March 26, 2019
We are excited to announce that Chakri (Chakradhar Gondi, PE) has received his PE license in the great State of Texas. Chakri will provide great value to the State of Texas by providing efficient and safe structural designs.
Get to Know Chakri…
Q: What are the most important accomplishments of your career?
Ans: I get a great sense of accomplishment every time I see my design gets life and erected on field‐ be it
the first ever design that I did back in 2013, a single‐story concrete building, or the retrofit 200’ self‐
support towers or installing new steel platforms atop high‐rise buildings or strengthening of existing
drilled shaft foundation with helical piles and many more.
Q: What was the biggest failure in your career, and how did you handle it?
Ans: I designed a cantilever steel frame to support mechanical equipment on the rooftop of a high‐rise
building. This elevated horizontal platform with cantilever beams was designed to be supported on the
building concrete columns. Because of the space restraints, the frame was asymmetrical with huge
eccentric loads. At the design phase my 3D FEM model didn’t show any major deflections, but the GC
reported considerable deflections and twist of cantilevers during the erection. I made a mistake of
attaching cantilever beams that support the equipment to the web of W‐beam spanning in the
perpendicular direction. This made the connection not fully moment restrained and weak, causing torque
and twist in the beams. The 3D model didn’t pick this defect and even I didn’t put much effort in
connection design during my race to meet the deadline. I should’ve either used HSS beams to resist the
torque or designed the moment connection stronger. We solved the problem at site, by providing make
shift supports for the beams. But the extra manhours increased the project cost. This experience taught
me that the serviceability aspects are as crucial as strength aspects in structural design.
Q: Describe the goal that you believe structural engineering should be aspiring to achieve?
Ans: Be able to wear as many hats required for the smooth execution and optimum design of the project
that costs the client the least.
Q: Who is a structural engineer or structural engineering firm that you admire?
Ans: Sir Arthur Cotton from Colonial India. Even during the independence struggle at its peak, he was one
Britisher that the masses revered because of the irrigation systems he developed. Even to this day, people
offer him hymns of praise at religious gatherings to remember the changes he brought along. For me this
is an example of the positive change that an engineer brings to the society.
Q: How would other that you work with describe your personality?
Ans: Quick and accurate in responses, team player, reliable, committed, soft-spoken