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
| Oct 4, 2022
In dire need of affordable housing, Aspen, Colo. will get a development that provides 277 affordable homes
A few miles from downtown Aspen, Colo., a development will provide 277 new affordable homes for an area experiencing a dire affordable housing crisis.
Green | Oct 3, 2022
California regulators move to ban gas heaters for existing buildings
California regulators voted unanimously recently on a series of measures that include a ban on the sale of natural gas-powered heating and hot water systems beginning in 2030.
| Oct 3, 2022
The College of the Holy Cross completes a $110 million performing arts center
In Worcester, Mass., a one-hour drive from Boston, the College of the Holy Cross has completed its $110 million Prior Performing Arts Center.
Resiliency | Sep 30, 2022
Designing buildings for wildfire defensibility
Wold Architects and Engineers' Senior Planner Ryan Downs, AIA, talks about how to make structures and communities more fire-resistant.
| Sep 30, 2022
Manley Spangler Smith Architects partners with PBK in strategic merger
Manley Spangler Smith Architects (MSSA), a Georgia-based, full-service architectural firm specializing in educational and municipal facilities, announced today a significant development aimed at increasing its capabilities, expertise, and suite of services.
| Sep 30, 2022
Lab-grown bricks offer potential low-carbon building material
A team of students at the University of Waterloo in Canada have developed a process to grow bricks using bacteria.
| Sep 29, 2022
FitzGerald establishes Denver office
The new location bolsters FitzGerald’s nationwide reach and capitalizes on local expertise and boots-on-the-ground to serve new and existing clients seeking to do business in Denver and the Front Range, as well as the Southwest United States, California, and Texas.
| Sep 28, 2022
New digital platform to foster construction supply chains free of forced labor
Design for Freedom by Grace Farms and the U.S. Coalition on Sustainability formed a partnership to advance shared goals regarding sustainable and ethical building material supply chains that are free of forced labor.
| Sep 27, 2022
New Buildings Institute released the Existing Building Decarbonization Code
New Buildings Institute (NBI) has released the Existing Building Decarbonization Code.
| Sep 23, 2022
High projected demand for new housing prompts debate on best climate-friendly materials
The number of people living in cities could increase to 80% of the total population by 2100. That could require more new construction between now and 2050 than all the construction done since the start of the industrial revolution.
