CEA - Dunn and Associates Structural Engineering President Tait Ketcham

The stories behind people’s reasons for getting into civil engineering are just as unique as their aspirations once they get into the field. While some of us dream about working on a particular project, whether it be building the highest skyscraper on Earth or the brand new stadium of our favorite basketball team, others visualize themselves stepping up into management roles and becoming the president of national or even multinational engineering firms. Today’s guest is a perfect example of a successful engineer who followed his passion for a specific discipline of the field and proved to everyone else that engineers do have the soft skills needed to tackle the day-to-day, non-technical tasks.

Today, Isaac talks to Tait Ketcham, the current president at Dunn Associates, Inc, in Salt Lake City, Utah, and the past president of the Structural Engineers Association of Utah(SEAU). After spending his childhood building things out of wood, he developed a strong interest in construction and design. Since then, he has worked on many notable projects, such as the Memphis Grizzlies stadium and the Hale Centre Theater.

In this interview, Tait talks about his passion for the role that our field plays in shaping and positively impacting societies, the many different paths an undergraduate student can take in the field, given its huge branch of segments, as well as the mistakes that taught him the greatest lessons in engineering and life in general. Going through school, studying for the FE or the PE, and dealing with the day-to-day tasks of meeting deadlines and resolving issues that come up onsite may sound hard. But according to Tait, “Passion is contagious.”

Resources Mentioned

Tait Ketcham - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tait-ketcham-26015a77

Dunn Associates, Inc - http://www.dunn-se.com

Structural Engineers Association of Utah (SEAU) - https://seau.org

American Society of Civil Engineers - https://www.asce.org

Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) - https://www.udot.utah.gov/connect

Memphis Grizzlies Stadium - https://fedexforum.com

Hale Centre Theater - https://www.hct.org/Online/default.asp

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