Tim Hart Receives 2019–20 Excellence in Engineering Fellowship

Build Change and Simpson Strong-Tie are excited to introduce the recipient of the 2019–2020 Excellence in Engineering Fellowship: Tim Hart.

This is the third year of the Fellowship, resulting from the continuation of a partnership between international nonprofit social enterprise Build Change and global structural solutions leader Simpson Strong-Tie. Complementing the Simpson Strong-Tie goal to design solutions for making structures safer and stronger, the fellowship allows engineers the opportunity to make meaningful contributions to Build Change programs as well as support other engineers’ professional development in developing nations around the world.

This year’s fellow, Tim Hart, has 30 years of structural engineering and building construction experience. He’s a graduate with honors from the Architectural Engineering program at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, and a licensed civil and structural engineer in California. He also served as past president and board member of the Structural Engineers Association of Northern California.

“Build Change’s mission and values are in line with my own. I want to use my skills as a structural engineer to directly help people who are vulnerable to catastrophic loss from climate disasters. It’s a manmade problem with a manmade solution, and I want to be a part of that solution,” notes Hart.

Hart is currently engineering and design services director for Build Change. Prior to joining its senior management team, he worked with Build Change as a structural engineering consultant since 2005 providing engineering designs, peer reviews and technical assistance on Build Change projects in 10 different countries, including onsite work in Indonesia, Haiti and Nepal. He also volunteers time and expertise developing design and construction manuals and co-writing papers on confined masonry construction for the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI) Confined Masonry Network.

“We’re very pleased to have Tim bring his years of technical expertise and dedication to service to the 2020 Fellowship role. Our first two Fellows brought lasting positive impact to developing areas in Colombia, Philippines and Haiti, and we’re looking forward to the continued work Tim will do to promote safer, stronger design and construction methods,” says Simpson Strong-Tie Vice President of Engineering Annie Kao.

Hart is the third professional to hold the Build Change – Simpson Strong-Tie fellowship. October 2019 marked the completion of the tenure of the second fellow, Juan Carlos Restrepo. Hart, like his predecessors, will chronicle his fellowship experiences on the Simpson Strong-Tie Structural Engineering Blog.