Duane Miller, the leading authority on structural welding and a previous recipient of the AISC Robert P. Stupp Award for Leadership Excellence, 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 mentee of the legendary Omer Blodgett, Miller worked at Lincoln Electric for 44 years before his retirement in 2022, serving much of his tenure as the company’s manager of engineering services and welding design consulting. He is widely recognized as the leading expert on the design and performance of welded connections and has given lectures worldwide.
Miller has earned several AISC awards and is one of only ten people to receive a Stupp Award. AISC also honored Miller with the T. R. Higgins Lectureship Award in 2001 and a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005. He is the only person to receive the Higgins, Lifetime Achievement, and Stupp awards.
In 2018, Miller became the first recipient of the AISC Steel Conference Speaker Award. He has authored or co-authored texts and chapters of many handbooks, including AISC Design Guide 21 Welded Connections--A Primer for Engineers, 2nd Edition and Chapter 15 of the Highway Structures Design Handbook: Welding of Steel Bridges.
Miller has served on many committees and currently sits on the AISC Committee on Specifications. He was chair of the American Welding Society (AWS) D1 Structural Welding Code Committee, was the first chair of the Seismic Welding Subcommittee, and was a co-chair of the AASHTO-AWS D1.5 Bridge Welding Code Committee.
Miller earned a bachelor’s degree in welding engineering from LeTourneau University in Longview, Texas, and a master’s in materials engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.