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Winners Named in Cold-Formed Steel Design Student Competition

09/13/2011 - Winners have been announced for the Student Competition on Cold-Formed Steel Design at the University of North Texas, a competition co-sponsored by AISI and the National Science Foundation.

Winners have been announced for the Student Competition on Cold-Formed Steel Design at the University of North Texas.
 
The competition, which was co-sponsored by the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) and the National Science Foundation, was launched in early April by UNT Professor Cheng Yu. Entries were due at the end of May.
 
The challenge for the competition was to design an optimal cold-formed steel cross-section shape. The optimal shape would yield an as-high-as-possible critical elastic buckling load for half-wave lengths equal to or less than 12 inches when uniform compression stresses were applied. The elastic buckling analysis was determined with open source software, CUFSM.
 
The University of North Texas received 78 entries from nine different universities in the United States, Canada, China, Turkey, and Australia. The winners were:
 
·         First Place – Jiazhen Leng, graduate student, Johns Hopkins University, Civil Engineering Major
·         Second Place – David Cross, graduate student, Virginia Tech, Aerospace Engineering Major
·         Third Place – L. Michael Palles IV, undergraduate student, Virginia Tech, Aerospace Engineering Major
 
“These students were challenged to take on a cold-formed steel design problem and solve it using an open source software,” said Jay Larson, P.E., F. ASCE, Managing Director of AISI’s Construction Technical Program. “The judges were impressed with the number of entries received and the international appeal of the competition. We congratulate the three finalists and appreciate the hard work and creativity that were evident in each of the entries submitted.” Larson said that the competition will be held annually.
 
Winners will be formally recognized in October 2012 during the 21st International Specialty Conference on Cold-Formed Steel Structures. The top 10 students in the competition will receive one-year student memberships in the Cold-Formed Steel Engineers Institute (CFSEI).
 
The panel of judges was made up of individuals who are nationally recognized in the area of cold-formed steel design:
 
·         Cheng Yu, Ph.D., Assistant Professor and Coordinator of the Construction Engineering Technology Program for the University of North Texas
·         Cristopher Moen, Ph.D., P.E, Assistant Professor, Virginia Tech
·         Tim Bell, Branch Engineer, Simpson Strong-Tie
·         Rick Haws, P.E., Technical Services Manager, NUCONSTEEL, A Nucor Company
·         Ken Stout, Automated Framing Systems Customer Service, Training, and Support Supervisor, NUCONSTEEL, a Nucor Company
 
AISI’s codes and standards work is conducted under the Construction Market Council of the Steel Market Development Institute (SMDI), a business unit of AISI, which oversees the industry’s investment in advancing the competitive use of steel by meeting the demands of the marketplace.
 
AISI serves as the voice of the North American steel industry in the public policy arena and advances the case for steel in the marketplace as the preferred material of choice. AISI also plays a lead role in the development and application of new steels and steelmaking technology. The Institute comprises 25 member companies, including integrated and electric furnace steelmakers, and 118 associate and affiliate members who are suppliers to or customers of the steel industry.