AISI Standards Council Launches Small Project Fellowship Program, Announces Recipients For 2014

Washington, DC - The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) Standards Council has launched a Small Project Fellowship Program to identify and provide funding for research projects that will significantly impact the reliability, performance, and cost-competitiveness of cold-formed steel (CFS) framing products in a variety of end-use applications. AISI also announced four project winners for the 2014 awards. AISI’s Standards Council initiates cold-formed steel standards development projects and maintains accreditation by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).

The Small Project Fellowship 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. Project selections are based on several factors, including the potential for long-term impact on the industry; steel industry engagement and co-funding; and results for the AISI standards development committee, the student, and the academic institution.

The winning research proposals and academic institutions for 2014 are:

• “Engineering Metal Building Roof Systems With Sandwich Panels” – Virginia Tech

• “Design Examples and Standards for Narrow Strap-Braced Shear Walls” – The Johns Hopkins University and McGill University

• “Advancing Second Order and Direct Analysis for Cold-Formed Steel” – The Johns Hopkins University and Bucknell University

• “Direct Strength Method for Steel Deck” – University of Florida

“These projects represent several applications that we have identified with the potential to provide long-term impact on our industry,” said Jay Larson, P.E., F.ASCE, managing director of AISI’s Construction Technical Program. “The Small Project Fellowship Program combines AISI’s longstanding commitment to improving the reliability and performance of cold-formed steel building products and practices with its support of academic research in pursuit of standards development objectives. Through the years, we have found that actively engaging professors and students in research projects like these is mutually beneficial and often yields maximum benefits for the industry.”

Larson said that the Small Project Fellowship Program will consider proposals on an annual basis, with applications available in template form in August of each year. Proposals will be due in October, and project selections announced in February at the joint winter meeting of AISI’s Committee on Specifications and Committee on Framing Standards. Proposals are accepted based on criteria identified in the template; industry engagement and co-funding; evaluation of factors such as impact, urgency and likelihood of success; and recommendations of AISI standards subcommittee chairpersons.

AISI’s Role In Standards Development

AISI has a long history in standards development, starting with research at Cornell University in the 1930s and the publication of the first cold-formed steel design specification in 1946. Since its start, the purpose of this effort has been to eliminate regulatory barriers, improve reliability and performance, and improve cost-competitiveness for cold-formed steel framing products.

AISI also has a long history of supporting academic research in pursuit of its standards development objectives. These efforts have generally been driven by AISI’s Committee on Specifications and Committee on Framing Standards and have focused on stakeholder objectives.

About AISI’s Codes And Standards Activities

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. For more information on SMDI’s Construction Market program, visit www.smdisteel.org.

About The American Iron And Steel Institute

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. AISI is comprised of integrated and electric furnace steelmakers, and associate members who are suppliers to or customers of the steel industry. For more information, visit www.steel.org.