Upcoming ICRI-MNY Events

2023 ICRI-MNY Annual Symposium:
Alternative Replacement Materials & Why They're Used (Or Not)

Tuesday April 25th, 8:30 AM - 6:00 PM
Club 101, 101 Park Avenue, New York, NY

Come join the ICRI Metro NY Chapter to learn about alternative replacement materials.

Choosing the right replacement materials for a construction project is important.  Do you replace in kind, matching existing? Do you utilize alternative materials? There are many instances in which the original material is the most appropriate choice. However, there are a variety of instances in which an alternative material may be appropriate, whether it is due to material availability, (existing or changed) performance requirements, code requirements, installation requirements, adjacent design or material changes, or a change of detail. 

In choosing the replacement materials, one needs to consider all of the requirements of a material and if the original or alternative materials are the most appropriate. 

All attendees will receive FREE breakfast, lunch, and cocktails, a variety of networking opportunities, and up to 5 CEUs!

Sponsorship opportunities are still available. Hurry before they sell out! Start a networking hub with a tabletop sponsorship ($1,000) or get noticed sponsoring either the breakfast or lunch ($850) or unwind sponsoring the cocktail hour ($750).

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Schedule of Events:

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Speaker Biographies

Erin Fisher, Keynote Speaker  is Currently the Executive Director of Engineering Services at CANY Architecture + Engineering DPC, Erin Fisher, PE is a structural engineer with over 25 years of experience working in both the design and construction sectors of the industry. Erin specializes in the restoration/preservation, renovation, and adaptive reuse of existing buildings and is a NYC Qualified Exterior Wall Inspector (QEWI). Hallmark projects have included Radio City Music Hall, Solomon R Guggenheim Museum, Thurgood Marshall Federal Courthouse, the former Met Life insurance building at 5 Madison Avenue, and 111-115 Broadway (The Trinity and United States Realty Buildings, respectively). She is an active member of the Structural Engineers Association of New York (SEAoNY), the International Concrete Repair Institute (ICRI), Women in Restoration Engineering (WiRE), and both the Association of Preservation Technology International (APTI), and its Northeast Chapter (APTNE). Erin served multiple terms on the Board of Directors for both APTI and APTNE and served as a Co-chair for Training and Education Committee for APTI for nearly 10  years.

Christian Hill, works for Structural Technologies in New York and has 18 years of experience in the concrete repair and strengthening industry. He has lived and worked along the Mid-Atlantic and North-East regions of the United States, along with nearly a decade of experience strengthening dynamic projects throughout the Middle East. He currently works throughout the United States and Canada helping the licensee companies perform structural strengthening through the use of section enlargements, CFRP installation, and post-tension modifications. Chris focuses on the site feasibility of the work and ensures the needs of the physical installation can be done with as minimal impact to the existing structures as possible.

Chris has contributed to five ICRI Award projects received between 2006 ~ 2019, and has written articles for CRB about historic restoration, strengthening, and post-tension system modifications. He is an active member in the ACI Foundation for the sustainable future of cement and concrete; believing that the industry must find its own way forward towards a less dramatic carbon impact.

 Perri Robinson, works at Keim and is responsible for the Northeastern US. With 18 years of coatings and preservation industry experience, he brings a true understanding of how coatings function from design through application. His experiences include both sales and management, where he is instrumental in meeting the needs of a broad customer base from Architects, Engineers, artists, and professional painters. His day-to-day operations include but are not limited to: project assessment, design development and mock-ups, application training, sales, management, and review.

Roel Gregorio, started working with Pullman NYC in January 2017.  He is currently the Project Manager for the $70M building envelope portion of the Waldorf Astoria restoration and repositioning project.  Roel provides supervision and direction to the project team to meet project safety and quality standards.  He regularly interacts with the Construction Manager/General Contractor, Owner, Architects, Engineers, and other trades ensure a successful project.  Roel began his career in the restoration industry as a union journeyman and went on to receive an engineering degree at Penn State University and transition into project management.  Notable past projects that Roel has contributed to include the MTA East Side Access Tunnel, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Jacob Javits Center, and Carnegie Hall.

Danielle Pape, has worked for Jablonski Building Conservation, Inc. since 2017. She graduated with an MS in Historic Preservation with a concentration in architectural conservation from the University of Pennsylvania’s Weitzman School of Design (’17). Danielle’s interests include the field and laboratory testing of materials, cemetery conservation, and hands-on conservation treatments. She also performs conditions surveys and construction supervision for a wide range of restoration projects.

H. Aydin Pekoz, PhD, PE, is a Senior Project Manager in the Structural Engineering Group of Simpson Gumpertz & Heger Inc. (SGH). Aydin has more than 15 years of experience in the structural analysis and design of new structures including residential, retail, office, and school buildings; wastewater treatment facilities; parking garages; and transit and power facilities. He specializes in collapse investigations, structural stability issues, damage assessments, seismic vulnerability assessments, site surveys, field inspections, and retrofit of numerous types of existing structures. He also has hands-on experience in the design of a wide variety of structural systems including reinforced concrete, steel, timber, masonry, and post-tensioned construction.

Fatemeh Shirmohammadi, PhD, SE, PE, is a Consulting Engineer in the Structural Engineering Group of Simpson Gumpertz & Heger Inc. (SGH). Fatemeh has more than eight years of experience in designing new structures and evaluating and designing repairs for distress related to concrete, steel, masonry, and wood structures. She also has extensive experience in computer modeling of new and existing structures. Fatemeh holds a Ph.D. in structural engineering from Kansas State University and has numerous research works published in prestigious journals in the field of structural engineering.

Tiffany Coppock, AIA, NCARB, CSI, CDT, LEED AP, ASTM, RCI, EDAC, is the Commercial Building Systems Specialist at Owens Corning where she provides leadership in building science, system development, testing, and documentation. As new systems transition into use, and for existing systems and products, she provides technical guidance integrating the entire building envelope for design professionals as well as internal teams. Formerly, she was a Building Science Manager answering technical questions, reviewing drawings and specifications, and presenting educational sessions. Prior to manufacturing, Tiffany worked several years at an architecture firm designing healthcare and historic preservation projects. Tiffany is also a former CSI leader and voting member on several ASTM committees. To remain relevant and give back to the industry, she volunteers her expertise on pro-bono healthcare design projects as well as being a member of the Dallas AIA’s Disaster Assistance Trained team. Tiffany earned her Bachelor of Environmental Design from Texas A&M University and Masters of Architecture from the University of Colorado.. While at ease in the air-conditioned comfort of the office, she owns several pairs of muddy boots and is no stranger to hands-on application and detailing of multiple building products.

Eric Hammarberg, is an Associate Principal at Henson Architecture.  He has been surrounded by construction his entire life, the third generation of a family of contractors and has worked multiple facets of construction. Eric’s experience spans from design and project managing historic restoration and preservation projects including the New York Public Library’s plaster ceiling restoration, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the Chrysler Building and work on the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Eric’s expertise in preservation includes investigation, protection of historic structures adjacent to new construction, repair and restoration of historic stone and brick masonry, as well as repairs to terra cotta and various roofing materials. Prior to joining Henson, Eric spent seven years as Associate Principal for WJE Engineers & Architects. He brings a vast knowledge of historic restoration across New York City Landmarks, structural and exterior envelope design, and investigative expertise.

Jason Oakley, PE, is a field engineer for Simpson Strong-Tie.  He is a California registered professional engineer who graduated from UCSD in 1997 with a degree in structural engineering and earned his MBA from Cal State Fullerton in 2013. Before joining Simpson Strong-Tie in 2002, he worked on reinforced concrete buildings, and provided structural solutions for nuclear power plants, refineries, offshore drilling platforms, movie sets, shipbuilding and fall protection.

He has been helping engineers in the South West USA, and now the North East, to solve problems using various products (connectors, anchors, FRP, etc.) for the last twenty years. The first seventeen years focused on teaching specifiers about cast-in-place and post-installed anchors used for non-structural and structural applications in concrete and masonry base materials. The last three years he has focused showing specifiers research findings and case studies of fiber-reinforced polymers (FRP) and fabric-reinforced cementitious matrix (FRCM) commonly used for strengthening concrete and masonry elements as a viable alternative to traditional solutions.

Michael P. Edison, has been working as a chemical engineer for 50 years. He is the Founder and President of Edison Coatings, Inc., in Plainville, CT, which develops and manufactures specialty repair and coating systems for stone, masonry and concrete. Michael holds a degree in Chemical Engineering from Polytechnic/NYU and an MBA from the University of New Haven. He is an APT-RP Recognized Professional, Past President of the Connecticut Chapter of ICRI, a past Director of the Association for Preservation Technology Northeast Chapter, a past Chairman of the Central New York Section of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and is currently President of the Society for Preservation of Historic Cements. He is Chairman of ASTM Task Group 1.10.04 on Natural Cement, where he led the successful effort to reinstate ASTM C10 Standard Specification for Natural Cement, one of ASTM’s oldest standards.

Edison Coatings produces of Natural Cement and provides specialty materials and support services. In 2021, Edison Coatings entered into agreements with Conspec Associates, Inc., and Works In Stone, Inc. to produce custom casting materials for production of replacement units for stone and terra cotta.

Aniket Borwankar, is a Senior Development Manager with Simpson Strong-Tie for their Composite Strengthening Systems (FRP & FRCM), where he has worked since 2017. He received his master’s degree in civil engineering from Vanderbilt University with focus on carbon micro and nano fiber reinforced cement based materials. His research work deepened his understanding of these materials and resulted in journal and conference publications. After working for several years as a consulting engineer, where he was involved with design of new structures and retrofit of existing structures, he joined Simpson Strong-Tie. Since then, he has been involved in developing FRP and FRCM projects and educating engineering firms on the design principles of FRP. Additionally, he is involved in research and development of new FRP products and applications.  He is member of the ACI 440F committee for FRP Strengthening, ACI 440S code committee for FRP strengthening and is also involved in the diaphragm strengthening task group for ACI 440F.

Kevin Shepherd, has been working in the construction industry for 10 years. He began his journey as a carpenter, and upon realizing firsthand how much waste is attributed to the industry, decided he wanted to help in the research and development of more sustainable construction systems. A major part of Kevin’s philosophy is that in order to create a more sustainable world, the world must work together. With this in mind, Kevin has and continues to form strong business partnerships with various companies and works closely with them to aid in the accomplishment of their sustainability goals. Additionally, Kevin strives to educate others on the importance of sustainable development.

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