University students learn what’s new in codes

Why are building codes important? Building codes play a big role in the design and construction of the building and are the key to keeping the occupants in the buildings in our communities as safe as possible.

Lawrence C. Novak, SE, F.SEI, CERT, LEED AP, chief structural engineer of Codes and Standards Development for the International Code Council, spoke on “What’s New in Codes” to more than 300 engineers and code officials and an additional 75 engineering and architectural students at the University of Illinois Structural Engineering Conference on April 11, 2019. The next day, Novak presented “Building Better Communities with Codes” to a group of more than 50 civil engineer students and their professors at St. Louis University.

The students found the presentations to be very informative and exciting. Below are some comments from students who attended the St. Louis University presentation:

“I never knew how important ICC codes are to our communities … and that they could be so much fun.”

“I got first-hand experience of the genius and expertise of Larry Novak. He is a brilliant structural engineer and it was amazing to get to hear the thought process behind codes and apply them to constructing the tallest building in the world. It was also cool to see pictures of lightning strike this building and finding out that this occurrence was built into the design; that the building itself is a complete Faraday cage. Overall, it was an amazing lecture!”

“The presentation with Larry Novak was both interesting and gave a greater perspective on what civil engineering can do.”

“The ASCE speaker last Friday was Lawrence Novak, a structural engineer who was the lead structural engineer on the Burj Khalifa, and who now assists in the code development process. This was one of my favorite presentations … I found it very interesting. My favorite part about the presentation was when he showed the audience a simulation he created that represented how wind causes a building to sway. He demonstrated that by putting a container full of water with a block in it on top of his simulation building, that it caused the building to stop swaying. I had always heard that skyscrapers sway, but had never learned how they are prevented from swaying too much. Overall, this presentation made me excited for codes and their application to projects like this that I might get to work on one day.”

“What can I say about Mr. Novak’s presentation? It actually blew me away. The presentation itself was amazing and Lawrence Novak was very funny and lively. He engaged the crowd and made the whole presentation very entertaining.”