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AISC honors Amit Varma with Lifetime Achievement Award
He has worked on the plans for a nuclear power plant in Georgia and high-rise buildings in Seattle and San Jose.
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Bhavana P - Sat, 07, Jun 2025
- 12:05 EDT
- 16
Amit Varma (middle), Karl H. Kettelhut Professor in Civil Engineering at the Lyles School of Civil & Construction Engineering and executive director of the Purdue Applied Research Institute Infrastructure & Innovation Lab, accepted his lifetime achievement award from American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) president Charlie Carter (left) and AISC board chair Hugh McCaffrey (right). / Purdue University
The American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) has honored Indian-origin civil engineer Amit Varma with the Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his contributions to steel-concrete composite structures and structural design innovation.
Varma, the Karl H. Kettelhut professor in the Lyles School of Civil and Construction Engineering and executive director of the Purdue Applied Research Institute Infrastructure and Innovation Lab (PIIL) at Purdue University was recognized for more than two decades of impactful research in fire design, seismic and wind resilience, and nuclear infrastructure.
Also read: Anjan Bose gets IEEE Lifetime Achievement Award
“Amit has been contributing to AISC since we awarded him our first Milek Fellowship in 2004. That started a long trail of accomplishments as he has become a world-renowned researcher in steel, composite design and design for earthquakes, wind and fire. AISC is proud to recognize Amit for his outstanding accomplishments,” said AISC president Charlie Carter.
Varma’s research has informed national and international building codes and supported the approval of major infrastructure projects, including a nuclear power plant in Georgia and high-rise buildings in Seattle and San Jose, California. His work on steel-plate composites has significantly advanced modular construction methods that improve cost-efficiency and safety.
“Steel-plate composites are truly the best of both worlds,” Varma said. “You’re efficiently combining the lightweight, strength and ductility of steel with the mass, stiffness, damping and fire resistance of concrete.”
Under Varma’s leadership, PIIL has become a hub for experimental validation and scalable design innovation in defense, energy, and civil infrastructure sectors. The lab partners with public and private entities to develop practical, efficient building systems.
In addition to this latest recognition, Varma has received multiple AISC honors, including the T. R. Higgins Lectureship Award in 2021–22 and special achievement awards in 2017 and 2020.
Originally from Mumbai, Varma received his B.Tech from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) - Bombay, M.S. from the University of Oklahoma (OU) and Ph.D. from Lehigh University.
The American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) is a non-profit technical institute and trade association established in 1921. It sets standards for steel building design, promotes research and innovation in structural steel, and supports engineers, architects, and fabricators through education, certification programs, and industry-wide initiatives to advance steel construction practices.
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