American Institute of Steel Construction

55 students across the U.S. are able to make their higher education dreams a reality this school year, thanks to generous donations to the AISC Education Foundation! For the 2024-2025 academic year, the Education Foundation awarded more than $200,000 in scholarships supporting juniors, seniors, and master’s-level students in civil engineering, architectural engineering, construction engineering, materials/metallurgical engineering, construction management, and architecture programs in the U.S. Visit aisc.org/aisc-scholarships to see the full list of recipients. Thank you to all who applied, and congratulations to the recipients!

AISC’s Need for Speed initiative met its goal--achieving a 50% reduction in the steel construction schedule!--way ahead of 2025, but we’re still only getting started. SpeedCore, FastFloor, and SpeedConnection--three of many AISC-supported research projects--have streamlined job site installations by moving more complex work to the controlled environment of the fab shop floor. A faster construction schedule allows the industry to continue to innovate while addressing pricing pressures. Want to know how our Need for Speed initiative continues to grow and evolve as we double down on research? Visit https://ow.ly/n3Sy50T7ArY to read about the program in The Fabricator, featuring AISC’s own Vice President of Engineering and Research Chris Raebel, PhD.

Structural steel is on full display for soccer fans as they enter Nashville’s GEODIS Park. From the 65-ft-wide concourse with fully exposed steel connections to the 360° steel canopy cantilever extending 85 ft over the upper seating bowl, the exposed steel structure honors the industrial heritage of the stadium’s neighborhood--and repeated design elements give it a constructability boost, too! Celebrate the strength and grace of this 2024 IDEAS² Award-winning soccer stadium by assembling our puzzle of the week at aisc.org/puzzles. Have you worked on a project in the past couple of years that deserves national attention? You have just over a month to submit it for the 2025 IDEAS² Awards! Visit aisc.org/ideas2 to start your submission today.

A new footbridge near Muhanga, Rwanda has created a safe river crossing--and opened up economic opportunities--for more than 2,400 people every day! Built by a team of NSBA-led volunteers and local crews in partnership with Bridges to Prosperity (B2P), the Nyagashanga Suspension Bridge allows children to more easily attend school and gives residents of all ages easier access to healthcare and markets. This is the sixth project--and the third in Rwanda!--that NSBA has led for B2P, a nonprofit organization that builds footbridges in isolated communities across the world. Visit aisc.org/b2p-rwanda24 to learn more about this project and NSBA's proud involvement with B2P.

Fabricators--looking to inspire the next generation of skilled professionals? Make a lasting impact on high school students in your community by hosting a SteelDays event this October! By opening your doors for tours, demos, and educational presentations, you'll expose students to structural steel fabrication and give them a glimpse of the steady, lucrative options available to them outside of four-year colleges. Not only is this an opportunity to boost your local educational collaboration, but it's also a great way to engage your future workforce. Find out more about hosting--and access resources that will make your event stand out--at aisc.org/wfd-steeldays.

AISC’s Innovation Scholars had a busy and productive two weeks of research and industry engagement at our Chicago headquarters! During her residency at AISC, Ashley Thrall, PhD (second from the left) examined the intersection of modularity, redundancy, and sustainability. At the University of Notre Dame, she is the director of the Kinetic Structures Laboratory, which is dedicated to investigating the design and behavior of modular, rapidly erectable, and deployable structures, which are often, coincidentally, heavy on material use. At AISC, Thrall’s research focused on how we can harness the advantages of modularity and structural redundancy while also using less material. Joshua Schultz, PE, PhD, LEED AP (third from the left) focused on developing simplified design tools for complex steel applications, with the goal of adapting relatively complicated design processes that require software and distilling accurate closed form equations or charts to assist engineers in early design decisions. He met with AISC engineers to discuss several papers on simplifying the design of complex steel geometry and shapes. Schultz also took the next steps to get his work in front of a wider audience, which includes adapting research for a future print and web content. AISC is proud to have hosted Thrall and Schultz, and we can’t wait to see where their research leads next! Visit aisc.org/innovationscholar to find out more about the Innovation Scholar program.

Now available for public review and comment--a draft of the next edition of the AISC Specification for Structural Stainless Steel Buildings (AISC 370)! In this draft, the scope of flexural design has been extended to cover singly-symmetric I-shaped members and single angles, and updates have been made to the requirements for determining the shear strength of stainless steel bolts. Requirements have also been added for what to include in design documents and specifications in coordination with the development of another standard, AISC Code of Standard Practice for Structural Stainless Steel Buildings (AISC 313). Visit aisc.org/publicreview by September 16 to access the draft.

At first glance, GEODIS Park stands out as an enormous structure--after all, it is the largest purpose-built soccer stadium in the U.S. Look closer, and you’ll see one of the reasons the Nashville stadium won a 2024 IDEAS² Award for constructability: repeating minimalist steel frames that, together, tell the story of innovative and client-responsive structural engineering. Aided by ConnecTID™ modeling, GEODIS Park’s steel delivery process combined several industry-leading activities to create a modern and streamlined construction process. It stands out as a model for the future of structural steel delivery compared to other stadiums with construction delays and cost overruns. With such an efficient structural system and steel delivery process, the project team cut seven weeks of the overall construction schedule! This time savings allowed the Nashville Soccer Club to play the entire 2022 season at GEODIS Park, generating revenue nearly two months earlier than anticipated. Read more about how this stadium project raises the bar for constructability and efficiency at aisc.org/geodis-park. Project team: Owner: Nashville Sports Authority, Nashville Owner’s representative: CAA ICON, Denver General contractor: Mortenson | Messer Construction Co., Nashville Architects: Populous, Kansas City, Mo.; HASTINGS Architecture, Nashville Structural engineer: Walter P Moore and Associates, Inc., Kansas City, Mo. Steel team: Fabricator: LeJeune Steel Company, Minneapolis *AISC full member; AISC-Certified fabricator* Erector: LPR Construction, Loveland, Colo. *AISC associate member; AISC-Certified erector* Detailer: DBM Vircon, Tempe, Ariz. *AISC associate member*

Here’s your chance to get up to speed on the latest changes in the next edition of the AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Specifications! Join live this Thursday, August 22, at 12:30 p.m. Central to get the scoop straight from bridge design expert--and AISC Kimbrough Award winner--Mike Grubb, PE, and AISC Vice President of Bridges Brandon Chavel, PE, PhD. They’ll give you an overview of the new revisions, describe the research behind the changes, and present examples that will get you started with the revised specifications. Register today at https://lnkd.in/dShDJ69D.

Stability is just one reason the interior structure of NVIDIA’s Voyager Building is seismically isolated from its exterior shell. The others? Economy and efficiency. This strategy allowed the project team to downsize the interior buckling-restrained brace (BRB) frames--which reduced the overall steel weight for a more sound and efficient engineering design and lower cost. Visit aisc.org/nvidia to learn more about the innovative seismic design and roof canopy structure of this 2024 IDEAS² Award winner! Then get a closer look at the undulating roof structure and sleek interior columns with our puzzle of the week at aisc.org/puzzles.