October 1, 2015

(Chicago, IL) - Thousands of people gained special access to today’s innovations and accomplishments of the U.S. structural steel industry in celebration of the seventh annual SteelDay on September 25, hosted by the American Institute of Steel Construction and its members and partners. Among the free offerings were steel facility and job site tours throughout the country as well as online educational opportunities. If you weren’t able to join in the festivities, you can still take advantage of SteelDay’s online offerings made available by AISC.

“This year’s SteelDay offered not only annual insight into the structural steel industry, but also leaves behind some invaluable educational pieces that will be useful for a long time to come,” said Ross Allbritton, AISC industry mobilization manager.

The highlight of this year’s SteelDay was a lunchtime webinar from acclaimed structural engineer Charles J. Carter, Ph.D., P.E., S.E. Best known as AISC’s vice president and chief structural engineer, his presentation on “Steel and the Phantasmagoria” focused on recent advancements in steel design and construction and provided a roadmap to the sources of information that can help engineers optimize their design. The webinar drew nearly 1,500 connections and more than 6,500 viewers. In addition, AISC delivered free Domino’s pizza to about 700 structural engineering firms nationwide. If you weren’t able to watch the webinar live, the free recording and quiz (for 1.0 PDH) will be available starting October 2 at www.steelday.org/webinar.

AISC also premiered a new educational video called Architecturally Exposed: Understanding the Art and Science of Architecturally Exposed Structural Steel (AESS). The documentary takes a fascinating look at AESS, from its beginnings to the latest information available, from prominent AESS expert Terri Meyer Boake, B.E.S., B.Arch., M.Arch., LEED AP, professor of architecture at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. The video (which also offers 1.0 LU/HSW credit from AIA) is available for free online streaming and downloading at www.steelday.org/aessvideo.

In addition, AISC members crafted their own innovative steel sculptures in this year’s SteelDay Sculpture Competition for a chance to be one of five finalists to have their creation on display at the 2016 NASCC: The Steel Conference, April 13-15 in Orlando, Fla., where the ultimate winner will be chosen by attendees. Nine sculptures were entered into the competition with their photos posted to www.steelday.org/sculpturecompvoting, where fans voted for their favorites. The top five finalists headed to The Steel Conference are: “Crappie” by Gerdau — Sand Springs Mill; “Dove of Peace” by Gerdau (York, Pa.); “The Nuts & Bolts of Steel Construction” by Michelmann Steel Company; “Building America” by Universal Steel Inc.; and “Paper to Steel” by Lejeune Steel Company.

Photos from this year’s SteelDay events can be found on AISC’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/AISCdotORG) in the SteelDay 2015 photo album. If you’d like your SteelDay photos featured on our page, please submit them to socialmedia@aisc.org with the event information. You can also catch up on the action on Twitter and Instagram using the hashtag #SteelDay.

Next year’s SteelDay is scheduled for September 30, 2016. For more information, please visit www.steelday.org.