Future Ready Structures – A Call to Action

The world is changing in surprising and potentially disruptive ways.  Climate change, the energy transition, AI, and rapid urbanization are just a few of the trends that engineers must consider in the design of infrastructure.  Given the inherent uncertainty in these trends, engineers can no longer just extrapolate from past experience.  Instead, we need new tools to create economical and adaptable designs for an unpredictable future world.  In this talk we will explore an approach that emphasizes strategic thinking and scenario planning to help make decisions in an uncertain future environment.  We will showcase several innovative designs from the speaker’s practice that illustrate how the application of the framework can be used to create sustainable, resilient, and adaptable buildings that are Future Ready.

Learning objectives:

• Use scenario planning to frame uncertain future outcomes.
• Apply the Future Ready framework to the design of buildings and other infrastructure.
• Identify how future ready concepts are used in codes, standards, and research.

Location

Cliff Dwellers Club
200 S. Michigan Ave, 22nd Floor
Chicago, IL 60604

Menu

Caesar Salad tossed with Caesar Dressing topped with Parmesan and Croutons

Stuffed Chicken Breast with spinach, parmesan roasted garlic

Key Lime Pie

Presentation time:  6:00 – 7:00 pm
Cocktail hour:  5 – 6 pm

Registration

In Person:   Member - $75;  Non-Member - $115
Live Streaming:  Member - $35;  Non-Member - $50

Deadline for In Person registration: 8/28/2026

About the Speaker

David Odeh is a Senior Vice President at WSP and the National Director of Building Structures. In this role he leads a group of over 250 structural engineers working on complex building design projects around the globe. He has over 30 years of experience in the structural design and analysis of building structures of all types, with particular emphasis on the application of digital design technology to structural engineering. David served on the adjunct faculty of the School of Engineering at Brown University for 18 years, and taught courses in the design and analysis of building structures. He regularly lectures at other universities, including most recently Northwestern University and the University of Cincinnati, and at professional conferences.