Timber Engineering as a Profession

Hello. I am a structural engineering student at USF in Tampa, Florida and will be graduating this summer. Timber framing is not very common in this area which means that resources are scarse. My question to the group is how and where to get more information on timber engineering, including engineering firms who specialize in the area. I've only come across a couple of timber framing companies who have engineers on staff. Most seem to use outside consulting firms. This is an area of much interest and any help would be greatly appreciated.

Bubba,

The Guild gets many requests for referrals of one kind or another to which it cannot in good conscience reply lest that be construed as a de facto recommendation of one member over another. We are working on a solution to this self-imposed gag rule. In the meantime, I suggest the following:

1. Check the Guild roster for members in the areas in which you are interested and query them for names of engineers who might be willing to advise you.

2. Post your question on the Guild Guestbook (http://www.tfguild.org/guestbook.html) and also at the TFG Bulletin Board (http://www.tfguild.org/wwwboard/wwwboard.html) in the hope that a bigger net may catch more fish.

3. Most importantly, attend the next Guild Conference (in Fairlee, Vermont over Halloween weekend). Guild conferences are a great place to catch up with timber engineers, companies which employ them (and those looking to hire).

Good luck,

Ed Levin