Engineering the Future: How Structural Engineers Are Addressing 2025’s Biggest Challenges

(Feb. 11, 2025) As the built environment evolves to meet the challenges of a changing world, structural engineers are at the forefront of innovation and transformation. The National Council of Structural Engineers Associations (NCSEA) has identified the top four topics that continue to shape structural engineering in 2025. These priorities underscore the pivotal role structural engineers play in creating resilient, sustainable, and inclusive communities. 

1. Innovation: Artificial Intelligence in the Built Environment: Advances in artificial intelligence (AI) are revolutionizing all aspects of our lives, and structural engineering is no different. From predictive analytics for safer designs to automation in structural modeling, AI is transforming workflows and enabling structural engineers to push the boundaries of what’s possible. The NCSEA Foundation is working, through both an AI Grant Team and an AI Advisory Board, to craft a vision and roadmap outlining the potential disruptions, impacts, and opportunities AI will have on the profession and the built community. Ongoing research, including a recent NCSEA survey, sheds light on the transformative potential of AI within structural engineering and the broader built community.   

2. Growth of the Profession: Securing the Talent Pipeline: A variety of research outlets have reported that, to meet demand, the United States needs to develop its talent pipelines in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Structural engineering sits directly in STEM’s crosshairs, requiring concerted efforts from education and retention to addressing racial and gender disparities. Members of NCSEA across the nation are active in local outreach programs to introduce grade school and high school students to the opportunities in the AEC industry. Additionally, their members are active with Universities and Colleges nationwide who create and execute curriculum vital to preparing the future generations.

3. Championing Resilient Design: Structural engineers remain at the forefront of resilient design practices, continually adapting to emerging build environment challenges. For example, climate change is causing more frequent extreme weather events, such as hurricanes and floods, while earthquakes also pose a threat to structural safety. As practices evolve to the realities of climate change and other structural threats, structural engineering designs also are evolving. For example, structural engineers can design structures that are more resistant to extreme weather events by using stronger materials and incorporating design features that reduce the effects of wind, water, and seismic forces. Further, reducing embodied carbon is a key focus for structural engineers aiming to design more sustainable buildings by optimizing material efficiency, using low-carbon alternatives, and considering the lifecycle impacts of their design choices.

4. Housing Shortages: Adaptive Reuse to Address Critical Needs: Recent reports from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development indicate the United States experienced an 18.1 percent increase in homelessness in 2024 – a trend fueled in large part by a lack of affordable housing. Collaborating with their colleagues across the built environment, structural engineers are responding to housing shortages by looking for creative solutions. Adaptive reuse is one such solution, which involves repurposing existing structures into housing. This effort not only preserves resources, but it can also reinvigorate communities.

“These priorities reflect the challenges and opportunities we face as structural engineers,” says Michael D. Zajac, P.E., LEED AP, senior project manager for Simpson Gumpertz & Heger. Zajac serves on the task force for NCSEA’s We SEE Above and Beyond campaign. The campaign illustrates how structural engineers create safe, vibrant, and resilient communities and provides valuable resources for architects and building owners.

Kelsey Parolini, SE, associate principal at Buehler, also serves on the We SEE Above and Beyond task force. “Our work, as structural engineers, goes beyond designing structures to be safe and secure—it’s about shaping the future in a way that is innovative, sustainable, and inclusive.”