The top winners of the 2025 CFSEI Student Competition on Cold-Formed Steel Design were recently announced by the Cold-Formed Steel Engineers Institute (CFSEI), with winning students hailing from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Marquette University and Milwaukee School of Engineering.
The competition promotes higher education in cold-formed steel (CFS) structural design and encourages students to use creative thinking skills to solve engineering problems.
This year’s competition attracted entries from universities across the United States and Canada. To ensure their success, participants were paired with industry mentors who had expertise in CFS design and construction. All entries were judged by a panel of industry professionals and ranked based on the design’s quality, constructability, and presentation.
CFSEI Student Competition Winners
First Place – Ryan McLaughlin, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Ryan McLaughlin, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Second Place – Vince Salvador, Marquette University and Owen Selle, Milwaukee School of Engineering
Vince Salvador, Marquette University
Owen Selle, Milwaukee School of Engineering
‘Only Competition of its Kind’
“This is the only competition of its kind in the cold-formed steel industry,” said Jeffrey Klaiman, P.E., CFSEI managing director. “It requires participants to utilize their knowledge of the latest innovations in manufacturing, Building Information Modeling, and logistics technologies, and to apply that knowledge in developing a cold-formed steel solution to a specific design challenge that they could face in the workplace.”
Tammy Gleed, P.E., general manager at ClarkDietrich Engineering Services, LLC, and a CFSEI competition organizer, said, “This year’s participants were tasked with repurposing a vacant space on the 19th floor of an existing dormitory to accommodate a surge in new students. The project required the use of non-combustible materials, making cold-formed steel an excellent choice. The goal was to convert the existing 2-bed units into 3-bed units by integrating a sleeping loft, thereby increasing the total available square footage.”
The top winners receive monetary awards and award plaques and will have an opportunity to attend the 2025 CFSEI Expo in Raleigh, North Carolina.
2025 CFSEI Expo
May 19-21, 2025
Raleigh Marriott Crabtree Valley Hotel, Raleigh, North CarolinaThe 2025 CFSEI Expo, presented by the Cold-Formed Steel Engineers Institute (CFSEI) is designed for architects, builders/contractors and engineers. The 2025 Expo Schedule is geared toward both skilled cold-formed steel (CFS) framing professionals and newcomers and provides opportunities for networking.
Event Details:
- Exposition featuring state-of-the-art CFS framing technologies
- The new Emerging Technologies Forum (Monday, May 19)
- Announcement of the winners of the 2025 CFSEI Design and Distinguished Service Awards
Cold-Formed Steel Engineers Institute
The Cold-Formed Steel Engineers Institute (CFSEI) 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.
CFSEI is part of the Steel Framing Industry Association (SFIA), where its leadership as the industry’s key touchpoint for CFS design receives full support.
For more information, visit www.cfsei.org.
Additional Resources
- CFSEI Publishes Tech Note on Evaluation and Remediation of Cold-Formed Steel Members and Connections
- CFSEI Course: AISI Standard Series S100-16 (On-Demand)
- FAQ: Does Verbiage about Shear Walls and Strap-Braced Walls Removed from S400-20 Still Apply?