The American Institute of Steel Construction has just released the online replacement for its popular ASTM standards collection, Selected ASTM Standards for Structural Steel Fabrication, including Structural Stainless Steel.

AISC partnered with ASTM International to create an online subscription that will ensure that users always have the latest standards (including downloadable PDFs) at their fingertips.

The American Institute of Steel Construction and the National Steel Bridge Alliance are thrilled to welcome back a familiar face: Brandon Chavel, PE, PhD. “The steel bridge industry is continuously innovating, with many exciting projects on the horizon," he said. “Our team is excited to continue to collaborate with bridge owners, designers, consultants, contractors, researchers, and steel bridge fabricators to address our nation’s current infrastructure challenges and develop the next generation of industry leaders.”

“Brandon’s years of experience and leadership in the bridge design community make him the perfect person to serve as the voice of America’s steel bridge industry,” said AISC Senior Vice President Scott Melnick. “His expertise will help our Bridge Initiatives department make a difference for our country--and everyone who relies on anything transported by vehicle or rail.”

Student engineers from the University of Florida secured their fourth straight first-place overall win in the 2024 Student Steel Bridge Competition (SSBC) National Finals on June 1, breaking the consecutive titles record they set themselves in 2023.

Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, La. served as the host school for the 2024 competition.

This year’s SSBC participants were challenged to design, fabricate, and quickly construct a scale-model steel bridge that would span a man-made river in a large disc golf course. Competitors had to find innovative ways to navigate new rules and challenging assembly constraints, including one of the widest conceptual rivers in the competition’s history.

A draft update to the standard Certification Standard for Shop Application of Complex Protective Coating Systems, a joint standard developed by the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) and the Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP), is now available for public review and comment.

The next edition of this standard will supersede the version published in 2010 under the designation AISC 420-10/SSPC-QP 3. This update intends to bring the standard in line with current companion reference standards.

Any discussion of the construction of the Buffalo Bills’ New Highmark Stadium, one of western New York’s biggest projects in history, is incomplete without discussing the many fabricators involved.

In a May 28 Buffalo News article, reporter Michael Petro explains the role of steel fabricators in bringing the $1.7 billion stadium to life--and, in turn, their role in bolstering the local economy.

According to the article, of the 25,000 tons of structural steel being used to build the stadium, 60% is from in-state fabricators. The prime contractor, Cives Steel in St. Lawrence, N.Y., is responsible for about half of the steel for the stadium, and a dozen other fabricators, including JPW Structural Contracting in Syracuse and A&T Ironworks in New Rochelle, are also contributing to the project.

Nearing the end of a successful competition season, qualifying student teams from 49 U.S. colleges and universities will go head-to-head at the 2024 Student Steel Bridge Competition National Finals on May 31 and June 1 at Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, La.

This year’s participants, who advanced from 20 regional competitions earlier this spring, were challenged to design and fabricate a functional, aesthetically pleasing bridge to cross over a man-made river in a disc golf course--without using piers. They must then assemble their bridges in a timed setting. This year, the competition rules allow for up to two builders to act as barges within the river if they choose, but at an additional cost.

AISC’s new Sustainability Partner Program is a win for specifiers, fabricators, and--of course!--the environment.

"Few people recognize that structural steel fabricators are the key player for a project's sustainability," said AISC Director of Sustainability and Government Relations Max Puchtel. "Fabrication itself accounts for less than 8% of structural steel's cradle-to-gate carbon footprint, but a fabricator's procurement responsibility means that their upstream influence is far greater."

Just a handful of projects in the country will receive the structural steel industry’s top design honor next year. Will yours be one of them?

The American Institute of Steel Construction’s flagship competition for buildings, the IDEAS² Awards, is now accepting entries!

AISC’s Innovative Design in Engineering and Architecture with Structural Steel (IDEAS²) Awards recognize outstanding projects that illustrate the exciting possibilities of structural steel. They are the industry’s most prestigious design honor for building structures.

In a joint letter to Congress, the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC), American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), and Steel Manufacturers Association (SMA) outline their firm opposition to the proposed Mass Timber Federal Buildings Act (S4149)--and urge members of Congress to reject the anti-competitive bill.

The bill, which was introduced by U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and James Risch (R-Idaho) on April 17, would give favorable treatment to the mass timber industry in the awarding of federal and military construction projects – at the expense of other building material competitors, including steel. The letter from steel industry leaders raised substantive concerns about the potential ramifications of this legislation on fair competition, taxpayer value, and sustainability practices within the construction sector.

A draft of the next edition of the AISC Specification for Safety-Related Steel Structures for Nuclear Facilities (AISC N690) is now available for limited public review and comment.

This edition of N690 will supersede the 2018 version, and it is anticipated to be finalized this year.

The scope of this public review includes revisions to some requirements for steel-plate composite structural elements as well as an updated provision for quality assurance documentation.

When the design community has a question about steel, they naturally turn to the American Institute of Steel Construction. After all, AISC literally writes the specification for the design of steel buildings. In recognition of the growing importance of sustainability in design decisions, AISC has announced a major expansion of its sustainability efforts--including creating a team of three sustainability experts and working to update steel industry EPDs. 

"Surprisingly few people know that wide flange steel sections, straight from the mill, consist of an average of 93% recycled steel scrap (from things like cars, refrigerators, and decommissioned bridges), and all structural steel is 100% recyclable without loss of properties. It's a truly circular supply chain, which is unique among American structural materials," said newly appointed Vice President of Sustainability and Government Relations Brian Raff. "My team will also work to ensure that all of the sustainable benefits that structural steel offers remain a viable option for designers and builders across the country."

Ken Shipman was the unexpected answer to a problem JGM had encountered since its founding: staying organized. As the company's very first material handling specialist, Shipman, 37, takes inventory of all stock deliveries and makes labels for each steel beam before assigning it a spot in the yard.

His job is a small detail that makes a big difference.

"My goal is to alleviate stress from other people, so if I can help make the crew's job easier, that's a good day," Shipman says.

Dave Ruby, one of the world’s leading experts on constructability and the founder of Ruby+Associates, a Degenkolb Company, has officially retired from the firm, ending a structural engineering career that spanned more than 60 years.

Ruby is the company’s former chair and a founding principal. He started his namesake company in 1984 to fill a gap and provide structural engineering services to the construction industry. He became an internationally known expert in steel construction and constructability in his decades leading Ruby+Associates, receiving numerous awards from industry groups. He earned the J. Lloyd Kimbrough Award in 2022, AISC’s highest honor for designers. He became just the 12th person since 1941 to receive it. He also received an AISC Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011.

The American Institute of Steel Construction and the Steel Joist Institute have teamed up to create a comprehensive reference volume for rain loads and ponding design.

Design Guide 40, Rain Loads and Ponding provides guidance for the design of roof systems to avoid or resist water accumulation and any resulting instability. It includes an in-depth review of rain loads and ponding effects to help design professionals properly and efficiently design for ponding on roofs constructed with structural steel, open web steel joists, and joist girders.

Courtney Lilly learned to trust her intuition and maximize her resources from a young age. And at the Southern New Jersey Steel fabrication shop, where Lilly, 28, heads the quality assurance and quality control division, it pays to be intuitive--and knowing your stuff doesn’t hurt either.

Although she spends most days ensuring layouts and fit-ups are up to standard and making sure no beam goes unfabricated, Lilly, a certified welder, always keeps a face shield and gloves at the ready.

“I’ll jump in and help the guys weld if we’re tight on a deadline,” Lilly says. 

U.S. Steel and CarbonFree, a leader in carbon capture technology, announced an agreement to capture carbon emissions generated from U. S. Steel’s Gary Works blast furnaces using CarbonFree’s SkyCycle technology.

The first-of-its-kind project will capture and mineralize up to 50,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year, equivalent to emissions produced by nearly 12,000 passenger cars annually, and could be expanded in the coming years.

“Innovating to capture carbon at an integrated mill is the latest example of how steel is enabling a more sustainable future,” said Scott Buckiso, U.S. Steel Senior Vice President & Chief Manufacturing Officer. “Moreover, U.S. Steel has a history of ‘firsts’ that we’re confidently building on. Using SkyCycle technology for the first project of its kind in North America should benefit the community for generations to come.”

The replacement of the Francis Scott Key Bridge is a critical need for the City and Port of Baltimore--indeed, for this entire nation. Fortunately, the steel industry has the experience, expertise, material, and ability to quickly get the job done.

President Biden boldly called for it to be replaced with American steel--and our nation’s steel industry is ready and able to answer the call. Our steel mills are already producing the plates and shapes that will be needed. Our steel fabricators and erectors are skilled and capable to make the parts and put them in place. Quickly. They’ve done it before and have systems that work.

Many bridge design experts believe a cable-stayed bridge will allow the fastest and most serviceable solution. A number of recent projects show how useful and practical this style of steel solution is: the Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge, the Gordie Howe International Bridge, the Lewis and Clark Bridge in Kentucky, the Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge, the John James Audubon Bridge in Louisiana, and the Kosciuszko Bridge in NYC, to name a few examples.

For Malik Anees, moving from Pakistan to the U.S. meant trading environmental science research and academic journal recognition for a career in quality inspection at Owen Steel. The transition wasn’t easy: in choosing a path with more opportunity, Anees, 35, left behind an established life and an immersive field of study.

“Everything has changed,” Anees says. “I wish I could do the same thing over here, but I’m happy to still be in a related field. A couple of friends of mine were in this industry, and they motivated me. I was lucky to get an opportunity like this with better money. That’s why I chose it.”

AISC is now accepting nominations for its T.R. Higgins Lectureship Award, which includes a $15,000 cash prize. The annual award recognizes a lecturer-author whose technical paper(s) are considered an outstanding contribution to engineering literature on fabricated structural steel.

"Theodore R. Higgins made invaluable contributions to the advancement of engineering, both as AISC's director of engineering and research and through his technical papers and lectures," said AISC's current Vice President of Engineering and Research, Christopher Raebel, SE, PE, PhD. "The T.R. Higgins Lectureship Award is a fitting way to honor that legacy and continue the spirit of innovation that he embodied."

Today’s architecture students are community-minded and forward-thinking--and their work deserves to come to life.

The American Institute of Steel Construction’s Education Foundation has awarded three grants from its inaugural Design-Build Grant Program, which promotes the use of structural steel in student-designed projects that will benefit the local community--followed by the construction of those designs by the students in hands-on activities or in partnership with a fabricator.

Freddie Claudio has been working since he was 12 years old.

When Claudio, 63, took a grinding and painting job at Southern New Jersey Steel in 1984 after retiring as a U.S. Marine Corps aircraft mechanic, he would have been content to take any job that would have him. It was a bad time for industry, and hardly anyone was hiring, but SNJS took a chance on him, he says.

"All I did was walk through the door--I was not [specifically] looking for steel work," Claudio recalls. "They asked why they should hire me, and I said, 'I like work. Give me an opportunity, and if it doesn't work out, we’ll shake hands. No harm, no foul.' I started out grinding for $3.85 an hour--that was minimum wage at the time."

Various news stories about the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse have discussed the design and noted it included fracture critical steel members, which are more correctly known today as Nonredundant Steel Tension Members (NSTMs).

Broadly speaking, the public misunderstands what this technical language means, and it is commonly incorrectly covered in the press as being a deficiency. Expert engineers at the National Steel Bridge Alliance and the American Institute of Steel Construction are available to the press to provide background.

The American Institute of Steel Construction is accepting nominations for its award programs that honor people who make a difference in the world of design and construction.

"Steel is a special material--and the people in our industry are responsible for its impact on how people live, work, and play," said AISC President Charles J. Carter, SE, PE, PhD. "AISC is honored to provide a well-deserved spotlight for their achievements."

Each year, AISC recognizes exceptional industry professionals, designers, and educators with Lifetime and Special Achievement Awards. AISC also presents the Terry Peshia Early Career Faculty Awards to tenure-track faculty who demonstrate exceptional promise in the areas of structural steel research, teaching, and other contributions to the structural steel industry.

Jim Rossberg, ASCE’s former managing director for engineering programs, died unexpectedly in late March. He was 65.

Rossberg significantly impacted ASCE and the engineering profession in his 30 years with the society. He joined ASCE as a full-time staff member in 1993 and remained there until his retirement in October 2022. In 1997, he was instrumental in the creation of the Structural Engineering Institute (SEI), one of ASCE’s first two institutes. He initially joined ASCE as part of the Civil Engineering Research Foundation and was the marketing manager for the Highway Innovative Technology Evaluation Center.

Later, ASCE named Rossberg its director of codes and standards. He grew ASCE’s standards program from 10 standards when he began the job to more than 50 when he shifted titles.

The American Institute of Steel Construction Education Foundation will soon expand its Undergraduate Research Fellowship program thanks to a generous contribution of $200,000 from Dennis R. McCartney of B&B Welding Company, Inc.

This gift will allow the Education Foundation to offer larger awards for projects with a broader array of timeframes. Applications are now open and the deadline is Friday, April 26.

The expanded fellowship program honors Dennis McCartney's father, the late Ernest J. McCartney, who founded B&B Welding Company, Inc. in 1971, and accordingly awards will now be called the AISC Ernest J. McCartney/B&B Welding Company, Inc. Undergraduate Research Fellowships.

Design professionals now have a vastly improved resource for the design of hollow structural section (HSS) connections in the new second edition of AISC Design Guide 24, Hollow Structural Section Connections, authored by Jeffrey Packer, PEng, PhD, DSc, professor in the University of Toronto’s Department of Civil and Mineral Engineering, and Kimberley Olson, PE, director of Nucor’s Construction Solutions Group.

Design Guide 24, 2nd Ed. is available for download at aisc.org/dg. Like all digital design guides, it is free for AISC members.

This latest update to the AISC design guide series greatly expands upon the background and commentary for each HSS connection. These thorough explanations of the relevant limit states and the experimental results for each connection provide invaluable insight into the rationale behind each connection design procedure.

The latest version of American Institute of Steel Construction's Standard for Certification Programs (AISC 207-23) is now available for free download on AISC’s website.

The latest edition will continue to serve as the go-to reference for the AISC Certification program, setting the quality level for structural steel fabricators and erectors. It has been approved by the Certification Standards Committee and AISC’s Board of Directors. It will take effect for current program participants and applicants for audits on or after June 1, 2024, superseding the 2020 version.

A stunning steel shade structure intended for the trailhead of the Razorback Greenway in Northwest Arkansas has taken the top award in the American Institute of Steel Construction’s 2024 Forge Prize.

The Forge Prize, established by The American Institute of Steel Construction in 2018, recognizes visionary emerging architects, architecture educators, and graduate students for design concepts that embrace innovations in steel as a primary structural component. The Mile Zero design team will reprise and expand on their presentation as part of the Architecture in Steel specialty conference at NASCC: The Steel Conference in San Antonio, March 20 at 10:15 a.m.

Innovation abounds in the structural steel industry, and the American Institute of Steel Construction is honoring 10 leaders in the design, construction industry, and education fields at this year’s NASCC: The Steel Conference.

“It’s getting crowded on the cutting edge,” said AISC President Charles J. Carter, SE, PE, PhD. “These 10 people have made extraordinary contributions to the present--and future--of America’s built environment.”

The presentations will take place at 8:00 a.m. Central on Wednesday, March 20, during the opening session of NASCC: The Steel Conference in San Antonio. AISC will also present its highest design honor, the J. Lloyd Kimbrough Award, to Michael A. Grubb, PE; the T.R. Higgins Lectureship Award to Benjamin W. Schafer, PE, PhD; and the Milek Fellowship to Mohannad Zeyad (M.Z.) Naser, PE, PhD. 2024 Lifetime Achievement Awards

Nima Balasubramanian, Registered Architect, has joined the American Institute of Steel Construction as the Institute's first director of market development for architecture.

Balasubramanian will lead the development of AISC initiatives for steel architecture design, research, and innovation as the Institute works to build resources for and partnerships within the architecture community. She will lead a team of architects at AISC’s forthcoming architecture center, which will serve designers as the ultimate resource for all things structural.

Can't join the thousands of steel industry professionals gathering in San Antonio next month for NASCC: The Steel Conference?

Great news: You can tune in live from your home or office! Choose from more than 50 streaming sessions to get the must-have, practical information conference attendees rely on through AISC's popular NASCC Online streaming service, which returns March 20 to 22!

NASCC Online participants can earn PDHs for live-streamed sessions, and they get access to the session archives after the conference, as well.

AISC is honoring more than 180 structural steel fabricators and erectors with a Safety Award for their outstanding safety records in 2023.

The majority of this year’s Safety Award recipients will get the Safety Award of Honor, AISC's top safety honor.

"Avoiding accidents is not an accident," said AISC Senior Director of Engineering Tom Schlafly. "Structural steel fabrication shops and construction sites are busy places with many activities occurring simultaneously. Skill, experience, and planning are required to accomplish those activities safely. AISC is proud of those companies whose employees worked through 2023 with few or no Days Away, Restricted, or Transfer (DART) injuries."

The AISC Education Foundation is pleased to announce that Degenkolb Engineers’ Ahmad Hassan has received the second-ever Reidar Bjorhovde Outstanding Young Professional Award.

Hassan graduated from the University of California, Davis, with his PhD in structural engineering in December 2022. Shortly thereafter, he went to work at Degenkolb Engineers.

He will kick off his upcoming year of steel industry exposure in March at NASCC: The Steel Conference, where he will receive recognition and connect with industry leaders and peers. Later this year, Hassan will visit a structural steel mill and fabrication shop to get an up-close look at the process before joining AISC at its November Task Committee meetings in Chicago.

AISC will present the J. Lloyd Kimbrough Award--which recognizes the pre-eminent steel designers of their era--to bridge industry legend Michael A. Grubb, PE, executive director at M.A. Grubb & Assoc., LLC.

Grubb is just the 13th person to receive the Kimbrough Award since 1941. Previous recipients include Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Fazlur R. Khan, Leslie E. Robertson, John Kulicki, and, most recently, David I. Ruby.

"It’s hard to overstate Mike's contribution to American infrastructure over his career," said AISC President Charles J. Carter, SE, PE, PhD. "He's been a relentless contributor, and nobody can communicate the big picture and the details behind it better. AISC is proud to recognize his accomplishments."

Jim Harris, W&W | AFCO Steel's senior vice president for bridge contracts, died February 6 while on a business trip in Alabama. He was 63.

Harris was a regular presenter at National Steel Bridge Alliance (NSBA) steel bridge forums throughout the country. He also frequently spoke at the World Steel Bridge Symposium, held annually at NASCC: The Steel Conference. He represented W&W | AFCO at many steel bridge industry meetings and was an involved industry partner.

The Steel Erectors Association of America (SEAA) will hold its Convention and Trade Show April 2-5, 2024, in Glendale, Ariz. at The Renaissance Phoenix Glendale Hotel & Spa. The event will feature several education sessions, networking opportunities, the George R. Pocock Memorial Golf Tournament, a pickleball tournament, and more.

“Attending and exhibiting at SEAA’s convention is an investment in time and money, but members tell us that participation makes it possible to meet people and learn about industry trends and products that will shape your company for the future,” said Kathy Epperson, SEAA events and digital content manager.

In the light-filled rotunda of the Milwaukee School of Engineering's (MSOE) Grohmann Museum, eight stained-glass windows tell an evolutionary story. Each colorful panel depicts a gritty moment in industrial history, from early blacksmithing and quarrying to one of the first iterations of metallurgical engineering--and each echoes a masterwork housed in the museum's galleries.

"These works are at once fine art and documents of the history of technology," Museum Director James Kieselburg said. "We can see exactly what iron smelting looked like in 1600."

Everyone is talking about collaboration these days, but is everyone on your project team defining it the same way?

AISC and AIA Contract Documents have just released the second part of a document intended to provide guidance for three common strategies: informal involvement, design assist, and delegated design. Part II focuses on the implementation of design assist in the fabricated structural steel industry.

Duane Miller, the leading authority on structural welding and a previous recipient of the AISC Robert P. Stupp Award for Leadership Excellence recipient, has added another honor to his already lengthy list: membership in the National Academy of Engineering (NAE).

Miller was elected on February 6 in recognition of his contributions to engineering “for design, fabrication, and performance of welded structural steel connections and for contributions to welding education.” He will be inducted during a ceremony at the NAE Annual Meeting September 29 to 30, 2024.

A stunning steel space frame to kickstart a day of adventure. A series of glass boxes that seem to hang in the sky while uniting a community. A sustainable shade system that uses steel tubes for water capture.

These three projects are finalists for AISC’s 2024 Forge Prize. One of these projects will win $10,000. But which one?

The Forge Prize, established by The American Institute of Steel Construction in 2018, recognizes visionary emerging architects, architecture educators, and graduate students for design concepts that embrace innovations in steel as a primary structural component. The three finalists now move to the final stage, which features a live presentation of their ideas on youtube.com/@aisc.

A draft of the next edition of the AISC Specification for Safety-Related Steel Structures for Nuclear Facilities (AISC N690) is available for public review until March 18, 2024. This is a planned revision to the 2018 edition of the standard and will supersede the 2018 version.

Innovation abounds in the steel bridge industry, but eight recent bridges rise above the rest.

The American Institute of Steel Construction and the National Steel Bridge Alliance are recognizing these eight bridges with 2024 Prize Bridge Awards--the structural steel industry’s highest design honor for bridges.

"Steel bridges have connected American communities for centuries," said NSBA Senior Director for Market Development Jeff Carlson, PE. "This year’s Prize Bridge Award winners continue that proud tradition and showcase the innovation--at all scales, from showcase bridges to local lifelines--that will keep Americans moving for centuries to come."

Gerdau has improved how it powers one of its biggest U.S. mills while making steel even more sustainable.

The company recently completed the construction of a solar farm next to its steel mill in Midlothian, Texas. The plant started providing power to the steel mill in summer 2023 and was built in partnership with 174 Power Global, a leading solar energy company, and TotalEnergies, a global multi-energy company.

Project teams across the country continue to push the boundaries with structural steel. This year, there are six projects that you need to know about.

They’re this year’s winners of the structural steel industry’s highest design honor: the Innovative Design in Engineering and Architecture with Structural Steel (or IDEAS²) Awards, presented by the American Institute of Steel Construction.

"In previous years, the jury has considered projects in budget-based categories, but innovation comes in projects of all scales and sizes," said AISC Senior Vice President Scott Melnick. "This year's jury set out to find the projects that take full advantage of the specific benefits like sustainability, cost, speed, reliability, and resilience that make structural steel the best choice for designers--and they succeeded."

Renowned engineering professor and researcher Wallace Sanders, PhD, died January 6. He was 90.

Sanders taught in the Iowa State University Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering for 34 years until his retirement in 1998. He was a passionate advocate for engineering education, with an emphasis on steel bridge design. He had many roles during his Iowa State tenure: professor; associate professor; assistant and associate director of the Engineering Research Institute for 11 years; associate dean of the College of Engineering for three years; director of the Iowa Space Grant Consortium for four years; and interim assistant vice provost for research and graduate students.

At engineering firms, fabrication shops, and erectors across the country, new project managers are tackling novel challenges every day.

AISC’s new three-year Career Accelerator Program with Steel (or CAPS) is designed to help them hone their leadership skills while building valuable connections with other project managers throughout the structural steel industry.

Applications for the inaugural cohort are due February 15, 2024.

After 30 years of working in membership strategy, Charmaine Osborne knows what draws people in, what brings them together, and what keeps them around.

And she has brought that experience to her role as AISC’s new membership director, providing fresh insights on how AISC can connect with its members and best serve their needs.

Charmaine joins us from the American Society for Health Care Engineering of the American Hospital Association, where she spearheaded membership programs and served as chair of the Diversity and Inclusion Council. Just two weeks into her new role at AISC, Charmaine sat down with Kate Duby, AISC’s communications content specialist, to share her thoughts on membership, what she’s most looking forward to, and more.

San Antonio is the place to be this March for everyone involved in the design or construction of steel buildings and bridges!

Register today to get the best price on the industry’s top education event, featuring more than 250 sessions full of must-have practical information that you can implement as soon as you get home, an exhibit hall packed with more than 280 innovations you need to know about right now, and a chance to network with thousands of the nation’s preeminent designers, fabricators, erectors, and educators! The 2024 NASCC: The Steel Conference, scheduled for March 20-22 in San Antonio, is expected to attract nearly 7,000 participants.

Engineering icon Charles Thornton died December 12 following a brief illness. He was 83.

Thornton’s career in structural engineering spanned more than 60 years, and its highlights included serving as chair and CEO of Thornton Tomasetti and founding the ACE Mentor Program of America. He retired from Thornton Tomasetti in 2004, but held an advisory role for several years afterward. He also served as chairman of the Charles H. Thornton Company, LLC, a management and strategic consulting firm, following his retirement from Thornton Tomasetti.

“Charlie Thornton was driven to succeed,” said AISC President Charles J. Carter, SE, PE, PhD. “He did so in many ways, but the most poignant one for me comes from the story he told me about how he used to dislike public speaking. He didn’t just overcome that—he became a generational voice in our profession.”

AISC has awarded the 2024 Milek Fellowship to a researcher working toward bringing automation to the steel design process.

Mohannad Z. (M.Z.) Naser of Clemson University has earned the fellowship, which is given out annually by the AISC Committee on Research, for his research proposal “SteelGPT: Automating Structural Design of Steel Structures.” Naser aims to use artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to create a virtual assistant named SteelGPT that will help enhance the steel design process.