The American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) named Dr. Roberto Leon as the recipient of the AISC 2011 Special Achievement Award. This prestigious award provides special recognition to 
individuals that demonstrate notable singular or multiple achievements in structural steel design, construction, research or education. It honors living individuals who have made a positive and substantial impact on the structural steel design and construction industry.
Professor Leon joined the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Georgia Tech in 1995 and served as the School's interim chair from 2002-03. His expertise in structural engineering is well established within the field. Specifically, his research interests include: the behavior and design of steel and composite; seismic design of steel-braced frames and frames with partially restrained connections connections; the seismic behavior of bridges; serviceability of composite floors; and high performance materials.
The AISC award panel selected Dr. Leon to receive this honor "for research on the behavior and design of composite steel/concrete structural systems and contributions to the AISC Specification for Structural Steel Buildings and the AISC Seismic Provisions for Structural Steel Buildings."
For almost 90 years, AISC has conducted its numerous activities with a scrupulous sense of public responsibility. As a result, the organization enjoys a close working relationship with architects, engineers, code officials and educators who recognize its professional status in the fields of specification writing, structural research, design development and performance standards. The Special Achievement Award recognizes individuals who significantly contribute to this effort.
Dr. Leon earned his master's in structural engineering from Stanford University and his doctorate in civil engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. He is the recipient of numerous awards for outstanding contributions in the field of structural engineering such as the ASCE Norman Medal, the ASCE State-of-the-Art Award (2x), and the AISC T.R. Higgins Award. In addition, he is a Fellow of the American Concrete Institute. For additional information about Dr. Leon and his research, visit: http://www.ce.gatech.edu/people/faculty/921/overview.
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AISC is a not-for-profit technical institute and trade association established in 1921 to serve the structural steel design community and construction industry in the United States. AISC’s mission is to make structural steel the material of choice by being the leader in structural-steel-related technical and market-building activities, including: specification and code development, research, education, technical assistance, quality certification, standardization, and market development.