Structural engineer Ron Klemencic featured in latest Steel Profiles podcast

Chicago — “Insatiable appetite to learn coupled with the fear of failure,” says Ron Klemencic, P.E., S.E., chairman and CEO of Magnusson Klemencic Associates (MKA), on his motivation to innovate. Klemencic is interviewed in the latest episode of AISC’s Steel Profiles podcast series at www.aisc.org/podcasts. Tune in to hear his hour-long conversation with Margaret A. Matthew, P.E., AISC senior engineer and host of Steel Profiles. He gives an inside look at this life and career including his innovative ideas on tall building design, the new SpeedCore composite structural steel framing system, his crusade to give back to the industry and even the scoop on his fear of heights.

Klemencic has led the development of the SpeedCore system, aiming to replace the reinforced concrete core in steel office-tower construction. The system is expected to take 40 percent less time to build than a steel frame with a reinforced concrete core. A decade ago, Klemencic championed Pankow-funded lateral load tests that resulted in design guidelines for the system’s core walls, consisting of stacked modules of cross-tied steel plates field-filled with rebar-less concrete.

The system’s radical core is engineered using an earlier paradigm shift in global practice, also triggered by Klemencic, called tall-building performance-based seismic design (PBSD), a sophisticated methodology that results in safer, better-performing and more cost-effective high-rises in earthquake zones.

To learn more about the SpeedCore system, visit www.aisc.org/speedcore.

AISC’s Steel Profiles series provides an enlightening and entertaining look at the personalities behind the technical information used in structural steel design and construction. Play or download all 28 episodes at www.aisc.org/podcasts or on iTunes. In iTunes, search for “Steel Profiles” to access all of the episodes. You can also subscribe to the series for free, and each new episode will automatically be downloaded.