October 9, 2019

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CHICAGO - The American Institute of Steel Construction has awarded its 2020 T.R. Higgins Lectureship Award to Bo Dowswell, PE, PhD, principal at SDS Consulting and ARC International.

Dowswell will present "Gusset Plates: The Evolution of Simplified Design Models" as a keynote speaker during NASCC: The Steel Conference, which will take place April 22-24 in Atlanta. This lecture provides a brief history of gusset plate design methods before considering current approaches and previewing a new method to predict the compression strength of gusset plates using notional loads.

The $15,000 T.R. Higgins Lectureship Award recognizes an innovative lecturer or author whose outstanding technical writing constitutes a ground-breaking addition to engineering literature on fabricated structural steel. For more about the T.R. Higgins Lectureship Award and its past winners, please visit www.aisc.org/higgins.

"Bo Dowswell's work on gusset plate design is exceptional," said AISC Vice President of Engineering and Research Lawrence F. Kruth, PE. "His research on wrap-around gusset plates is at the forefront of modern engineering. Bo has the unique ability to evaluate constructability aspects of gusset plates as well as the groundbreaking engineering involved. AISC is proud to recognize Bo and his extraordinary analysis of structural steel connection methods, and I look forward to his keynote at the Steel Conference in April."

Dowswell started in the steel industry as a detailer in 1985. Since then, he has earned BS, MS, and PhD degrees from Auburn University and The University of Alabama at Birmingham. As a professional engineer, his design practice focuses on steel structures. 

Currently, he is principal of SDS Consulting, a design firm, and ARC International, which specializes in research and consulting. Dowswell is also an adjunct professor at The University of Alabama at Birmingham, where his research and teaching is concentrated on steel connection design. 

Dowswell provides consulting services for the AISC Steel Solutions Center and is the author of AISC Design Guide 33: Curved Member Design. He is a member of several AISC Committees, including the Committee on Specifications, the Committee on Manuals, the Committee on Research, and the Task Group on Industrial Buildings and Nonbuilding Structures. Dowswell is also a member of the Structural Stability Research Council, where his activities are primarily related to connection element and beam stability.