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

Shaole Yu

Taylor Porter

Wenying Zhang

Washington, DC - The top three winners of the 2015 International Student Competition on Cold-Formed Steel Design were announced recently, with winners from Tongji University and the University of Waterloo. The International Student Competition on Cold-Formed Steel Design promotes higher education in cold-formed steel structural design and encourages students to use creative thinking skills to solve engineering problems

Co-sponsors for the 2015 competition included the Cold-Formed Steel Engineers Institute (CFSEI), the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), the National Science Foundation (NSF), the University of North Texas, and the American Society of Civil Engineers, Committee of Cold-Formed Members (ASCE).

The competition generated 34 entries from eight universities in Brazil, Canada, China, India, Iran, Mexico 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 – Shaole Yu, Tongji University, China

Second Place – Taylor Porter, University of Waterloo, Canada

Third Place – Wenying Zhang, Tongji University, China

Students were asked to design a cold-formed steel clip angle for maximum nominal shear strength per unit weight with high fabrication feasibility, a design challenge they could face in the workplace. No experience in working with cold-formed steel was required, and entries were accepted from undergraduate and graduate students.

The top three winners will receive monetary awards and award plaques and will have their designs exhibited at various industry conferences in 2016. The top 10 students will receive one-year student memberships in the Cold-Formed Steel Engineers Institute. The winning designs, list of top 10 student winners, and additional information are posted at http://www.cfsei.org/student-competition-2015-winners.

About The Cold-Formed Steel Engineers Institute

The Cold-Formed Steel Engineers Institute comprises hundreds of structural engineers and other design professionals who are finding a better way to produce safe and efficient designs for commercial and residential structures with cold-formed steel. CFSEI members work together to develop and evolve industry standards and design methods, produce and issue technical bulletins, and provide seminars and online training to improve the knowledge and skills base of engineers and design professionals. For more information, visit www.cfsei.org.