I recently attended an engineering conference sponsored by the International Association of Bridge and Structural Engineers in Seoul, South Korea.  The theme of the conference was “Innovative Infrastructures – Toward Human Urbanism”.   For the session “Structures And Materials: Green Initiatives”, I presented a paper entitled "Modern Yurts Are Viable Options for Societal Facility Needs."

My paper was the last of the session in the late afternoon.  The Chair of the session introduced us and told the audience that our session was what the conference was all about. He was especially interested in finding out what a "yurt" is.  Probably due to the late afternoon scheduling, the session was somewhat sparsely attended compared to some of the other conference sessions - maybe 50 people or so.  I felt a little bad about that until the next morning.

The first session of the new morning was titled "Innovation," and it was presented by the Man-Chung Tang, the Chairman of the Board and Technical Director of T.Y. Lin International, one of the most prestigious engineering firms in the world.  His audience attendance was equal to mine, likely because his talk conflicted with a field trip to the Lotte Tower, presently under construction.  I guess sometimes that's the way the chips fall.

By the way, his talk was excellent, and for all those who attended the field trip, you missed out.