On April 17, Michael F. Engestrom, Dann H. Hall, Michael A. West, Stephen A. Mahin, Wallace W. Sanders, Jr., Mark V. Holland, Steven C. Ball, Rafael Sabelli, Judy Liu and William J. Wright will be recognized by the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) for their exceptional contributions to the advancement of the structural steel design and construction industry.
Whether it's for an innovative design, an insightful technical paper or a lifetime of outstanding service, these individuals are honored for making a difference in the fabricated structural steel industry's success and will be presented with distinguished AISC awards at the 2013 NASCC: The Steel Conference, April 17-19, at America's Center Convention Complex in St. Louis. To register or view the advance program, visit www.aisc.org/nascc.
AISC's Lifetime Achievement Award gives special recognition to individuals who have provided outstanding service over a sustained period of years to AISC and the structural steel design/construction/academic community. This year's award recipients are:
Michael F. Engestrom, technical marketing director, Nucor-Yamato Steel, for his tireless efforts over more than four decades promoting the use of structural steel and for his support of AISC's technical and market development activities on both the mill and committee levels.
Dann H. Hall, principal, Bridge Software Development International, Ltd., for his leadership in developing software technology for the personal computer to bring the benefits of 3D Finite Element Analysis to the bridge design community. The use of this software has enabled a more complete understanding of horizontally curved and/or skewed steel-girder bridges and allowed for significant advancements in the design of these more complex bridge types. Much of his work has also been incorporated in various AASHTO bridge specifications over the past 20 years.
Michael A. West, P.E., AIA, principal, Computerized Structural Design, for his tireless contributions of knowledge, experience and wisdom to the design community and steel construction industry. He has served as a long-time member of both the AISC Committee on the Code of Standard Practice and the AISC Committee on Manuals, and he serves on Task Committee 13 Quality Control and Assurance of the AISC Committee on Specifications. He also chairs the AISC Committee on Certification Standards. Beyond his formal AISC Committee involvements, he has served as an envoy for AISC in activities with other organizations, including helping to maintain a steel perspective in the concrete document, ACI 117, for when the two materials meet.
Stephen A. Mahin, Ph.D., professor, University of California, Berkeley, for his major contributions to structural steel research throughout his career, including steel braced frames. He has been a leader in developing cooperative research activities through the Partnership for Advanced Steel Structures and the NSF U.S.-Japan Cooperative Earthquake Research Program using large-scale facilities for composite and hybrid structures. He has also served on various AISC Seismic Committees over the past two decades and is currently a corresponding member of the AISC Task Committee 9 – Seismic Design. In 2001, he received an AISC Special Achievement Award for his leadership on the FEMA/SAC initiative for reduction of earthquake hazards in steel moment frame structures.
Wallace W. Sanders, Jr., Ph.D., professor emeritus, Iowa State University, who has served as a passionate advocate for engineering education with an emphasis on steel bridge design during his 34 years on the faculty at Iowa State University. He has furthered the knowledge of steel construction through his involvement with the American Welding Society (AWS) and has contributed to AISC as a member of the Partners in Education Committee. He currently serves as a member and secretary of the AREMA Steel Bridge Committee. Sanders also contributed to the construction of the strong floor in the structural engineering laboratory at Iowa State University, which is named in honor of him and his wife Julia. His research has advanced the state-of-the-art in load distribution and strengthening for steel bridges as well as fatigue.
AISC's Special Achievement Award recognizes individuals who have demonstrated notable achievements in structural steel design, construction, research or education. It honors those who have made a positive and substantial impact on the structural steel design and construction industry. This year's award recipients are:
Mark V. Holland, P.E., chief engineer, Paxton & Vierling Steel Co., for his leadership in interoperability since the very beginning of AISC's effort in 1997. He has provided countless hours of volunteer work and leadership on CIS/2, EDI, and interoperability, and has brought attention to this crucial subject through his committee work and conference presentations. In addition, he and his firm have served as leaders in the practical implementation of BIM.
Steven C. Ball, S.E., vice president, John A. Martin & Associates, Inc., for his creative and bold structural engineering work in the application, testing and qualification of long-span steel Special Moment Frames with non-orthogonal connections in California for the Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT) Program at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). The structural solution required Special Moment Frame geometry that had never been used before in the U.S. in a high seismic region. This type of creative and unconventional structural solution was required to achieve the unique architectural expression and large, open spaces central to this highly complex, sustainable building. His unwavering efforts pave the way for future testing for prequalified implementation of structural steel moment frame solutions for architecturally challenging projects.
Rafael Sabelli, S.E., principal and director of seismic design, Walter P Moore, for his contributions to the literature on seismic design of steel and composite structures, both as an author and as chair of the seismic subcommittee of the AISC Committee on Manuals. He has been involved in various textbooks on seismic steel design, design guides and the widely used AISC Seismic Design Manual.
Judy Liu, Ph.D., associate professor, Purdue University, for her contributions toward improving structural steel education in universities through her development and maintenance of web enhanced teaching, her contributions to the Partners in Education committee and through the Tip Sheet newsletter.
William J. Wright, Ph.D., P.E., associate professor, Virginia Tech, for his contributions in the areas of fatigue and fracture behavior of structural steel, curved girder bridges and forensic investigations. His research has significantly advanced the understanding associated with constraint induced fracture, fracture toughness properties of high performance steel and the identification and system performance of fracture critical steel bridge systems.
About the American Institute of Steel Construction
The American Institute of Steel Construction, headquartered in Chicago, is a not-for-profit technical institute and trade association established in 1921 to serve the structural steel design community and construction industry. AISC's mission is to make structural steel the material of choice by being the leader in structural steel-related technical and market-building activities, including: specification and code development, research, education, technical assistance, quality certification, standardization, and market development. AISC has a long tradition of service to the steel construction industry of providing timely and reliable information.
Related Stories
Industry Research | Mar 2, 2023
Watch: Findings from Gensler's latest workplace survey of 2,000 office workers
Gensler's Janet Pogue McLaurin discusses the findings in the firm's 2022 Workplace Survey, based on responses from more than 2,000 workers in 10 industry sectors.
AEC Innovators | Mar 2, 2023
Turner Construction extends its ESG commitment to thwarting forced labor in its supply chain
Turner Construction joins a growing AEC industry movement, inspired by the Design for Freedom initiative, to eliminate forced labor and child labor from the production and distribution of building products.
Multifamily Housing | Mar 1, 2023
Multifamily construction startup Cassette takes a different approach to modular building
Prefabricated modular design and construction have made notable inroads into such sectors as industrial, residential, hospitality and, more recently, office and healthcare. But Dafna Kaplan thinks that what’s held back the modular building industry from even greater market penetration has been suppliers’ insistence that they do everything: design, manufacture, logistics, land prep, assembly, even onsite construction. Kaplan is CEO and Founder of Cassette, a Los Angeles-based modular building startup.
Airports | Feb 28, 2023
Data visualization: $1 billion earmarked for 2023 airport construction projects
Ninety-nine airports across 47 states and two territories are set to share nearly $1 billion in funding in 2023 from the Federal Aviation Administration. The funding is aimed at help airports of all sizes meet growing air travel demand, with upgrades like larger security checkpoints and more reliable and faster baggage systems.
Seismic Design | Feb 27, 2023
Turkey earthquakes provide lessons for California
Two recent deadly earthquakes in Turkey and Syria offer lessons regarding construction practices and codes for California. Lax building standards were blamed for much of the devastation, including well over 35,000 dead and countless building collapses.
Sports and Recreational Facilities | Feb 27, 2023
New 20,000-seat soccer stadium will anchor neighborhood development in Indianapolis
A new 20,000-seat soccer stadium for United Soccer League’s Indy Eleven will be the centerpiece of a major neighborhood development in Indianapolis. The development will transform the southwest quadrant of downtown Indianapolis by adding more than 600 apartments, 205,000 sf of office space, 197,000 sf for retail space and restaurants, parking garages, a hotel, and public plazas with green space.
Libraries | Feb 26, 2023
A $17 million public library in California replaces one that was damaged in a 2010 earthquake
California’s El Centro community, about two hours east of San Diego, recently opened a new $17 million public library. With design by Ferguson Pape Baldwin Architects and engineering services by Latitude 33 Planning & Engineering, the 19,811-sf building replaces the previous library, which was built in the early 1900s, damaged by a 7.2 earthquake that struck Baja California in 2010, and demolished in 2016.
Healthcare Facilities | Feb 21, 2023
Cleveland's Glick Center hospital anchors neighborhood revitalization
The newly opened MetroHealth Glick Center in Cleveland, a replacement acute care hospital for MetroHealth, is the centerpiece of a neighborhood revitalization. The eleven-story structure is located within a ‘hospital-in-a-park’ setting that will provide a bucolic space to the community where public green space is lacking. It will connect patients, visitors, and staff to the emotional and physical benefits of nature.
Multifamily Housing | Feb 21, 2023
Multifamily housing investors favoring properties in the Sun Belt
Multifamily housing investors are gravitating toward Sun Belt markets with strong job and population growth, according to new research from Yardi Matrix. Despite a sharp second-half slowdown, last year’s nationwide $187 billion transaction volume was the second-highest annual total ever.
Multifamily Housing | Feb 21, 2023
New multifamily housing and mixed-use buildings in Portland, Ore., must be ready for electric vehicle charging
The Portland, Ore., City Council recently voted unanimously to require all new residential and mixed-use buildings to be ready for electric vehicle charging. The move amends Portland’s zoning laws to require all new multi-dwelling and mixed-use development of five or more units with onsite parking to provide electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
