JOSEPH M. SARKOR, BSc. Civil Engineering, MSc. Structural Engineering, P.Eng. , P.E. Owner, Senior Structural Engineer.
Joseph Sarkor received a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Washington in Seattle and a Master of Science Degree in Structural Engineering from Ohio State University in Columbus. Both degrees were funded by scholarships provided by the USAID Technical Cooperative Program. This Co-op program provided Joseph the opportunity to work with various highway departments in the U.S. during his undergraduate years.
He worked in his country of origin, Liberia, West Africa at the Ministry of Public Works for 16 years. During this time, he served as Chief Structural Engineer, Assistant Minister for Operations and Assistant Minister for Technical Services. In the Public Works Ministry, Joseph designed several public buildings. Joseph also managed the construction of the Trans Africa Highway section between Liberia and Sierra Leone with Stanley Consultants. He was also counterpart structural engineer with T.Y. Lin International in San Francisco for the design and construction of two major bridges in Liberia , the St. Bridge (Length 426.72m) And the St. Paul River Bridge. The design of the bridges consisted of pre-stressed, post- tensioned, reinforced concrete box girders and were constructed using the balanced, segmental, cantilever erection method.
These public positions gave Joseph the opportunity to interact with such organizations as the World Bank, the African Development Bank, and the African Development Funds. He also co-founded the School of Engineering and served as an instructor of Civil Engineering at the University of Liberia.
Joseph and his family moved to Canada in 1990 and he received his professional designation with Engineers and Geo-scientists of B.C. in January 1993. He has also received his professional designation for Washington State (P.E.) and his P.Eng. for Alberta. Joseph worked with a structural engineering firm in Vancouver for a year and then returned to Kelowna to establish his own firm, incorporating JMS Engineering Ltd. In 1994.
He is a member of the Engineers & Geo-scientists B.C., Association of Professional Engineers & Geo-scientists of Alberta, as well as American Society of Civil Engineers, Structural Engineers Association of B.C., and the Canadian Institute of Steel Construction.
Joseph has many years of experience in the field of structural engineering. This includes the design of wood, reinforced concrete, steel, and masonry structures. He is proficient and current in the use of various structural design software programs, such as Wood Works,RISA, SAFE, and ETABS. Joseph uses these programs to create and analyze 3-D models to perform seismic and wind analysis of buildings and other structures. His many projects have included multi-story and industrial buildings, reinforced concrete buildings and single span bridges. Joseph has also mentored several engineers from diverse backgrounds, helping them to obtain their own professional designations.
