Steel Educators' Tip Sheet

September 2011

Recipients of the 2011-2012 AISC Scholarships and Fellowships are announced.

Congratulations to the recipients of the AISC Scholarships and Fellowships for the 2011-2012 academic year. A listing of the various awards and award recipients can be found here.

The presentation files have now been posted to the AISC website.

If you missed the Educator Session at the 2011 NASCC, then you missed a valuable panel discussion, "The Simplicity of Complexity-The Road to Great Designs," with five accomplished structural engineers: Bill Baker (Skidmore Owings & Merrill), Susan Burmeister (Cagley & Assoc.), Jim Malley (Degenkolb Engineers), Clinton Rex (Stanley D. Lindsey & Assoc.), and James Rongoe (Rongoe Engineers).

The panelists shared their expertise through answers to questions such as, "How are simple methods used to complete complex designs in today’s world of computers? When is the application of simple structural concepts valuable in structural design? What do designers want new hires to know and understand?" Click here to download the presentation files, which include structural examples that may be useful in the classroom. Meanwhile, the 2011 NASCC presentations (PowerPoint synced with audio) are also available online.

SteelDay is on September 23. Your student could win a digital photo frame!

AISC is holding a contest for students to submit a photo that best pictorially represents the visual experience of steel. Winners will be announced on SteelDay, Friday, September 23, 2011. Winning entries will be featured as Steel Shots on www.modernsteel.com and will be published in Modern Steel Construction magazine. One grand prize winner will also receive a digital photo frame! For further details, please visit www.aisc.org/photocontest.

Your students have much to gain from hosting the National Student Steel Bridge Competition.

Clemson University is hosting the 2012 competition. AISC is looking for proposals for 2013. For anyone interested in hosting the National Student Steel Bridge Competition, please contact Maria Mnookin at mnookin@aisc.org for information.

Says Emily Foote, Student Director for the 2010 NSSBC planning committee, "Hosting the National Student Steel Bridge Competition was a landmark of my college experience ... the students of the planning committee had the opportunity to showcase the School of Civil Engineering at Purdue University, having a personal impact while on a National stage. We had the opportunity to interact with professors and industry representatives on a level that no other university experience can offer. This interaction showcases the leadership and commitment that is necessary to host such an event, characteristics that are appealing to company representatives who are present throughout various stages of the planning. The feeling of success and accomplishment at the end of the competition weekend, along with the career prospects that resulted from hosting the 2010 NSSBC, made it an experience I will always treasure." Emily has since graduated from Purdue and is working for Bechtel Corporation.

Give feedback on AISC Teaching Aids by Friday, September 16 and earn chances to win your choice of the AISC Design Guide set (hard copy) or the Detailing for Steel Construction Manual.

AISC steel teaching aids are free downloads that have been developed to assist educators in preparing students to become professionals knowledgeable in the use of structural steel.

Please send your opinions. The short survey (approximately 10 minutes) has been relaunched for those who were not able to respond to the original request. Your opinions will be helpful in focusing efforts for AISC's plans for updating teaching aids. Two names of those who complete the survey will be selected at random to win their choice of a hard copy set of the 25 AISC Design Guides OR a Detailing for Steel Construction Manual. For each individual teaching aid you review, you will receive an additional entry into the drawing. You must complete the survey (click here) by Friday, September 16 in order to qualify for the drawing.