
focused concentration, the
inevitable phases of panic,
dehydration, headaches and the
constant burning time
pressures on your mind, and
that’s before you take account of
the problem itself that must be
solved. Easy? Not by a long
way.
There are no secret recipes
for how to tackle the
examination on the day. What
is important, however, is that
you feel confident about your
preparation for this is the key
to success.
So… you have completed
your training; you have
demonstrated that you are a
competent engineer and have
contributed significantly to
structural engineering. At this
point in your career you possess
the necessary ‘tool-kit’ to devise
valid structural solutions to the
great majority of engineering
problems. The examination is a
test of how effectively you can
demonstrate your ability under
time pressure.
Question: How to pass the
exam?
Answer: There is no correct or
exact answer to this question.
However, there are a number of
points that, if followed, will
certainly increase your chances
of success.
• Speak to Chartered
EXAMINATION
Structural Engineers about
the exam… ask their advice
and reflections on the exam.
• Don’t rely wholly on text
that you take into the exam
with you. You are permitted
to take as much information
into the exam as you
consider necessary, but you
will not have time to study
literature during the exam.
Think of it from this point of
view – your chances of
success are likely to be
inversely proportional to the
amount of literature you
know you will have to rely
on for reference during the
exam.
• Keep STRICTLY to time
table and make sure you
are comfortable with the
amount of time needed to
complete the various parts
of the exam. To do this
properly you need to
complete a full past paper
under self imposed
examination conditions.
This may seem harsh, but it
is guaranteed that it will
highlight shortcomings in
what you feel is possible in
the time given.
The following is one possible
time table for the day. Try it
out, or a variation on the same
theme (it worked for me!).
9.15am – 9.30am
Read paper, no writing.
9.30am – 10.00am
List assumptions.
- Define soil profile and
understand foundation
restrictions.
- Calculate basic wind
pressure (q)
2
corresponding to the site.
- Determine available
construction depths.
10.00am to 10.20am
Compile a quick calculation
of the loading takedown,
discuss likely foundations
and form opinions on
building stability
requirements.
10.20am – 10.45am
Scheme 1 discussion:
- Discuss load distribution
throughout building.
- Discuss structural
stability.
- Discuss likely foundation
type.
- Discuss ground floor (and
basement) construction.
- Discuss fire protection
measures.
- Discuss building
robustness.
- Discuss proposals to
mitigate possible dispro-
portionate collapse.
- Discuss building
aesthetics.
- Discuss costs.
- Use sketches throughout
your discussions.
10.45am – 11.10am
Scheme 2 discussion (as
above)
11.10am – 11.30am
Conclude schemes and
recommend a solution:
- Chose framing option for
building
- Identify site restrictions
in the context of
construction.
- Highlight how best the
chosen solution meets
client requirements.
11.30am – 12.00pm
Write letter to client.
12.00pm – 1.00pm
Calculations:
- Typical load carrying
beam (or a primary
transfer structure in the
building).
- Typical floor structure.
- Typical column (or
primary vertical load
carrying element).
- Primary roof element.
- List other typical details
(such as purlins, cladding
rails, rib-beams etc –
these can be prepared
prior to the examination).
1.00pm – 1.30pm
Pens down! – Lunchtime.
1.30pm – 2.00pm
Calculations:
- Retaining structures
- Typical or primary
foundation.
- Structural stability.
2.00pm to 3.30pm
3 Drawings.
- Typical floor – plan view
on building.
- Basement / foundation –
plan view on building.
- Elevations.
3.30pm – 4.15pm
3 details as noted on the
examination paper (15
minutes each).
4.15pm – 4.45pm
Write method statement or
construction programme
etc, depending on the
question.
4.45pm – 5.00pm
Read quickly through script,
ensure all pages have been
marked with your candidate
number. Make last minute
minor adjustments.
Good luck!
 PROFESSIONAL REVIEW

Professional Review timetable

The timetable below shows the processing
deadlines for candidates wishing to enter
the April 2004 Chartered or Associate-
Member Examination. Although some of
the dates (those indicated by an asterisk)
may change from year to year, the closing
dates for submissions do not change.
1. All candidates (other than those in
Hong Kong – see point 2 below) with
accredited qualifications must submit
Form M (or A/M for Associate-
Membership) by 1 September 2003.
2. Candidates in Hong Kong and those
candidates with a non-accredited
qualification must submit Form M (or
A/M for Associate-Membership) by 1
April of the year preceding the
Examination. Therefore such
candidates were required to submit
their application by 1 April 2003 if they
wished to be considered for the April
2004 Examination.
3. All submissions to the Institution,
irrespective of the IPD route followed
must contain:
- Form M or A/M as appropriate
- A two-page experience report
- IPD Final Report form for each of the
13 Core Objectives
- Interview fee (£40 for the
Individually Managed or Accredited
Training Scheme Routes and £80 for
the Retrospectively Collated Route).
Further details of fees may be found
on the web
http://www.istructe.org.uk/member
ship/index.asp?page=16)
4. Upon receipt of your submission your
application will be checked and then
acknowledged. The acknowledgment
letter will contain details of your
Branch / Division Co-ordinator to
whom you must send your full Training
Agreement records or portfolio of work,
if you are following the Accredited
Training Scheme Route or
Retrospectively Collated Route
respectively.
Your Training Agreement records and
portfolio of work should not be
dispatched directly to the Institution
with your application.
5. Most Professional Review Interviews
are conducted in October / November*
of each year (this may vary in Hong
Kong and other Divisions). However,
the timing of the Interviews will be at
the discretion of the Branch / Division
and will depend to a large extent upon
the number of Interviews to be
conducted.
6. Following the Interview, the Reviewers
Summary Form will be returned to the
Institution where it will be reported to
the Professional Review Panel and the
Membership Committee. Candidates
will be notified of the outcome of their
Interview before the end of January
2004.
7. Candidates who are successful in the
Interview will receive an examination
entry form which should be completed
and returned to the Institution, with
the examination entry fee, by the end of
February 2004.
8. Candidates will sit the examination in
April 2004.
9. Examination scripts will be marked
and moderated throughout May, June
and July and the results will be
published in August 2004.
10. Candidates who pass the Chartered or
Associate-Member examination will
normally be elected to the appropriate
grade of membership at the first
Ordinary General Meeting thereafter –
October 2004.

Engineering Architecture prize for students

The Institution of Structural
Engineers Educational Trust is
offering 3 prizes of £500 each
for the best essays submitted
by individual students
following civil and structural
engineering courses and
architectural studies courses.
Applicants must be aged under
30 at 30 September 2003.
The essay topic is ‘The
benefits of the inter-
relationship of structural
engineering and architecture’.
Essays should be no longer Educational Trust for judging
than 2,000 words in length and by the Trust Directors.
should be submitted to the Winning entries will be
nominated person in your considered for publication in
Department by 30 September both the Institution of
2003. The best essay will then Structural Engineers’ Journal
be submitted to the and website.

BOOK REVIEW

Structural Analysis - A unified classical and matrix approach

Authors: Ghali & Neviller
Publisher: E&FN Spon
ISBN: 0419212000
This time we are looking at structural
analysis. There are many books on this
subject but I have chosen one which
appears to be “an encyclopedia of
structural analysis”. The book is
“Structural Analysis – A unified classical
and matrix approach”, 4th edition –
Ghali & Neville. It is published by E & FN
Spon. The book is about 830 pages
long and features 24 chapters and
many appendices.
The book contains all of the classical
analysis methods (moment distribution,
virtual work, plastic analysis, influence
lines etc.) and a host of modern
analysis techniques (FEA, finite
difference, shear walls with openings,
structural dynamics etc.) which may or
may not have been covered in college.
Due to the enormous quantity of
information it is a very condensed book
and is not a textbook in the true sense;
it is a compromise between a reference
manual and a textbook and this is its
strength. A true textbook would
certainly have fewer topics and more
worked examples for each topic thus
sacrificing a lot of the “reference” topics
in the book.
This is the sort of book that you need by
your desk for any “unusual” analysis
problem that may arise – non-linear
buckling, the effect of axial force on
flexural stiffness, shear walls with
openings etc. A very good
understanding of the basis of the
computer programs we use can be
gained from the book (Chaps. 22 & 23)
and this understanding is certainly
essential. Further, as all computer
based analysis should be backed up by
a rough hand analysis to asses the
result, this book will provide the most
applicable hand method for the type of
analysis undertaken – moment
distribution, column analogy, yield line,
plastic analysis etc.
In summary, to further your knowledge
in the analysis of structures having this
book will be of great benefit to you. If
you want more information have a look
on the following website
http://www.efnspon.com/.
Colin Caprani
Student Representative
Republic of Ireland Branch

3

Rising star? Not quite - he has
already made it!
An interview with Buro Happold’s Paul Westbury
Following a first class BEng Honours
degree from Cambridge University, Paul
Westbury commenced on Buro Happold’s
trainee engineer programme in 1991. Four
years later he would obtain his MIStuctE
status and in 2000, aged just 30, Paul was
made a Partner of Buro Happold, the
youngest ever.
Paul’s achievements since joining Buro
Happold have been considerable. He was
instrumental in establishing the firm’s
‘elite’ Special Structures group and has
been part of some of Buro Happold’s most
innovative work and high profile work,
including Shigeru Ban’s Japanese Pavilion;
a clear span gridshell made from cardboard
tubes clad with a paper membrane, and
London’s Millennium Dome. He is
currently leading teams working on
Arsenal Football Club’s new stadium, the
redevelopment of Ascot Racecourse and a
speed skating oval in Turin.
IStructE YMC member Stephen
Howarth spoke to Paul Westbury about
being a Structural Engineer: -
SH: Why did you want to become an
Engineer?
PW: I’ve always been interested in
technology and building, from Mechano to
Lego to electronics and computing.
Studying engineering at Cambridge was
what I wanted to do.
Paul is currently working on
Arsenal Football Club’s new
stadium at Ashburton Grove
INTERVIEW
It was at Cambridge that Paul
discovered his passion for structures. His
final year project developed from joining
RHS sections internally; producing
architecturally acceptable sections with
good structural properties and
demonstrating how a simple technical
solution can add elegance to a structure.
This resulted in the construction of a 15m
arch that took over the Jesus College
structures lab.
SH: On leaving university why did you
choose the MIStructE route as opposed to
the MICE option?
PW: We did not see eye to eye. The MICE
route always felt like the box ticking end of
engineering. Whereas the Part 3 Exam is
an excellent opportunity to sit down
alongside colleagues and peers and
demonstrate safe building design and your
own design ability.
SH: How long did it take to achieve your
Chartered status?
PW: Three and a half years to sit the
examination and four years to official
Chartered status.
SH: What salary bracket are you in?
Paul would not disclose this information,
which is fair enough. As a partner of Buro
Happold Paul can expect to be well
rewarded; recent figures from the
Engineering Council reveal that excluding
bonuses and other benefits a Main Board
Director or Partner can earn £75,000+pa.
Although as he explained there were other
motivations for his career choice:
PW: I started out in Structural
Engineering because it was what I wanted
to do. If you are capable and can deal with
responsibility you can move quickly
although at the start you have a slight
feeling of being pinched. However, if you
can make your way through, accept
responsibility and deliver creativity, the
long-term position is much better. It is a
completely different career path and with
the right people around you and hard
work, you can be creative and have fun.
SH: Why would you advise a young person
to go into Structural Engineering as
opposed to say becoming an accountant?
PW: When you first start a new job
everything is exciting no matter what your
chosen career. The first few years of
constant learning and meeting different
people is both challenging and rewarding.
If you choose a profession, the most
important thing is to choose one you enjoy.
Try to look 10 to 20 years down the line
and ask yourself do you have enough
enthusiasm? Do you believe in it? For a
graduate looking to go into structural
engineering you have to look past the first
two years, the mid term and look to
becoming Chartered. You have to be
committed and focused.
SH: Finally, why would a young Structural
Engineer want to stay within the industry
and obtain MIStructE?
PW: The first couple of years as a
professional are exciting and I’m delighted
that I’m still here. With MIStructE comes
more responsibility. Design is a great thing
to be in, it is challenging, you continually
learn new things and stretch yourself every
day.
The author would like to thank Paul
Westbury and the Buro Happold
Marketing Team for all their help