AISC’s awards celebrate steel industry innovators, educators

by Christopher Brinckerhoff | May 7, 2024 6:00 am

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The American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC)[2] recognized outstanding individuals who are driving the present and future of structural steel design and construction. The institute presented the honors during the NASCC: The Steel Conference in San Antonio.

The institute’s highest design honor, the J. Lloyd Kimbrough Award, honors engineers and architects who are universally recognized as the pre-eminent steel designers of their era. This prestigious award is presented to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the structural steel industry through his or her design work. Michael Grubb, PE, of M.A. Grubb and Associates, is the 13th person to receive the Kimbrough Award since its inception in 1941.

Lifetime Achievement Awards honor living individuals (industry members, designers, or educators) who have made a difference in the success of AISC and the structural steel industry. This year’s Lifetime Achievement Award recipients are:

• Senior engineer Heather Gilmer, PE, of Pennoni, for her significant contributions to the steel bridge industry
• President Robert Shaw, Jr, PE, of Steel Structures Technology Center Inc., for his work educating designers and fabricators on bolting and welding, his creation of the Student Steel Bridge Competition, and his continuing work on numerous AISC and industry committees
• Professor of civil engineering Ronald Ziemian, PE, Ph.D., of Bucknell University, for his contributions to AISC and the structural steel industry through his research, teaching, service on committees, his speaking engagements, and his many articles and papers on the stability of steel structures.

A Special Achievement Award provides special recognition to living individuals (industry members, designers, or educators) who have demonstrated notable singular or multiple achievements in structural steel design, construction, research, or education. Recipients include:

• Caroline Bennett, PE, Ph.D., Charles E. and Mary Jane Spahr professor and chair at University of Kansas, for advancing knowledge about the behavior of hot-dipped galvanized steel structures.
• Iowa State University James L. and Katherine S. Melsa dean of engineering W. Samuel Easterling, PE, Ph.D., for steel diaphragm innovation initiative (SDII) research that drove impactful changes to standards governing the use of metal deck diaphragms in steel structures.
• Virginia Tech professor Matthew Eatherton, SE, Ph.D., for SDII research that drove impactful changes to standards governing the use of metal deck diaphragms in steel structures.
• Jerome Hajjar, PE, Ph.D., CDM Smith professor and department chair at Northeastern University, for SDII research that drove impactful changes to standards governing the use of metal deck diaphragms in steel structures.
• Johns Hopkins University Hackerman professor of civil and systems engineering Benjamin Schafer, PE, Ph.D., for SDII research that drove impactful changes to standards governing the use of metal deck diaphragms in steel structures.

The Terry Peshia Early Career Faculty Award provides recognition to individuals who demonstrate promise in the areas of structural steel research, teaching, and/or other contributions to the structural steel industry. Recipients include:

• Onur Avci, PE, Ph.D., assistant professor and Herbert P. Dripps faculty fellow at West Virginia University, for exceptional promise and continued excellence in structural steel research, teaching, and service to the industry.
• Assistant professor Machel Morrison, Ph.D., of University of California, San Diego, for exceptional promise and continued excellence in structural steel research, teaching, and service to the industry.

The Milek Fellowship is a four-year, financial award presented annually to a promising non-tenured university faculty member. The 2024 Milek Fellow, Clemson University’s Mohannad Zeyad (M.Z.) Naser, PE, Ph.D., was recognized for research intended to use artificial intelligence and machine learning to create a virtual assistant named SteelGPT to enhance the steel design process.

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