March 15, 2020

The American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) announced today that it is canceling the 2020 NASCC: The Steel Conference, which had been scheduled for April 22-24 in Atlanta. 

"Just as the design community and construction industry turns toward AISC for reliable information and advice on steel design and construction, we turn to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for health information and advice on dealing with the coronavirus," said Scott Melnick, AISC's senior vice president and the administrator for the conference. "Yesterday, the CDC recommended that all gatherings of 50 or more people are canceled for the next eight weeks and we will certainly follow that advice."

Charles J. Carter, SE, PE, PhD, AISC's president, issued a video message further explaining AISC's decision.

"I want to thank everyone involved in the planning of the conference for their hard work, all of the speakers and moderators who volunteered to share their knowledge, and our exhibitors and sponsors who so willingly support the Steel Conference, AISC, and the structural steel industry," Carter said. "It truly is disappointing because their collective work and collaboration promised this was going to be the best show ever!"

AISC plans to refund all attendees' registration fees. "The hotel and hospitality industry is being devastated by all of the shutdowns and event cancellations," explained Elizabeth Purdy, CMP. "We’re looking into a way to establish a voluntary program to allow attendees to donate part of their rebated fees and hotel deposits to a workers’ relief fund and I encourage everyone to help however they can."

AISC is working on delivering at least some of the conference as an online experience and we hope to have more information available in the coming weeks. "I also invite you to view the nearly 2,000 programs we offer free of charge on our website at www.aisc.org/learn," Carter added.