Thursday, April 10 | 8:15 - 9:15 am

Plenary Program and Keynote | The Future of Design

This keynote panel session will share innovative approaches to reduce carbon emissions from the built environment. Civil engineering has a significant impact on our carbon footprint, and structural engineering plays a critical role. However, it is not just about the carbon emissions from steel and concrete. Innovative design, codes, reuse, and collaborative planning can have a more positive impact on our carbon footprint than simply improving the base materials. During the discussion, the speakers will share a broader perspective on how structural engineering can help improve sustainability and resilience.

Marc Hoit, Ph.D., F.SEI, F.ASCE Vice Chancellor for Information Technology & CIO
Professor of Civil, Construction & Environmental Engineering
NC State University | Moderator 

Dr. Marc Hoit is the Vice Chancellor for Information Technology and CIO at NC State University. Hoit held numerous administrative positions at the University of Florida including Interim CIO, Director of Student PeopleSoft Implementation, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Administration and Associate Dean for Research in the College of Engineering. He is a Professor of Structural Engineering in the Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering Department at NC State. Hoit received his B.S. from Purdue University, M.S. and Ph.D. from University of California, Berkeley. He was the PI for DIGGS, an international standard XML schema for transferring transportation information and data, funded by the Federal Highway Association. His structural engineering research developed the computer program, FB-MultiPier, which performs non-linear analysis of bridge piers, superstructure and pile foundations subjected to dynamic loading.

Dr. Hoit has been dedicating effort towards facilitation in supporting strategic plan development as well as training others to facilitate. His initial training was in 1995. Since then, he has lead the development of strategic plans for many engineering groups including the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Infrastructure Advancement Institute (IAI), American Segmental Bridge Institute (ASBI), American Association of Environmental and Environmental Science Professors (AEESP). He and his training partner created the Facilitri.org organization to help in leadership development and train others to facilitate including IAI, Structural Engineering Institute (SEI) and others.

Dave Bennink, Building Deconstruction Institute & Re-Use Consulting | Speaker

Dave Bennink of the Building Deconstruction Institute has trained groups in 44 States/5 Provinces, helping start almost 100 new circular businesses and diverting over 100,000,000 pounds from landfills. He focuses on growing the circular economy, zero waste/energy movements, embodied carbon, and sustainable building. Bennink has completed over 1500 deconstruction projects and has worked on 5000+ projects. To keep in practice, he also runs a ‘Reuse Innovation Center’ and deconstruction firm, markets reclaimed wood, and salvages/sells mature landscaping from jobsites. He was recently selected as the circularity consultant for NYC’s flagship $2.1 billion deconstruction/redevelopment project, SPARC Kip’s Bay.

Don Davies, PE, SE, Co-Founder/Principal, Davies-Crooks Associates | Speaker

An industry champion for the promotion of urban density and lower-carbon construction and a 2023 ENR top 25 news maker, Don helped found the Carbon Leadership Forum, Building Transparency, and the MKA Foundation. He is a Senior Fellow of the Design Futures Council and has been inducted into the UC Berkeley Academy of Distinguished Alumni. The past president of Magnusson Klemencic Associates, his structurally designed projects are in 18 countries and more than 50 major metropolitan centers. More than 25 are Performance Based Seismic Designed towers.  Through Davies-Crooks Associates Don is leading the ClimateWorks Foundation Lower Carbon Concrete Task Force and is consulting on various lower-carbon projects and industry initiatives in timber, steel, and concrete, across the country.

Nancy Novak, Chief Innovation Officer, Compass Datacenters | Speaker

With more than 30 years of experience in the construction industry, Nancy Novak brings extensive expertise in oversight and responsibility for Profit and Loss. In her current role as Chief Innovation Officer for Compass Datacenters, her focus is cutting-edge technology, lean practices, and innovative culture through the diversity of thought to add value, improve return on investment, and disrupt the construction industry. Nancy serves on the Executive Board of Directors for NIBS, the Board of Directors for the World Trade Center Institute, and the Board of Directors for Weston Solutions, a global environmental firm. She is heavily involved in organizations that lead the way for technological advancement in the construction industry, and she is an advocate for women’s leadership. Nancy is also an Executive Sponsor for the Digital Divide on the iMasons Advisory Board. She is the host of the “Extending the Ladder” podcast, which features Nancy’s dynamic conversations with prominent women in the technology industry – a forum where these accomplished women offer insights, advice, and inspiration that listeners can apply to their own professional lives.

Friday, April 11 | 3:30 am - 4:30 pm

Plenary Program and Keynote | Building Community: Putting People first in an Era of Environmental Extremes

This keynote will focus on the human impact of disasters and the value of designing for resilience.

Lori Peek, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Sociology
Director, Natural Hazards Center and CONVERGE 
Principal Investigator, Social Science Extreme Events Research (SSEER) Network and Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Extreme Events Research (ISEEER) Network 
University of Colorado Boulder | Keynote

Lori Peek is director of the Natural Hazards Center and professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Colorado Boulder. She is also principal investigator of the National Science Foundation-funded CONVERGE facility and the Social Science Extreme Events Research (SSEER) network. Peek has conducted field research in the aftermath of several major disasters, and she has a long history of collaborating with engineers in interdisciplinary teams. She is author of the award-winning book Behind the Backlash: Muslim Americans after 9/11, co-editor of Displaced: Life in the Katrina Diaspora and the Handbook of Environmental Sociology, and co-author of Children of Katrina and The Continuing Storm: Learning from Katrina.Peek helped develop and write school safety guidance for the nation, which resulted in the publication of FEMA P-1000—Safer, Stronger, Smarter: A Guide to Improving School Natural Hazard Safety. In 2021, she was nominated by President Joseph Biden and approved by the U.S. Senate to a position on the Board of Directors of the National Institute of Building Sciences. She is the first social scientist to serve in this capacity. Peek received her Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2005.