Research studying cold-formed steel and its applications as a construction material could make buildings more structurally sound and less susceptible to damage brought by natural disasters such as earthquakes and hurricanes.

Cheng Yu, associate professor and coordinator of UNTs construction engineering technology program, is leading that research at UNT's College of Engineering, which recently joined the Cold-Formed Steel Research Consortium. The consortium brings together leading research teams across North America to provide the world's most comprehensive research on cold-formed steel structures.

"Joining the consortium gives UNT and partner institutions an opportunity to combine our expertise and research facilities to advance research and knowledge on cold-formed steel," says Yu, a recipient of the 2010 Faculty Early Career Development Award from the National Science Foundation.

Cold-formed steel is an economical and recyclable material used in buildings, bridges, storage racks, car bodies, transmission towers and various other types of equipment and structures.

The consortium's mission is to provide world-leading research and training capabilities to realize the full potential of cold-formed steel in construction.

Consortium partners and members include UNT, Johns Hopkins University, Virginia Tech, McGill University, Northeastern University, University of Massachusetts Amherst and others.

Yu's research focuses on structural behaviors of and mitigation approaches for light framed steel buildings subjected to multi-hazards, design methods for unique cold-formed steel structures, innovative construction materials and systems, and next generation building information modeling.