CISC Alfred F. Wong Lifetime Achievement Awards
The annual Alfred F. Wong Lifetime Achievement Award honours individuals who have made significant contributions to the development and success of the Canadian steel construction industry over a sustained period of years. This award recognizes individuals participating within the structural steel design, fabrication, construction, and academic communities.
Recipients of the Alfred F. Wong Lifetime Achievement Award will have:
- made a positive impact on advancing the use of structural steel
- gained the respect of professional peers
- been generally acknowledged as having reached the pinnacle of their profession or industry; and
- demonstrated, over an extended period of time (typically 30 years or more), exemplary leadership, mentorship, advocacy, standards development, advancement of knowledge, and/or innovation in design, fabrication, construction, or academia
The nomination window has NOW CLOSED. Thank you to everyone who submitted their exceptional candidates.
2025 CISC Alfred Wong Lifetime Achievement Award
Andy Metten
Over the past 40 years, Andy Metten has been the structural design engineer for many steel buildings including the Vancouver International Airport and the U.S. Terminal in Nassau, Bahamas, and TRIUMF Institute for Advanced Medical Isotopes. Andy retired in October 2024 from being a partner and structural engineer in the Vancouver structural engineering firm of Bush, Bohlman and Partners LLP. Andy Metten has practised structural engineering since graduation from the University of British Columbia with a bachelor's and master's degrees in structural engineering in 1978 and 1981. Andy was a member of the Standing Committee for Earthquake Design for the National Building Code of Canada and the S16 structural steel design committee for Canada. For the past 25 years, he has also taught an evening structural steel design course through the Structural Engineers Association of BC (SEABC) that has been well received by more than 1000 mostly practicing engineers. In 2025 Andy was awarded the CISC Alfred Wong Lifetime Achievement Award.
Robert Tremblay
Robert Tremblay is a Professor of Structural Engineering at Polytechnique Montréal. He obtained his BSc (1978) and MSc (1988) degrees from Laval University, followed by a PhD degree from UBC in 1993. Between undertaking his PhD studies in 1989, he worked as a structural engineer for a steel building manufacturer (1979-88) and a consulting engineering firm (1988-89) in Quebec City. Prof. Tremblay's research activities focus mainly on the seismic behaviour and design of steel building structures, and he held a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in earthquake engineering (2003–2017). He has been a member of several technical code committees: the Canadian Committee on Earthquake Engineering (CANCEE; 1995– 2009); the Standing Committee on Earthquake Design (SC-ED) since 2009 for the development of the seismic provisions of the NBCC; the CSA S16 Standard for the design of steel structures (1998–2023), leading the work group on seismic design from 2002 to 2022; the CSA S6 sub-committee on the seismic design of bridge structures (2004–2019), and the AISC Task Committee 9 working on the AISC 341 Seismic Design Provisions for Structural Steel Buildings in the U.S. (2005–2021). Prof. Tremblay has authored and co-authored over 400 journal and conference articles. He and colleagues were awarded the P.L. Pratley award in 1996 and the Cazimir Gwoszki Medal in 2003 and 2006. In 2004, he received the ASCE Raymond C. Reese Research Prize for outstanding contributions to the application of structural engineering research. Prof. Tremblay was named Fellow of the CSCE in 2004 and Fellow of the Canadian Engineering Academy in 2012. In 2022, he received an AISC Lifetime Achievement Award, and in 2009, he received an AISC Special Achievement Award for his research in improving the understanding and design of seismic-resistant steel braced frames. In 2024, he received the A.B. Sanderson Award from the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering, "in recognition of outstanding contributions by a civil engineer to the development and practice of structural engineering in Canada".
2024 CISC Alfred Wong Lifetime Achievement Award
Dr. Reinhold “Reini” Schuster
Dr. Reinhold “Reini” Schuster – Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of Waterloo, Dr. Schuster has made significant, and lasting, contributions to the Cold-Formed Steel industry throughout his career as an educator, researcher, code developer (CSA S136/AISI S100) and engineering consultant, renowned both nationally and internationally. Many CSSBI member manufacturers rely on Reini for his technical expertise when developing load/span tables, testing requirements and supervision, and excellence in education on the topic of CFS.
Dr. Robert Driver
Dr. Driver’s dedication to excellence in teaching structural steel design at the University of Alberta has been widely recognized. Throughout his career, Dr. Driver has contributed to over 100 publications, including as co-author of the staple book of the industry, Structural Steel for Canadian Buildings: A Designer’s Guide, chaired the S16 Technical Committee, and is a former CISC staff member.
Alfred F. Wong has devoted his career to bridging the gap between structural steel research and needs, between research and code provisions, between codes and design practice, as well as between code implementation and construction.
He began his profession as an Engineer with the Canadian Institute of Steel Construction in 1979. He started his dynamic career with the CISC after first receiving his bachelor’s and master’s degree in civil engineering from the University of New Brunswick and the University of Alberta respectively.
Since then, Alfred has worked tirelessly up the corporate ladder and has held various positions with the CISC including Project Analysis Division Head and Chief Engineer. Most notable, he led the CISC’s engineering department as the Director of Engineering for the last 25 years prior to announcing his retirement in January 2019.
In support of the institutes effort to promote the safe, economical and sustainable use of steel, Alfred led the efforts of many steel design projects and assisted engineers from coast to coast in their search of the best solutions for their building and bridge projects all across Canada.
Throughout Alfred’s exemplary career spanning over the last 40 years with the CISC he has provided leadership on innumerable projects and has contributed immensely to the steel design and construction industry, as well as to the Canadian Institute of Steel Constructions overall growth. His involvement in projects that have pushed the boundaries in the innovation of steel buildings and bridges across Canada will continue to be celebrated by his colleagues and industry partners today and every day.
