Onur Avci recognized by American Institute of Steel Construction for teaching and research in the domain of structural steel

Onur Avci's joint research on modular all-steel floor systems holds potential to speed up steel construction, earning him the 2024 Terry Peshia Early Faculty Award.

Onur Avci, civil and environmental engineering assistant professor at the  Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources, has been recognized as this year’s Terry Peshia Early Career Faculty Award recipient from the American Institute of Steel Construction. The Terry Peshia award honors full-time, tenured faculty in civil or architectural engineering who have made significant contributions in steel research and teaching.

Story by Kaley LaQuea, Communications Specialist
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Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources

“I am pleased to be receiving this prestigious award,” Avci said. “This is a great recognition for WVU, as there has been tremendous steel research going on here. This honor certainly brings more responsibility and will fuel me to push for bigger and better things.”

Avci is the first faculty member from WVU to receive the award from AISC. The AISC’s Need for Speed initiative aims to increase design and fabrication speed in the construction of steel buildings and bridges. Avci and his team  (including faculty from WVU, Northeastern, Johns Hopkins, Virginia Tech, and Iowa State University) have developed an all-steel modular system design that eliminates the need to cast concrete for building floors, speeding up construction times and improving cost effectiveness.

“Our primary goal is to teach our students the most up-to-date design approaches,” Avci said. “This requires instructors to leave their comfort zones and update the course content to deliver the newest trends in the industry. Engineering education has been changing, and as instructors we need to keep up with it.”

Avci says that structures have become lighter and thinner in recent years, and incorporating these updates along with the vibration serviceability side of things is something that he’s been talking about in his classroom for more than a decade. Vibration and acoustics are critical considerations in construction to enhance well-being and comfort for building inhabitants. It’s estimated that global floor area will double by 2060, totaling 2.6 trillion square feet of new floor added to global stock. The new system has broad application potential, even in high seismic conditions.

The initial findings of the research project were presented at the International Modal Analysis Conference in January. Avci will be recognized by the AISC at the NASCC Steel Conference on March 20 in San Antonio, Texas.

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