CFSEI announces venue for 2013 Expo and Annual Meeting; issues call for entries

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Cold-Formed Steel Engineers Institute (CFSEI) will hold the 2013 CFSEI Annual Expo and Meeting on May 6-7, 2013 at the Hilton Financial District Hotel in San Francisco, California. The Expo is designed for architects, builders/contractors, engineers and other construction industry professionals. It will provide opportunities for education and networking as well as an exposition featuring state-of-the-art innovations, technologies and principles in cold-formed steel framing. The two-day conference, hosted by the West Chapter of the CFSEI, is the only one of its kind dedicated to the cold-formed steel (CFS) framing industry.

CFSEI is accepting entries for the 2013 CFSEI Design and Distinguished Service Awards Competition, which are due by March 15, 2013. The winners will be announced at the Annual Expo and Meeting. The awards program was established to recognize outstanding achievement in creative design, technical innovation, and best practices in the use of CFS framing and to acknowledge individuals who have volunteered their time and talent to the industry.

The awards categories are as follows:

• Engineering Excellence – The award recognizes either small or large projects that exemplify excellence in the structural design of new or renovated structures utilizing CFS products.
• Construction Innovation – The award recognizes the use of an innovative product, process, tool, technique, machine or methodology to advance the CFS industry. The construction innovation must have been used in one or multiple projects.
• Distinguished Service – The award recognizes the contributions of an individual who has volunteered time, talent and resources to the CFS industry.

Entries will be judged on demonstrated excellence and achievement in the use of cold-formed steel based on the following criteria: design creativity, technical innovation, system efficiency and economy, constructability, complexity of problems solved, and design integration. The entries will be judged by a panel of five CFS professionals, including two CFSEI member professional engineers, a professor of structural engineering, a licensed architect, and a licensed contractor. The rules of eligibility, entry instructions, and mailing address are available at the CFSEI website at www.cfsei.org.

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.