Steel Structures

Research and education initiatives in the area of steel structures are developed and coordinated through the new CISC Centre for Steel Structures Education and Research (The Steel Centre).

The Steel Centre is the Alberta steel construction industry’s student-centred hub for innovation and industry development. Arising from a grass-roots recognition of the need to change the way universities and industry interact in the new economic realities of both parties, The Steel Centre was created at the University of Alberta to ensure that university research is closely tied to industry needs, that graduates of both the undergraduate and post-graduate programs are well trained in the design and detailing of steel structures, and that students and industry personnel have opportunities for close interaction and mentorship.

Besides The Steel Centre, the structural steel engineering program features the C.W. Carry Chair in Steel Structures Engineering and the Supreme Steel Professorship in Structural Engineering Education and Innovation. All of these initiatives highlight the close interaction and mutual support between the steel construction industry and the associated university programs.

Steel structures research at the University of Alberta covers a broad range of topics, including seismic design, bolted and welded steel connections, progressive collapse mitigation, pipelines, and development of new steel structural systems. Research typically involves both large-scale testing in the I.F. Morrison structural Engineering laboratory, as well as computer modelling including high-fidelity applications. Steel structures research carried out at the University of Alberta has been influential in the development of design codes and standards world-wide.