The Robert P. Stupp Award for Leadership Excellence is given in special recognition to individuals who have provided unparalleled leadership in the steel construction industry. This prestigious award honors those who, through their leadership, have had an outstanding impact on advancing the use of structural steel in the construction industry. 

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About the nomination process

Guidelines 

The selection panel will consider the individual's:

• outstanding impact on the advancement of the use of structural steel
• service to the steel construction industry
• recognition by other steel industry groups
• respect and recognition by his/her peers within the steel construction industry
• acknowledgment as having reached the pinnacle of success within the steel construction industry
• demonstrated innovation and originality in providing leadership to the steel construction industry
• Please note: Nominees must be living at the time they are nominated

Also, because of the prestigious nature of this award, it is expected that this award will not be presented annually; rather, it will only be awarded when the selection panel believes that an individual has demonstrated leadership head-and-shoulders above others within the steel construction industry.

Please note, individuals are not eligible while they are voting members of the AISC Board of Directors.

How to Enter

Keep an eye out in mid-2025 for the next nomination period for the 2026 Industry, Designer, and Educator Awards.

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Past Recipients 

2023
David Zalesne, President, Owen Steel Company, Columbia, S.C.

2017
Roger E. Ferch, PE, Former President, American Institute of Steel Construction, Chicago

2016
Duane K. Miller, Sc.D, The Lincoln Electric Company, Cleveland

2012
Daniel R. DiMicco, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Nucor Corporation, Charlotte, N.C.

2009
Robert E. Owen, Chairman & CEO, Paxton & Vierling Steel Company, Carter Lake, IA; Missouri Valley Steel Company, Sioux City, Iowa; Lincoln Structural Solutions, Lincoln, Neb.; Owen Industries

Terry Peshia, Chairman & CEO, Garbe Iron Works, Inc., Aurora, Ill.

2005
H. Louis Gurthet, President, American Institute of Steel Construction, Inc., Chicago

2002
Robert D. Freeland, Chairman, Havens Steel Company, Kansas City, Mo.

1999
F. Kenneth Iverson, Chairman, Nucor Corporation, Charlotte, N.C.

1998
Robert P. Stupp, Stupp Bros. Bridge & Iron Co., St. Louis