Last week New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced that his state will continue its second year of artificial reef expansion using recycled materials. Steel from the Staten Island Expressway, Erie Canal, and the Kew Gardens and Kosciuszko Bridges will be strategically placed at the Fire Island reef near Long Island. 

The National Steel Bridge Alliance (NSBA) recently collaborated with Bridges to Prosperity (B2P), a nonprofit organization that builds footbridges in isolated communities across the world, to build a bridge in Azurduy, Bolivia.

The Steel Erectors Association of America (SEAA) announced that four new companies have joined its network of Craft Training providers. The program provides SEAA member companies access to nationally recognized credentials for ironworkers. There are now 26 training units throughout the U.S.

The American Institute of Steel Construction recently recognized Theodore (Ted) V. Galambos for his outstanding service to the organization on the occasion of his 90th birthday.

The Steel Joist Institute is hosting a webinar on July 17th: "Retrofitting of Existing Buildings With Steel Joists." The webinar will cover examples of joists needing to be retrofitted, methods to evaluate existing open-web steel joists and joist girders for revised loading conditions, and how to modify existing open-web joists. 

Architect Philip Freelon passed away Tuesday after a long fight with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease. Freelon served as lead architect for the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) on Washington’s National Mall, a 2017 IDEAS2 Awards winner. 

Srinivasa "Hal" Iyengar, known for his work on Chicago's John Hancock Center (now known as 875 North Michigan Avenue) and the Sears (now Willis) Tower, passed away last Thursday at the age of 85.

Every two years the National Steel Bridge Alliance (NSBA) honors outstanding and innovative steel bridges constructed in the U.S. via the Prize Bridge Awards. Prize Bridges showcase the beauty and efficiency of steel among some of America’s most breathtaking locales.

The Steel Erectors Association of America (SEAA) recently named the winners of its Project of the Year competition. SEAA presents the awards to one job in each of the four steel contract value classes. An independent panel of judges chose winners that showcased expertise in difficult projects while maintaining safe worksites.

Gregory G. Deierlein, PhD, PE, was recently named a Distinguished Member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), a high honor among civil engineers.

Jonathan Humble, FAIA, was recently recognized with both the ASHRAE Distinguished Service Award and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Committee Service Award.

The third quarter 2019 issue of AISC's Engineering Journal is now available at aisc.org/ej. You can view, download, and print the current edition.

Allianz Field has elevated the American professional soccer experience. Minnesota United’s stunning, sophisticated new soccer stadium is encapsulated by a complex web of steel wrapped in a first-of-its-kind translucent, tear-resistant skin. 

Have you recently worked on an innovative project featuring structural steel? We want to know all about it. AISC is looking for the next generation of great American landmarks built with structural steel--and our 2020 IDEAS2 Awards are now open for entries! 

Launched in 1928, AISC's Prize Bridge Awards competition was established to recognize and showcase the beauty of steel bridges across America.

The historic first award went to the Sixth Street Bridge in Pittsburgh, as it embodied innovation in the steel bridge industry at the time.

AISC is now accepting nominations for its T.R. Higgins Lectureship Award.

John William Bailey, president of Prospect Steel, a division of Lexicon, Inc., in Little Rock, Ark., and an AISC Board Member, passed away this past Sunday at the age of 66 after a brief fight with cancer.

PND Engineers, Inc., founded in Anchorage, Alaska, in 1979, celebrates its 40th anniversary this year--only 20 years after Alaska became a state. The company has designed countless projects in its four decades, including three NSBA Prize Bridge Award winners.

As part of Infrastructure Week 2019, a free one-hour webinar, "Experimental and Field Testing of Press-Brake-Formed Shallow Steel Tub Girders," is being offered on Thursday, May 16, 2019, from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. EDT.

What do a glass box with a massive laptop for a roof, a restaurant building encased in mind-bending red grid, and a trio of giant foliage-filled bubbles all have in common? Not only are they all iconic steel-framed structures, they're also winners of 2019 AISC IDEAS² Awards!

Robert Connor, Ph.D., a professor at Purdue University's Lyles School of Engineering and a renowned expert on the fatigue and fracture of steel bridges, was recently ratified as Purdue's Jack and Kay Hockema Professor in Civil Engineering, one of the school's named faculty positions.

Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) warned that the combination of record-low numbers of unemployed job seekers and high weekly hour averages could point to a potential shortage of skilled workers. The group analyzed government employment data from March 2019.

The new Frances "Fanny" Appleton Bridge, named for the second wife of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, is appropriately adjacent to Boston's historic Longfellow Bridge.

The second quarter 2019 issue of AISC's Engineering Journal is now available at www.aisc.org/ej. You can view, download, and print the current edition.

What's the next best thing to attending this week's NASCC: The Steel Conference? Streaming the sessions live on your computer or in your conference room. 

Patriot Erectors, an AISC member and certified fabricator and erector, has acquired the assets of Trinity Steel Fabricators, also an AISC member and certified fabricator. The move more than doubles Patriot Erectors' existing 75,000 sq. ft of fabrication space, adding an additional 85,000 sq. ft.

SteelFab, Inc., an AISC Full Member, recently announced that it has acquired a majority interest in L&M Industrial Fabrication. This acquisition will expand SteelFab's capabilities to better serve clients on the West Coast.

Welding equipment manufacturer Lincoln Electric has been recognized by the Ethisphere Institute, an organization that defines and measures corporate ethical standards, as one of the "World's Most Ethical Companies" for the second consecutive year and is the only honoree in the Machine Tools and Accessories industry category.

The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) will celebrate its 50th anniversary in its home city of Chicago, where it will also hold its 10th World Congress, October 29 through November 2, 2019. As part of this event, CTBUH and the Society of Architectural Historians (SAH) will host a one-day symposium on Thursday, October 31. 

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) has published an update to the popular handbook Becoming Leaders: A Practical Handbook for Women in Engineering, Science and Technology, written by  F. Mary Williams and Carolyn Emerson. 

If you're going to put a multi-story pendulum in a building, you're obviously going to show it off. And what better way to do so than by putting it next to an eye-catching staircase -- steel-framed, of course! To continue reading this and other articles in the March 2019 edition of Modern Steel Construction magazine, click here.

Want a look into the creative minds of today's engineering students (and tomorrow's engineers)? Join us in the exhibit hall on Wednesday, April 3, at NASCC: The Steel Conference in St. Louis to view demos from some of this year's Student Steel Bridge Competition participants.  

The Steel Erectors Association of American (SEAA) is hosting this year's annual convention and trade show in Charlotte, N.C., April 24-26, at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Charlotte-Concord Golf Resort and Spa.

AISC has recently honored more than 60 structural steel fabrication and erection companies with AISC Safety Awards for their excellent safety performance records in 2018. Awards are given in the categories of "Fabricator" and "Erector" and include the Safety Award of Honor—AISC's top safety award, presented for a perfect safety record of no disabling injuries—as well as the Safety Certificate of Merit and the Safety Certificate of Commendation.

Cives Steel Company, an AISC full member fabricator, recently purchased 25 acres of land in El Mirage, Ariz., with plans to establish a new fabrication facility.

NASCC: The Steel Conference is the premier educational event for steel design and construction professionals, with nearly 150 sessions and plenty of opportunities to earn professional development hour (PDH) credits. In fact, you can earn up to 17 PDHs (defined as one contact hour of instruction, presentation or study) plus an additional 12 PDHs if you participate in optional short courses. 

Skilled trade workers are difficult to find and this shortage is expected to continue rising. By 2025 an estimated two million manufacturing jobs will go unfilled. In a recent effort to work towards solving this problem, the Skilled Trades Coalition (STC) was formed.

The Steel Market Development Institute's (SMDI) Steel Bridge Task Force has named Ed Wasserman, senior engineer of bridge design and engineering at Modjeski and Masters, as the recipient of the 2019 Richard S. Fountain Award.

Eight leaders from across the structural steel design, construction and academic communities will be presented with prestigious awards by the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) at the 2019  NASCC: The Steel Conference (April 3-5 in St. Louis). AISC awards honor significant individuals who have made a difference in the success of the fabricated structural steel industry. Whether it's for an innovative design, an insightful technical paper or a lifetime of outstanding service, an AISC award bestows prestige and well-deserved recognition upon its recipient.

With so many seminars running concurrently at NASCC: The Steel Conference, it can be tough to select the one that's right for you. So we've created tracks, based on topics and areas of focus, to help you find the seminars you're most interested in. 

AISC is seeking volunteers for the Student Steel Bridge Competition's Regional Events and National Finals. The SSBC has been one of AISC's most educational and impactful programs for college students for more than 30 years. And you can be a part of it!  

Want to learn more about steel joists? Register for the Steel Joist Institute's (SJI) 90-minute webinar, "Properly Specifying Steel Joists," taking place February 20.

The new Spectrum IV facility lives and breathes science, for the purpose of saving lives. The building serves as the new base of operations in San Diego for Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a global company that develops transformative medicines for people with serious and life-threatening diseases. 

Just a friendly reminder to join us on February 13 for a fascinating discussion about reconstruction following the 2010-2011 Canterbury, New Zealand, earthquakes.

Drumroll please… Announcing the 2019 IDEAS²  winners, showcasing the best structural steel projects this year! The Innovative Design in Engineering and Architecture with Structural Steel awards program is conducted annually by AISC, and is the highest honor bestowed on building projects by the U.S. structural steel industry, recognizing excellence and innovation in the use of structural steel on building projects across the country.

What do you do when an anchor rod hole is misplaced? Or the columns aren't plumb? Don't you hate when that happens? More importantly, what can you do to prevent these problems from occurring in the first place?

Vicki O'Leary became an ironworker in 1985 at age 21 and after being offered a job by a Chicago apprenticeship coordinator, she embarked on a 20-year construction trade career. "I'm not going to pretend it was easy, because it wasn't," says O'Leary, who worked on projects from O'Hare International Airport to McCormick Place convention center, always seeking opportunities to learn.

The Structural Stability Research Council's (SSRC) annual Stability Conference will again be held in conjunction with NASCC: The Steel Conference, as it has been since 2001. In addition to 13 sessions featuring more than 30 papers, the conference includes the 2018 Beedle Award (honoring the late Lynn S. Beedle) and MAJR (McGuire Award for Junior Researchers, established to recognize promising young researchers in structural stability) Medal presentations.

Look up! It's a bird, it's a plane! No, it's a drone, coming to a steel bridge near you.

The bridge-building challenge has been thrown down and accepted by hundreds of engineering students across the country. Regional competitions--17 in all, involving around 2,500 students on approximately 200 school bridge teams--will soon be under way for this year's annual Student Steel Bridge Competition (SSBC), sponsored by AISC. Forty teams, comprised of the top few finishers from the regional competitions, will move on to the 2019 National Finals.