Who We Are
The Engineers Alliance for the Arts (EAA) was founded by a group of leading San Francisco Bay Area
structural engineers to introduce the world of engineering to the visual and performing arts, while
supporting arts organizations in their endeavors.
EAA subsequently focused on its current sole commitment of taking a
hands-on approach to education with professional engineers going directly
into public school classrooms to share their time, talent and technical
engineering expertise for the purpose of engaging students through an
interdisciplinary curriculum that uses the visual arts as an entry point to
the world of structural engineering. It is the goal of the organization to
target, inspire, and educate tomorrow's leaders in structural engineering
and related technical fields by modeling an exciting curriculum that hits
deep into both academic and artistic areas of study. The eventual
objective is to have this project become a blueprint for a nationwide
program presented in cities throughout the United States utilizing the
same standards and curriculum practiced in our Bay Area schools.
The Student Impact Project
The Student Impact Project was designed to bring structural
engineers into the classroom to teach and engage students in the
design and construction of original to-scale model bridges
constructed from rudimentary ingredients with structural integrity.
The six-eight week curriculum is taught in a one class period
per week by working, volunteer structural engineers who bring
with them a deep knowledge of their field and act as
teacher/mentors while working in concert with classroom
educators. Presented in
2001 as a pilot program in two
San Francisco Unified School District high schools, the
project was critically acclaimed by students, educators,
and administrators. The program has grown to serve up
to eight schools annually. Past and present participating
schools have come from San Francisco, El Cerrito,
Moraga, Palo Alto and Concord.
The Engineers
The project's teaching staff is comprised of active
structural engineers who are leaders in our Bay
Area community. EAA’s engineers are both men
and women who are devoted to this creative
educational process, volunteer 100% of their
time and have come from firms such as Arup,
Degenkolb Engineers, Jon Brody Consulting
Engineers, H.J. Brunnier, Hilti, DASSE
Design, DeSimone Consulting Engineers,
Jax Kneppers Associates, Inc., Interactive
Resources, Liftech, SGH, SOM, Structural
Solutions, and Structural Vision, among others.
EAA's Goals
The Engineers Alliance for the Arts has made a
commitment to:
- give students a clear understanding and knowledge about structural engineering
- bring a fresh and exciting tool to the educational experience, demonstrating the interdisciplinary nature of engineering by placing the arts at the center of the learning experience
- inspire students to pursue careers in the structural engineering and technical professions with an understanding of the importance played by creativity and aesthetics
- make students aware of the impact the work of structural engineers has on our immediate and everyday surroundings, including the quality of our life
- place structural engineers in the forefront as educational and philanthropic leaders and as proponents of the importance of the arts in the development not only of future artists, but engineers as well
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