Utilizing Mass Timber Metal Connectors Effectively

Presenter Information

Name: Ayman Abdelaal, Ph.D., P.E.

Title: Branch Engineer Southwestern U.S., Simpson Strong-Tie Company, Inc.

Background:

Ayman Abdelaal, PhD, PE, is a branch engineer for the southwest region of the US, with over 10 years of experience in project management and technical design of commercial, podium-type, and mixed-use buildings; he also has approximately 9 years of experience in teaching undergraduate students and more than 2 years as the material properties and testing lab manager at the Military Technical College, Cairo, Egypt. During his time in Egypt, he worked as a construction project manager for one of the big construction projects for the Egyptian Army. He also worked on the design of several multistory concrete buildings, one of them a 12-story building in downtown Cairo.

In 2011, Mr. Abdelaal moved to the US, following his passion for learning to start his doctoral degree in structural engineering at the University of California, Irvine. During his study, he gained a lot of experience working as a research assistant for the concrete lab at UC Irvine’s Henry Samueli School of Engineering, helping other graduate students and working on his own experimental program. During his time in design, he had broad responsibilities, including engineering design and detailing, structural drawing, permitting and city approvals, value engineering meetings, and aiding in construction processes in both the consulting and design-build environments. He also has wide experience in retaining wall design and shoring design using pile systems in the LA, Pasadena, and San Diego areas. Prior to joining Simpson Strong-Tie, Mr. Abdelaal worked as a forensic engineer investigating damaged structures with the task of determining the cause of damage, as well as potential construction defects. He joined Simpson Strong-Tie in September 2019.