Edwin T. Huston - President's Award 2012, Lifetime Service Award 2006, Honorary Member 2004, Engineer of the Year 1990, SEAW President 1989, SEAW Seattle President 1987

Edwin T. Huston graduated from the University of Washington School of Engineering in 1971. After active duty training with the US Army, he returned to Seattle on reserve status. He worked with KPFF for seven years, managing a wide variety of industrial, commercial, residential, and governmental projects including the Fourth and Blanchard Building, a 25-story moment frame structure. Over the next five years, Ed worked in the offices of McMahan Consulting Engineers, John Graham and Associates, TRA, and Skilling Ward Magnusson and Barkshire. In 1983 he joined Richard Ballinger and Ted Smith as a principal at Ballinger and Smith, continuing since 1987 as Smith & Huston, Consulting Engineers.

Ed has nearly four decades of structural engineering experience with emphasis on unusual and challenging structures, as the structural engineer in charge of design for office, residential, commercial, and industrial structures as well as structural design of building components. Some of these projects have required earthquake retrofit of damaged structures or voluntary earthquake upgrading of existing structures. Notable structures around the Puget Sound area for which Ed has had a major role in the design include: Honeywell Marine Services Building Evaluation and Retrofit; Koll Northcreek Office Building, Bothell; Koll I-90; Group Health Campus, Bellevue; Cabot.Cabot & Forbes Center, Bellevue; Thousand Trails Corporate Headquarters, Bellevue; and in Seattle Bentley Office Park Buildings; Stevens Hospital Additions; McGinnis Office Building; Fourth and Blanchard Building; Fourth and Vine Building; 200 West Thomas Building; 100 First Avenue Building; Northgate Executive Center, Phase Two; and Alaska Airlines Headquarters Building.

In addition to building design, Ed has conducted damage investigations after blast, fire, flood, seismic, snow, and wind events. He has also conducted investigations of construction collapse, construction delay, construction dispute resolution, decay, foundation settlement, vehicle impact, vibration complaints, and overall structural evaluation. In many cases these investigations have led to the development of recommendations and designs for repairs and voluntary upgrades, including preparation of the contract documents.

Ed’s SEAW involvement includes his service on the Board of Directors of SEAW Seattle as well as the State Board of Trustees 1987-91, Earthquake Engineering Committee, Wind Engineering Committee, Code Advisory Committee, Building Engineering Committee 1993-98, Scholarship Committee 1988-96, and the Fiftieth Anniversary Celebration Committee.

June 2012 recognition by SEAW 2012 President Luke Health and the State of Washington (as illustrated here) acknowledged his extended effort with the Washington State Licensing Board on the state-specific structural exam via his 25 years of excellent service as Chair of the Structural Exam Committee for SEAW and for the NCEES Exam Committee.

He has frequently presented seminars on topics related to his special expertise. He has also held leadership roles with the Masonry Society, NCSEA, PSEC, and the Western States Council of Structural Engineering Associations (President 2002-04).

In 2011, his colleagues at the National Council of Structural Engineers Associations recognized Ed Huston with NCSEA's Robert Conforth Award, with presentation at the annual conference award banquet in Oklahoma City. The award honors an individual for exceptional dedication and exemplary service to a Member Organization and to the structural engineering profession. Previously, NCSEA conferred the prestigious James Delahay Award on him in 1989, and its Service Award in 2010 -- making Ed Huston the first engineer in NCSEA history to receive all three of that organization's special awards.

Ed serves on the Board of the Structural Engineers Foundation of Washington, as a founding member.

In 2017, NCSEA presented its Susan M. Frey Educator Award to Ed, recognizing his dedication to the education of professional structural engineers.

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