The Washington, D.C.-based Cold-Formed Steel Engineers Institute (CFSEI) will hold its 2013 CFSEI Annual Expo and Meeting May 6-7 at the Hilton Financial District Hotel in San Francisco, Calif. 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 dedicated to the cold-formed steel (CFS) framing industry.

CFSEI also is accepting entries for the 2013 CFSEI Design and Distinguished Service Awards competition. Entries are due by March 15, and the winners will be announced at the Expo. 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:

  • Engineering Excellence recognizes small or large projects that exemplify excellence in the structural design of new or renovated structures utilizing CFS products.
  • Construction Innovation 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 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. Entries will be judged by a panel of five CFS professionals, including two 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 on the CFSEI website, www.cfsei.org.