Paul A. Cianci, P.E., Vice President

Education:

Villanova University, College of Engineering, Villanova, PA

Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering, 2008

Master of Science in Civil Engineering, 2009

Professional Registrations:

State of Connecticut, No. 29371, August 20, 2013

Professional Affiliations:

American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC)
Structural Engineers Coalition (SEC)

Professional Experience:

2015 – Present; Vice President, Cianci Engineering, LLC, West Hartford, CT

Mr. Cianci provides the overall leadership for several projects. He commits the resources of the firm to complete assigned work on schedule, attends all key meetings, and monitors project status on a continuing basis. His responsibilities include the supervision of all phases of the structural design, contract document preparation, construction administration and special inspection services. Mr. Cianci provides extensive forensic engineering investigations and uses his prior professional and educational experience to help clients solve both structural and building envelope problems. He has a broad-based experience in structural evaluations, moisture infiltration investigations, repair and rehabilitation design, litigation consulting, field testing and facade assessments.

2009 - 2015; Associate II & III, Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc., Shelton, CT

Responsibilities included structural and building envelope investigations, rehabilitation designs and construction administration. Mr. Cianci also conducted several different types of tests, including but not limited to, structural load testing, roof uplift tests per FM Global Standards, moisture and air infiltration testing of facades and windows per ASTM and AAMA standards, leak detection of newly installed and existing roof membranes, relative humidity and MVER tests of concrete slabs and tribometric slip tests of flooring surfaces.

Publications:

Master's Thesis - Design and Behavior of Ductile Open Web Steel Joists: Phase II

Open web steel joists are prefabricated steel trusses commonly used in roof and floor structural systems. When loaded to its maximum capacity, an open web steel joist can fail by either yielding of a critical tension member or buckling of the critical compression member. When the failure mode is yield, the force resisting capacity of the joist remains intact as inelastic deformation occurs. When the failure mode is buckling, the force resisting capacity of the joist instantly reduces to zero. Considering this behavior the ductile design is the desired mode of failure. Currently, there is no requirement that the mode of failure be governed by either tension yield or compression buckling. The purpose of this study is to develop a design methodology that ensures that the failure sequence is tensile yield first followed by inelastic deformation and ultimately terminating in secondary failure by compression buckling. To achieve this goal, a series of steel tests were conducted at Villanova University’s Structural Engineering Teaching and Research Laboratory (SETRL). Experimental results show that it is economically feasible to achieve the desired ductile mode of failure and that ductile behavior was achieved without any increase in cost or reduction in strength.

Additional Activities:

Secretary of the Building Commission, Branford, CT, 2015 - 2016

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the general oversight of all town projects as well as the coordination with town officials between various construction projects simultaneously. Mr. Cianci is involved with the interviewing, bid period services, and construction period services for town projects and works with municipal officials to help deliver projects of quality, on time and on budget.

Member of the Exchange Club, Branford, CT, 2015 - 2016

Responsibilities include the coordination with non-profits in the Branford, CT area to help provide service and assistance to others which help make the community a better place. Mr. Cianci provides technical guidance, recruitment, and sustainable growth solutions with several non-profit organizations in the community.

Candidate for CT House of Representatives, 102nd District, 2014