American Institute of Steel Construction

Chicago museum visitors have a new opportunity to hear steelworkers' oral histories, learn about metallurgy, and interact with historic steel specimens! This month, Chicago’s Griffin Museum of Science and Industry debuted ‘Steelmakers,’ an exhibit of wide-ranging artifacts and oral histories that highlights the ubiquity and sustainability of steel in the present and the future. Among the treasures on display are beams from Chicago’s Home Insurance Building (1885-1931), considered the world’s first skyscraper! Our puzzle of the week is the next best thing to seeing these beams in person--assemble it at aisc.org/puzzles. Find out more about ‘Steelmakers’ at https://lnkd.in/gHYarGcZ.

Calling all educators: Join us for a free workshop July 15-17 in Chicago! The 2025 Engineering Educator Workshop will cover course planning, maximizing student engagement, and how to get the most out of AISC’s education resources. We’ll even take you on a steel field trip! The workshop is free and intended for educators with fewer than seven years of experience teaching steel design. AISC provides complimentary lodging and up to $800 in travel assistance to participants. Apply by April 28! aisc.org/eng-ed-workshop

Here’s a new public review opportunity! A draft of the next edition of the AISC Seismic Provisions for Structural Steel Buildings (AISC 341) is now available for public review and comment. The new draft includes updates to the seismic width-to-thickness limits for braces and columns, revised design requirements for special truss moment frames, and changes to the detailing requirements for base connections of composite plate shear wall systems. Download the draft and submit your review by April 16! aisc.org/publicreview

In case you missed it yesterday, architect Ho-gyum Kim, RA of CZS won the 2025 Forge Prize for “Growing Rowhouses”! The concept turns underutilized space in rear yards of single-family rowhouses into new communities. Kim’s modular structural steel system creates duplex units with minimal touchdown and semi-private outdoor yards. Kim partnered with Ralph Barone of Barone Steel in Brooklyn, N.Y. to optimize the design. Visit forgeprize.com to read more about the design and catch a replay of yesterday’s final presentations on YouTube. You can also see him present the concept at NASCC: The Steel Conference! Congratulations to Kim and the two fantastic Forge Prize runners-up!

No plane ticket? No problem! You can tune in to some of the most popular NASCC: The Steel Conference sessions from your home or office! Our popular NASCC Online option, which returns April 2 to 4, features more than 60 streaming sessions with must-have, practical information you can put into practice immediately. Plus, you can earn up to 13 PDHs for attending the live-streamed sessions! Registration starts at just $225 for members--and firms can take advantage of group discounts. Visit aisc.org/nascc-online to see the full lineup and register today.

Georgia Tech PhD student Hannah Kessler has an exciting year ahead of her--including facility tours, task committee meetings, and a trip to NASCC: The Steel Conference! As the 2025 recipient of the AISC Education Foundation’s Reidar Bjorhovde Outstanding Young Professional Award, Kessler will connect with opportunities, resources, and mentors that will propel her career as a structural engineering faculty member. Find out more about Kessler and AISC’s young professional award at aisc.org/kessler-bjorhovde.

What are you up to at noon Central today? Join us live at youtube.com/@aisc to watch the final presentations and live judging of AISC’s conceptual architecture competition, the Forge Prize! Three visionary designs--in their refined forms--are going head-to-head, and only one will win the $10,000 grand prize! Will the winner be a modular housing solution? A foldable living wall planter system? Or a pedestrian bridge that brings visitors close to the surface of a lake? Read up on each project at forgeprize.com, then tune in later to celebrate the winner with us!

David L. Hirschfeld, the former president of Hirschfeld Industries and a longtime member of the AISC Board of Directors, died February 28 at the age of 88. Under Hirschfeld's leadership, the eponymous firm, which was acquired by W&W|AFCO Steel in 2018, grew to 16 facilities with 1,300 employees and more than 3 million sq. ft. under roof in 2002, when he retired. Read more about Hirschfeld and his legacy at aisc.org/hirschfeld.

Join us Thursday for a free webinar that explores local buckling in structural steel--and earn 1.0 PDH for participating! Benjamin Schafer, PhD, of The Johns Hopkins University will present the 2024 T.R. Higgins Lecture live on March 20 at 12:30 p.m. Central. He will discuss the origins of local buckling in civil structures and how engineers harnessed the best theory of the time to understand and control local buckling. Then Schafer will reveal the simple ideas that underpin local buckling limits in current structural design, along with possibilities for harnessing local buckling to create new thin efficient solutions for the future. Save your spot today! aisc.org/schafer-webinar

By turning galvanized sheet metal scrap into a living wall planter system, one Forge Prize finalist design is bringing steel’s circular economy to life--literally! The University of Texas A&M’s Ahmed Ali won $5,000 for the concept “Transforming Galvanized Sheetmetal Waste Streams into a Modular Living Wall Planter System,” which involves folding and assembling steel elements that would normally be cleaned and recycled. Spend some time with Ali’s design by completing our puzzle of the week at aisc.org/puzzles! Mark your calendar for next Thursday (March 18) at noon Central to watch the three 2025 Forge Prize finalists go head to head--with $10,000 at stake--on our YouTube channel (youtube.com/@aisc). Will the winner be this foldable living wall system? A modular housing solution? Or a pedestrian bridge that brings visitors close to the surface of a lake? You won’t want to miss the results!