Todd A. Helwig, PhD, professor of civil engineering at the University of Texas at Austin, is the 2017 recipient of AISC’s T.R. Higgins Lectureship Award. Helwig is being honored for his paper “Stiffness Behavior of Cross Frames in Steel Bridge Systems” and other papers related to stability bracing, as well as his outstanding reputation as an engineer and lecturer. This annual award, which includes a $15,000 cash prize, will be presented to Helwig at the 2017 NASCC: The Steel Conference in San Antonio, Texas, March 22-24.

Structural steel for 3 World Trade Center topped out last week. At 1,079 ft and 80 floors, the 2.5-million-sq.-ft tower is envisioned to be the third-tallest skyscraper at the World Trade Center site — and will be the fifth-tallest in New York upon completion in 2018.

Hundreds of people gathered with representatives of Bi-State Development (BSD) and Metro transit, the Federal Transit Administration, and elected and civic leaders from Illinois and Missouri on the top deck of the Eads Bridge in St. Louis last week to celebrate the completion of the first full-scale rehabilitation of this 142-year-old steel icon.

The first folded steel plate girder system (FSPGS) bridge in Pennsylvania was erected in McKean County near Bradford in less than three hours as part of an accelerated bridge construction (ABC) program that shaved as much as two weeks off of the delivery time.

Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. and the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) jointly announced that U.S. Representative Rick Nolan (D-MN) was honored with the 2016 Congressional Steel Champion Award from AISI. The award recognizes Rep. Nolan for his dedication to and support of the American steel industry and its employees.

Thousands participated in this year's SteelDay which featured a new documentary on one of America’s greatest bridge designers, dozens of networking and educational events at steel facilities and jobsites around the country, as well as various online voting competitions. 

A new steel arch in Portland, Ore., replaces a prominent crossing of the Willamette River.

Abstract submissions are being accepted through December 31 for the inaugural World Innovation in Bridge Engineering (WIBE) competition. 

The Steel Joist Institute presents part two of a webinar series titled “Evaluation and Modification of Open Web Steel Joists and Joist Girders,” on Wednesday, October 19, from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. (ET), followed by a 15-minute Q&A session.

The fourth-quarter 2016 issue of AISC’s Engineering Journal is now available at www.aisc.org/ej. You can view, download and print the current digital edition.

AISC is presenting a one-hour continuing education course, Design Smarter with Structural Steel: Multifamily, Hotel & Student Housing, via AIA Columbus, Ohio, at Dempsey’s restaurant next Thursday, October 13, from 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. Lunch will be provided.  

Congratulations to our winners! They are: Jeff Rodeheaver, detailing manager, and Matt Baldwin, project manager, both with SWF Industrial, Inc., Wrightsville, Pa., and Jeremy Atkinson, a graduate student in the MASc program at the University of British Columbia.

The National Steel Bridge Alliance (NSBA) has released an updated version of its Skewed and Curved Steel I-Girder Bridge Fit document at www.steelbridges.org/bridgefit. This free resource offers additional guidance on proper detailing of bridges to ensure constructability.

Lawrence F. Kruth, PE, has been named the new vice president of engineering and research at AISC. He succeeds Charles J. Carter, SE, PE, PhD, who has been promoted to president of AISC effective December 5.

Galvanizing will be one of the stars of Innovations with Ed Begley, Jr. next month. The episode, scheduled to broadcast on Thursday, October 13 at 7:30 a.m. ET/7:30 a.m. PT on Discovery Channel, will feature a seven-minute segment that provides a behind-the-scenes look at the hot-dip galvanized steel industry. 

The Minnesota Vikings and EarthCam have released a three-minute time-lapse video showcasing the 32 months of U.S. Bank Stadium construction progress, from demolition of the Metrodome to the first touchdown in the new stadium.

There’s only one week left until the structural steel industry’s eighth annual SteelDay (September 30). Have you made your plans yet? There are plenty of ways to get involved! Among the free events are dozens of steel facility and jobsite tours throughout the country.

ASTM International’s Subcommittee on Bolting Technology encourages those interested in bolted joint design and threaded fasteners to attend a special meeting on November 7 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Industrial Fasteners Institute (IFI) in Independence, Ohio. The meeting is free to attend and open to the public.

Abstract submissions will be accepted starting October 1 for the inaugural World Innovation in Bridge Engineering (WIBE) competition. 

The rules for the 2017 ASCE/AISC National Student Steel Bridge Competition (NSSBC) are now posted at www.aisc.org/steelbridge. 

AISC members spent all summer creating scintillating structural steel sculptures, and now’s your chance to vote for your favorite! 

The 1,120-ft Comcast Innovation and Technology Center will soon be the tallest building in Philadelphia.

If you’re a steel bridge professional interested in exchanging ideas with others in the industry, come to St. Louis for the fall Steel Bridge Collaboration meeting, taking place November 1-3. 

Eleven student design projects have been honored in the 16th annual Steel Design Student Competition for the 2015-2016 academic year.

Dennis Mertz, PhD, professor of civil engineering and director of the Center for Innovative Bridge Engineering at the University of Delaware (UDel), passed away last month after a prolonged battle with cancer. He was 63.

Fifteen years after the September 11 attacks, NYC’s World Trade Center site has been rebuilt, structure by structure. 

The final piece of the tallest building west of the Mississippi was put in place last week. Construction workers installed a 10-ton steel spire atop the 73-story tower, giving the building its final height of 1,100 ft.

AISC presented members of the project team of the Hillary Rodham Clinton Children’s Library with the 2016 IDEAS² Award for excellence in steel-frame building design during ceremonies at the library yesterday.

Two-thirds of construction firms report they are having a hard time filling hourly craft positions that represent the bulk of the construction workforce, according to the results of an industry-wide survey released last week by the Associated General Contractors of America. 

The BIMForum has released a draft of the 2016 version of the Level of Development (LOD) Specification for public comment at http://BIMForum.org/LOD. 

A new retail project near Times Square demonstrates the hipness of being square.

A giant steel I-beam sculpture was installed along Chicago’s south lakefront yesterday. The artist, Mark di Suvero, 82, a former crane operator turned sculptor, said he personally bent the beam with a crane, DNAinfo Chicago reports.

AISC is working with the Charles Pankow Foundation and other academic and industry partners on a three-year research project to advance the state of the art for concrete-filled composite plate shear walls (CF-CPSW). 

Three years into the largest active bridge construction project in the country, the New York State Thruway Authority has released a two-minute video chronicling progress on the New NY Bridge, a 3.1-mi.-long twin-span, cable-stayed replacement for the 60-year-old Tappan Zee Bridge across the Hudson River.

Classes begin September 20 for AISC’s new Night School course “Fundamentals of Bolting and Welding.” 

Congratulations to our trivia winners! They are: Jeff Rodeheaver, detailing manager, and Matt Baldwin, project manager, both with SWF Industrial, Inc., Wrightsville, Pa., and Nep Viajar, a civil/structural engineer with Fluor Corp., Houston.

There’s still time to enter your steel-framed building projects in the 2017 IDEAS² Awards competition! The deadline for entries has been extended to Wednesday, August 31.

As the country decides how and where to spend future transportation funding dollars, Purdue University’s Steel Bridge Research, Inspection and Training Engineering Center (or S-BRITE Center) is working to determine the conditions of Indiana and the nation’s infrastructure as a vital piece of the puzzle, Indiana Public Broadcasting’s Brandon Smith reports.

A free webinar featuring a new documentary on one of America’s greatest bridge designers is the highlight of this year’s SteelDay on September 30. (Visit www.steelday.org/webinar to see if you qualify for free microwave popcorn delivery to your office!) Now in its eighth successive year, SteelDay is a national day of outreach and celebration hosted by AISC and its members and partners, and provides an inside look at the work and accomplishments of the U.S. structural steel industry. Events also include job-site tours throughout the country, a public voting competition for structural steel building projects and a student photo contest.

Dorothy “Dottie” Anne Greene Owen of Columbia, S.C., passed away last Friday at the age of 81. She served in leadership roles on various industry boards, including Colonial Cos., Inc., the state and national boards of BB&T, Commercial Metals Co. and South Carolina State Ports Authority. She was the first woman to serve on AISC’s Board of Directors (from 1982 to 1986).

The final piece of structural steel was recently placed on the roof of Detroit’s new Little Caesars Arena.

AISC invites you to show the world your creativity — and at the same time win lunch for your staff and national acclaim for your firm! If you’re an AISC full or associate member, enter your innovative steel sculpture in this year’s Steel Sculpture Competition by Friday, September 9.

Are you a Tekla user? Or are you otherwise involved with BIM projects? Online voting for the AISC member software company’s Global BIM Awards is open to the public until September 7. 

Robert Beauchamp, past president of the National Institute of Steel Detailing (NISD), passed away on July 31 at the age of 65.

The Steel Joist Institute (SJI) is hosting a webinar this Wednesday, August 17. Steel Joists, Joist Girders and Hollow Structural Sections (HSS) will explore economical member and connection design for steel joists and girders framed to hollow structural section (HSS) columns and beams.

The New York State Steel Fabricators Association (NYSSFA) is hosting its 75th Anniversary Fall Meeting September 14-15 at the 1000 Islands Harbor Hotel in Clayton, N.Y. Visit www.nyssfa.org for information.

This fall marks 30 years since the installment of the original AISC Steel Sculpture on the University of Florida’s campus. Today, there are more than 170 of these teaching sculptures across the country and around the world. In celebration of the sculpture’s 30^th anniversary and to honor its creator, Duane Ellifritt, professor emeritus of civil engineering at Florida, AISC is holding a contest for students to show off their university’s steel sculpture.

A two-minute video shows the first of 19 prefabricated modules of the Rockefeller University expansion’s structural steel skeleton lifted into place over Franklin D. Roosevelt Drive in New York City via one of the largest barge-mounted cranes on the East Coast.

There’s less than three weeks left to enter your steel building projects in the 2017 IDEAS² Awards competition! Showcase why your project deserves to be recognized for outstanding achievement in steel-frame building design.

In a Chicago neighborhood known for colorful facades with unique flair, it was only proper for a new library to buck the stylistic trends of its more staid contemporaries.