The Cold-Formed Steel Engineers Institute will hold the 2012 CFSEI Annual Expo and Meeting on May 21-22, at the Rosen Plaza Hotel in Orlando, Fla. 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, which is being hosted by the Florida Chapter of the CFSEI, is the only one of its kind dedicated to the cold-formed steel framing industry.

Professor Benjamin Schafer, Ph.D., P.E., chairman of the Department of Civil Engineering at the Johns Hopkins University and a nationally recognized innovator in cold-formed steel design, will deliver the keynote address during the opening luncheon event on Monday, May 21.

The Expo will offer 15 educational sessions that cover the following topics (with their presenters):

•           “Sheathing Braced Design Update on Research,” Ben Schafer, Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University
•           “What is Hot? – Dipped Galvanizing of Cold-Formed Steel,” Tim Lockhart, Industrial Galvanizers of Tampa
•           “Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) – The Impact of the Design Professional and Manufacturer,” Maribeth Rizzuto, Steel Framing Alliance
•           “Welding – Practical Applications,” Jon Dennis, Dennis Inspection, Inc.
•           “Strengthening the Weakest Link – Designing Reliable Connections for Cold-Formed Steel Framing,” John Lyons, P.E., S.E., Structural Evolution LLC
•           “Update on Steel Deck Diaphragms,” Thomas Sputo, Ph.D., P.E., S.E., SECB, Steel Deck Institute
•           “ASCE 7-10: Changes to the Wind Provisions,” Jennifer Zabik, P.E., S.E., AW Solutions, Inc.
•           “Curtain Wall Design for Blast Loads,” Nabil Rahman, Ph.D., P.E., The Steel Network
•           “Wall Stud Bracing Connections,” Randy Daudet, P.E. and Tim Stauffer, S.E., Simpson Strong-Tie
•           “Is it Code and Will it Work,” Steve Walker, P.E., Light Gauge Steel Engineering Group, Inc.
•           “Stay Ahead of the Curve With Building Information Modeling,” Chuck Mears, CEO, Radius Track and Joaquin Riera, Lotspeich Company, Inc.
•           “Additions to the Code of Standard Practice – What’s New and What’s Missing?” Jeff Klaiman, P.E., Adtek Engineers
•           “Nonstructural Member: What Does Nonstructural Really Mean?” Roger A. LaBoube, Ph.D., P.E., Wei-Wen Yu Center for Cold-Formed Steel Structures
•           “Design Considerations for Installing Steel Deck Over Cold-Formed Trusses Solutions Forum,” Darden Cobb, Loadmaster Systems Inc. and Kenneth Pagano, P.E., Scosta Corporation; Moderated by Jennifer Zabik, P.E., S.E., AW Solutions Inc.

The winners of the 2012 CFSEI Design Awards will be named on Tuesday, May 22. The awards will be presented in the categories of design excellence, construction innovation and distinguished service. The CFSEI annual meeting will also take place on May 22.

Aegis Metal Framing and ClarkDietrich Building Systems are Platinum Sponsors of the CFSEI Expo. Additional sponsorship opportunities are available. For more information, please visit the CFSEI website atwww.cfsei.org.