Centering Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Our Disaster Resilience Work
| March 2021
Zahraa will be co-moderating the Thursday 2/25 plenary session for the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute’s virtual 2021 annual meeting with an incredible group of panelists! Read more about the session here. (Image courtesy of EERI).
50th Anniversary of the San Fernando Earthquake
| January 2021
The Structural Engineers Association of Northern California has produced a reflective piece for this month’s newsletter on the 1971 San Fernando earthquake. Read more here!
Image courtesy of SEAONC.
Webinar: Advocating for Seismic Safety in Washington State
| November 2020
Kyle Steuck and Stacy Bartoletti of Degenkolb Seattle along with Zahraa Saiyed deliver a webinar for EERI’s Washington State Chapter on the history of seismic safety, current legislation, and how to activate membership on seismic risk reduction in Washington.
Image courtesy of the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute.
Webinar: Citizen Advocacy - Tools to Advance Seismic Safety Policy
| October 2020
Zahraa Saiyed and Jack English (UT Austin) deliver a webinar for EERI’s Young Members Committee on becoming effective earthquake safety public policy advocates. Learn more here.
Image courtesy of the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute.
Earthquake Risk in Multifamily Residential Buildings - World Bank
| August 2020
World Bank report on Multifamily Residential Buildings: Europe and Central Asia Region now released. Stay tuned for blog update. You can view the report page and download the PDF report here.
Excerpt:
Multifamily residential buildings in earthquake-prone cities across Central Europe, Balkans, and Central Asia have proved to be vulnerable and have revealed several structural deficiencies during previous earthquake events. Earthquakes in these regions have damaged certain types of multifamily buildings beyond repair or have caused complete collapse, resulting in extensive homelessness and many fatalities. The vulnerability of some of these buildings can be attributed to the mass-produced nature of multifamily residential buildings as well as lack of maintenance, oversight, and disinvestment over many decades. This study investigates earthquake risk of multifamily buildings constructed before 2000 across cities in countries within Europe and Central Asia (ECA) to better understand their behavior and potential losses when subjected to earthquakes, and to inform recommendations for mitigation.
NCSEA Racial Equity Task Force
| ongoing
In our sincere efforts to improve the AEC profession for inclusion, equity, and engagement, the SE3 Committee produced a Commitment to Action to elicit our fight for racial justice in our communities. You can read the statement here.
Excerpt:
As a volunteer organization composed of practicing structural engineers, we don’t profess to have all the answers. We do, however, have the collective experience of many who have fought for change within the AEC industry. We are a group of passionate individuals dedicated to a better future for our profession. The SE3 Committee stands committed to justice and equality for all through collective, sustained actions. If you are passionate about this too, please join us in this call to action for a more inclusive, fair, and equitable future.
2019 Structural Engineers Association of California Convention
| August 2019
Zahraa Saiyed (Scyma) and Hayley Dickson (Forell/Elsesser) from the Structural Engineer's Association of Northern California present the 2018 Structural Engineering Engagement and Equity (SE3) national survey results at the SEAOC Convention in Squaw Creek.
Learn more about the NCSEA SE3 Committee here.
SCYMA visiting Congress with the American Society of Civil Engineers
| March 2019
Zahraa Saiyed, co-founder of Scyma Consulting, joined fellow engineers on The Hill with the American Society of Civil Engineers discussing infrastructure deficits, NEHRP authorization levels and effective advocacy on a federal level. Kudos to ASCE Region 9 (California) for ASCE’s Advocate of the Year Award! Check out the ASCE Legislative Fly-In for more information.
SCYMA @ EERI 2019 Annual Meeting, Vancouver BC
| March 2019
Zahraa Saiyed of Scyma Consulting presented on a panel focused on Recent Legislative Policy Outcomes in Support of Earthquake Risk Reduction, along with Emellia Zamani, the Legislative Director for Assmblymember Nazarian (CA-46), David Bonowitz, SE, and Chris Poland, SE. Learn more about the Annual Meeting and our panel here. Zahraa also led a discussion on identity and values at the Women in Structural Engineering Happy Hour and launched a new initiative through the Public Policy and Advocacy Committee of the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute entitled, “EERI Citizen Advocate.” Stay tuned for more information on the program!
Structural Engineering Engagement and Equity 2019 Symposium: Save the Date
| March 2019
The Structural Engineering Engagement and Equity Project Chaired by Scyma founder Zahraa Saiyed is proud to announce its second half-day Symposium themed A Changing Workplace: How to Engage, Retain and Secure the Future of Our Profession held on Friday May 10, 2019. Save the date and check out SE3’s website for more details! [www.se3project.org]
Scyma Consulting @ 11th National Conference on Earthquake Engineering
| June 2018
Zahraa Saiyed of Scyma Consulting will be presenting at the 11th National Conference on Earthquake Engineering in Los Angeles this June, discussing the SE3 Project, moderating a panel on Seismic Isolation, Energy Dissipation and Control Systems, as well as discussing policy related to Earthquake Early Warning systems as part of the Public Policy and Advocacy group. Check out the newly released Legislative Action Center on the EERI National website!
Project Scientist: Girls for STEM futures
| July 2016
Scyma participating with Project Scientist's summer program to encourage young girls to learn about careers in STEM. Check out Project Scientist's impactful work here: http://www.projectscientist.org/