AISC Welcomes Northeastern University Professor for Fall Research Residency

September 12, 2025

CHICAGO - The American Institute of Steel Construction is thrilled to welcome Northeastern University Professor Jerome Hajjar, PE, PhD, to its inaugural Innovation Fellowship program, a collaborative research residency at the Institute's Chicago headquarters.

The fellowship, a minimum semester-long iteration of AISC's two-week Innovation Scholar summer program, aims to engage industry leaders with structural steel-focused research and provide avenues for continued collaboration in the process.

"I am honored to have been invited to be the inaugural Fellow," Hajjar said. "At AISC, I will be interacting especially with the teams working on sustainability, research, education, and the design specifications. I look forward to learning more about AISC's vision and scope, as well as working with the great team at AISC on these goals."

Supported by the AISC Education Foundation, Hajjar will work with AISC staff on a variety of initiatives during his academic sabbatical. His expertise, insight, and decades of experience researching resilient and sustainable structures will be invaluable to AISC's continued investment in creating educational and actionable sustainability resources.

"I have been working toward having sustainability and resilience become increasingly premier design objectives in structural engineering, underpinned by our current objectives--all addressed now so well in the work of AISC and its members--of strength, stability, serviceability, constructability, aesthetics, and economy," Hajjar said.

AISC intends to develop a network of connected and supportive Innovation Fellow alumni, beginning with Hajjar. AISC will select an Innovation Fellow annually through a formal application process open to university faculty, steel researchers, steel designers, recent retirees, and other eligible candidates with a desire to advance innovation in steel design and construction.

"We couldn't be more excited to welcome Jerry to Chicago this fall and invite his wealth of structural knowledge into our research and programs," said Christopher Raebel, SE, PE, PhD, AISC's vice president of engineering and research. "I look forward to seeing this program take shape and thrive in the hands of our industry's thought leaders."

Learn more about the program at aisc.org/innovation-fellow.

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For more information contact:

Dani FriedlandDirector of Marketing [email protected]

American Institute of Steel Construction

The American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC), a not-for-profit technical institute supported by the steel industry, partners with the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) community to develop safe and efficient steel specifications and codes while driving innovation to make steel the most sustainable, economic, and resilient structural material. For more than a century, AISC has been a reliable resource for information and advice on the design and construction of domestically fabricated structural steel buildings and bridges.130 E. Randolph St, Suite 2000Chicago IL 60601 312.670.2401 https://www.aisc.org