Presented annually, the award recognizes a lecturer and author whose technical paper or papers, published during the eligibility period, are considered an outstanding contribution to engineering literature on fabricated structural steel.

Connor has worked in the areas of fatigue, fracture and other issues related to steel bridges for over 20 years. He received the George S. Richardson Medal in 2016 and an AISC Special Achievement Award in 2012, and was the first recipient of the Robert J. Dexter Memorial Lecture Award in 2005.