December 11, 2024

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CHICAGO - What drives innovation in today's structural steel industry? The people who dedicate their time to making a difference.

The American Institute of Steel Construction will recognize 13 of them for their extraordinary contributions at NASCC: The Steel Conference next year.

"Designing, fabricating, and building with structural steel are team sports--and they work best in tandem," said AISC President Charles J. Carter, SE, PE, PhD. "Our industry remains innovative thanks to MVPs from classrooms to executive boardrooms. It is an honor to recognize some of the people who shape our industry."

AISC will present these awards during the opening session of the Steel Conference on April 2, 2025, in Louisville, Ky. University of Texas at Austin Professor Emeritus Karl H. Frank, PE, PhD, will receive the Geerhard Haaijer Award for Excellence in Education at the same time.

Headshots of the 2025 award recipients are available here.

2025 Lifetime Achievement Awards

AISC's Lifetime Achievement Awards recognize living individuals who have made a difference in the success of AISC and the structural steel industry.

• J. Kenneth Charles, managing director, Steel Joist Institute and Steel Deck Institute, for advancing the use of steel, working tirelessly to provide education and guidance to engineers and contractors, and serving on the NASCC: The Steel Conference planning committee
• Domenic A. Coletti, PE, principal professional associate, HDR, for his leadership in the bridge industry for more than three decades, including his seminal work on the 1st and 2nd Editions of the AASHTO/NSBA Steel Bridge Collaboration's Guidelines for Steel Girder Bridge Analysis"
• Richard A. Henige Jr., PE, SE, principal, LeMessurier Consultants, for being one of the nation's leaders in both seismic and stability design of steel structures over the course of 43 years in the industry
• Judy Liu, PhD, professor, Oregon State University, for her teaching and mentorship of students and other faculty as well as leadership and service on AISC technical and education committees
• John W. O'Quinn, president, High Steel Structures, for his contributions to the bridge industry during the past four decades, including helping chart a successful path forward for the National Steel Bridge Alliance and serving as a media spokesperson for the bridge industry
• Amit H. Varma, PhD, the Karl H. Kettelhut Professor in the Lyles School of Civil & Construction Engineering, Purdue University, for his research and contributions in the areas of steel-concrete composite construction, fire design, and nuclear structures, as well as leadership and service on several AISC committees

Special Achievement Awards

These awards recognize individuals who have demonstrated notable singular or multiple achievements in structural steel design, construction, research, or education.

• Karl E. Barth, PhD, associate professor, West Virginia University, for his leadership in the development of the press brake tub girder system for bridge construction
• Dimitrios G. Lignos, PEng, PhD, M.SSRC, professor of civil engineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, for his efforts in creating RESSLab Hub, an open-access database and models used in the design and assessment of steel and composite structures
• Mark Waggoner, PE, managing principal, Walter P Moore, for his outstanding work on innovative long-span roof design
• Jaclyn Whelan, PE, project manager - design, Conrail, for leading the joint AREMA/NSBA task group that developed the AREMA/NSBA Constructability Guide for Steel Railroad Bridges

Terry Peshia Early Career Faculty Awards

AISC also recognizes those who build a brighter future by supporting tomorrow's leaders. These awards are named for the late president of Garbe Iron Works in Aurora, Ill., who served with great distinction in many leadership roles in our industry and on the Board of AISC. His namesake awards recognize young professors who demonstrate promise in structural steel research, teaching, and other contributions to the structural steel industry.

• Andrew Sen, PhD, assistant professor, Marquette University, who is the principal investigator of National Science Foundation (NSF) projects seeking to transform concentrically braced frame design practice in regions with high seismic risk to ensure the resiliency, versatility, and longevity of steel building infrastructure while balancing practical economic constraints
• Andrew Ziccarelli, PhD, assistant professor, North Carolina State University, for research that focuses on the use of advanced structural analysis techniques to increase understanding of the fundamental behavior of steel components at extreme limit states that will allow the steel industry to develop more reliable design provisions and provide engineers with tools to more accurately assess the capacity of steel structures