INDUSTRY News & EVENTS

AISI STANDARDS COUNCIL SEEKS PROPOSALS FOR
SMALL PROJECTS AND FELLOWSHIPS TO BE AWARDED IN 2023

Proposals must be submitted to AISI by October 15, 2022

WASHINGTON, DC – The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) Standards Council is seeking research proposals for its 2023 Small Project/Fellowship Program. Launched in 2014, AISI’s Small Project/Fellowship Program identifies and provides funding for research projects that will significantly impact the reliability, performance and cost-competitiveness of cold-formed steel (CFS) products. The program provides a streamlined mechanism for AISI’s standards development committees (the Committee on Specifications and the Committee on Framing Standards), industry stakeholders, academics and students to collaborate on relatively short-term, highly focused and mutually beneficial projects.

The small project and fellowship requests should be developed and submitted by a project team that includes a student (if known at the time of submittal), an academic advisor from the student’s academic institution and an industry advisor. Either the academic advisor or industry advisor must be a member of the relevant AISI standards developing committee. Project selections are based on several factors, including: 1) the potential for long-term impact on the industry, 2) steel industry engagement and co-funding, and 3) results for the AISI standards development committees, the student, and the academic institution. 

AISI funding is limited to $10,000 on small projects, which include stated deliverables; and $6,000 on individual fellowships, which do not include overhead expenses. AISI anticipates funding three to six projects in 2023. Project ideas may be generated by the AISI standards developing committee, industry advisor, academic advisor or student. A list of potential project ideas is available from Helen Chen, manager of AISI Construction Standards Development, who can be reached at hchen@steel.org.

Proposals for the 2023 Small Project/Fellowship Program are due to AISI by October 15, 2022. Requests should be submitted via e-mail to Jay Larson, secretary of the AISI Standards Council, at jlarson@steel.org. Winning projects will be determined and announced by the AISI Standards Council by January 15, 2023. 

AISI’s Standards Council initiates cold-formed steel standards development projects and maintains accreditation by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). AISI has a long history of supporting academic research in pursuit of its standards development objectives. These efforts have generally been driven by the AISI standards developing committees and focused on stakeholder objectives. AISI understands that the effective engagement of academics and students is mutually beneficial and often yields maximum benefits for the industry.

AISI serves as the voice of the American steel industry in the public policy arena and advances the case for steel in the marketplace as the preferred material of choice. AISI’s membership is comprised of integrated and electric arc furnace steelmakers, and associate members who are suppliers to or customers of the steel industry. For more news about steel and its applications, view AISI's websites at http://www.steel.org and www.buildusingsteel.org. Follow AISI on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter (@AISISteel, @BuildUsingSteel) or Instagram.

Contact:
Debbie Bennett
Senior Manager, Construction Communications
American Iron and Steel Institute
Tel: 202.452.7179

Lisa Harrison
Senior Vice President, Communications
American Iron and Steel Institute
Tel: 202.452.7115

SEAoNY Honorary Member Lecture

Are We There Yet?

A Personal History of AEC Innovation

May 10, 2022

12:00 PM - 1:15 PM 

Zoom Webinar

In 2014 the Harvard Business Review published a ranking of innovation by industry and it was no surprise to see our industry dead last. It’s no wonder that in the last few years we have seen outsized interest in our industry from the venture capital community—we might be the last, stubborn frontier of global proportions.  Everywhere you turn you bump into ConTech and PropTech and the promise (or threat, if you shy from opportunity) of AI and MI. The world has finally caught on. But to understand where we’re going, it helps to look at how we got here. What does all this mean for the future of structural engineering, as a practice and as a career? Here are reflections of a 40-year engineering career, and why I wish I were 25 years old again.

About the speaker: Thomas Z. Scarangello has more than 40 years of experience leading the structural engineering and analysis of a wide variety of building types worldwide, from long-span sports and entertainment venues to high-rise commercial and mixed-use buildings. With the 2015 merger with Weidlinger Associates, Tom expanded the firm’s service offerings to include transportation, protective design and security, and applied sciences. He is co-chair of the New York Building Congress Council on Innovation and Best Practices and the NYBC Ascend conference. He is also active in evaluating and promoting innovative AEC technology, serving as chair of TTWiiN, an innovation accelerator that commercializes technology spun off from Thornton Tomasetti incubators, as well as driving industry innovation as a member of the BuiltWorlds’ Corporate Venture Forum and as a founding member of AEC Angels.

Registration Fees:

SEAoNY Members – Free

Non-Members – $15

1 PDH offered

Registration closes 5 pm, May 09, 2022

DEADLINE EXTENDED: 1/18/22

Call For Abstracts: SEAoNY Annual Conference March 2022 

We are excited to announce the 2022 SEAoNY Annual Conference

will be virtual and held during March 2022.

Topic: Design Scenarios for a Changing World

Program Description: Structural engineers practicing in New York also often design projects located elsewhere and must learn to deal with a variety of environmental load scenarios, some of which involve ongoing evaluation of the effects of climate change. With this variety comes the need to anticipate uncommon design events and develop approaches to deal with unconventional structural demands. This year's topic will highlight the increased performance expectations we ask of our built environment, unusual design scenarios, both in New York City and across the country.

We hope you will send us your abstracts to help us plan an exciting annual conference.

Requirements:

• Abstract (500-word limit)Speaker(s) Bio
• Presentation must be 45 minutes including a Q&A session
• Optional - One image illustrating the topic (Image may be used to promote the event)

Items to consider when submitting abstracts:

• Speaker(s) may be asked to be available to prerecord the session and be available for live Q&A.
• Speaker(s) will need to provide some required session information for PDH filing by mid-January 2022.
• SEAoNY will have deadlines for handouts(if applicable with your session) for late January 2022
• Please email abstracts and inquiries to

SEAoNYPrograms@gmail.com

The EXTENDED deadline for submissions is 1/18/22

The 2021 "Hack the Building Code" Innovation Challenge has officially kicked off, and submissions are now being accepted from the public on ways to improve the ways we design, construct and maintain our city of over 1.1 million buildings.

The challenge is an open call to startups, industry professionals, and the public, looking for the best ideas on how we can make our city's buildings and construction sites safer, more efficient, more resilient, and more sustainable.

The application deadline for submissions is November 3rd, 2021.

Last year's winners from our 2020 "Hack The Building Code" Challenge and our Carbon Neutrality Innovation Challenge included a wide range of ideas to improve our city's built environment which were showcased at our digital industry conferences. DOB also issued Buildings Bulletins in support of these innovators, official guidance documents which provide technical approvals for the use of products, processes and technologies that are not specifically enumerated in our Codes.

To mark the 9/11 Memorial & Museum’s annual commemoration of the end of the nine-month rescue and recovery period at Ground Zero, NYPD Chief Terri Tobin, Baptist minister Reverend Bill Minson, Vicki Arbitrio of the Structural Engineers Association of New York (SEAoNY), and Dr. Benjamin Luft from Stony Brook’s WTC Monitoring and Treatment Program share their personal recollections of 9/11 and its aftermath and discuss the devastating health issues affecting the rescue and recovery community nearly 20 years after the attacks.

View Program Here

Email: seaonyprograms@gmail.com

The SEAoNY Programs Committee is actively seeking members to help us plan events for SEAoNY & the engineering community.  Involvement with the Programs Committee is a great opportunity to meet other engineers & design professionals while engaging with the AEC industry.  We hold monthly virtual meetings and have many ways to be involved in planning these events, depending on your availability and interests.  

Join SEAoNY Programs Committee.pdf

Recognizing the Contributions of Structural Engineers in the Days, Months, and Years After 9/11

As it is for many, September 11 is a day of remembrance and reflection for the structural engineering community. We remember the tragedy of that day, and how, in the face of that tragedy, people came together to help in the response and recovery efforts. The National Council of Structural Engineers Associations (NCSEA) and the Structural Engineers Association of New York (SEAoNY) send our thoughts and prayers to the families and friends of all the victims of the tragedy that took place 20 years ago, as well as our appreciation and gratitude to all of those who came together to help the search, rescue, and recovery efforts. 

First responders searched the debris at ground zero to look for survivors and attend to the wounded. Structural engineers were right alongside them, helping to ensure that the debris field and surrounding structures they were entering were safe. Many of these structural engineers were affiliated with SEAoNY or other member organizations of NCSEA. Approximately 450 structural engineers worked shifts with first responders and contractors to evaluate the condition of approximately 400 buildings surrounding the World Trade Center site to ensure that they were safe to re-occupy.  

“Personally, I would like to thank all of those volunteers again for their dedication and effort during that difficult time for all of us,” says Edward M. DePaola, P.E., SECB, F.SEI, and SEAoNY President during 9/11. “At the time, we were amazed at the response of the structural engineering community, and I’m still amazed and proud when I think about what we did.”

Over the 20 years since that fateful day, structural engineers have played an instrumental role in the disaster investigations and in the development of changes to building codes and construction practices resulting from those investigations. In addition, structural engineers have developed and implemented enhanced disaster response measures at both the local and national levels that better position structural engineers for rapid deployment in a time of need. In particular, the Structural Engineering Emergency Response (SEER) program promotes expeditious post-disaster recovery of communities through building safety evaluations and has been activated for numerous natural disasters around the country since 9/11.  

The lessons learned from 9/11 serve as the foundation for substantive changes to how high-rise buildings are engineered as well as a decisive path toward more safe and resilient communities.

“As we reflect on the events of that tragic day, we feel fortunate that our education and training as structural engineers prepared us well to assist in the recovery,” says NCSEA President Ed Quesenberry, P.E., S.E. “We are resolute in our commitment to doing whatever we can to ensure that the buildings we live and work in are safe and to being ready to respond when our communities need us.”  

This statement was developed in partnership with the National Council of Structural Engineers

NCSEA, AISC, SEI, and the CTBUH released a joint statement of gratitude for the structural engineers that offered their expertise during and after the 9/11 tragedy.