Winners Of International Student Competition On Cold-Formed Steel Design Announced

Chris Willis (left) of the University of North Texas is presented his first place award by Cheng Yu, associate professor at the University of North Texas and a competition organizer.

Washington, DC - Co-sponsors of an international student competition on cold-formed steel design announce three winners from the University of North Texas, Tongji University and the University of Waterloo. The 2014 International Student Competition on Cold-Formed Steel Design promoted higher education in cold-formed steel structural design and encouraged students to use creative thinking skills to solve engineering problems. Co-sponsors for the 2014 competition included the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), the Cold-Formed Steel Engineers Institute (CFSEI), the National Science Foundation (NSF), the University of North Texas, and the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE).

The competition generated 42 entries from eight universities in China, Thailand, Brazil, Canada and the United States. All entries were judged by a panel of industry professionals and ranked according to the design’s efficiency and constructability, as well as the quality of the essay submitted with the entry. The winners were:

• First Place - Chris Willis, University of North Texas, USA

• Second Place – Zongya Xu, Tongji University, China

• Third Place – Benjamin Dow, University of Waterloo, Canada

“This is the only competition of its kind in the cold-formed steel industry,” said Maribeth Rizzuto, LEED AP – BD&C, managing director of the Cold-Formed Steel Engineers Institute and Director of Education and Sustainable Construction for the Steel Framing Alliance. “It requires participants to utilize their knowledge of the latest innovations in manufacturing, Building Information Modeling, and logistics technologies, and to apply that knowledge in developing a cold-formed steel solution to a specific design challenge that they could face in the workplace.”

Cheng Yu, Ph.D., associate professor at the University of North Texas and a competition organizer, said: “This year’s participants were asked to design an optimal cross-section shape for a 96-inch long cold-formed steel stud column which provides adequate compression strength and utilizes the least amount of material. We were pleased with the entries, which included more international participation than previous competitions.”

The top three winners receive monetary awards and award plaques and will have their designs exhibited at various industry conferences in 2015. The top 10 students will receive one-year student memberships in the Cold-Formed Steel Engineers Institute (CFSEI). The winning designs, list of top 10 student winners, and additional information are posted at http://engineering.unt.edu/technology/public/cyu/CFS_Competition.htm.

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.