Ulrike Kuhlmann is professor of steel, timber and composites structures at the University of Stuttgart, Germany and head of the Institute of Structural Design. She chairs CEN/TC250/SC3 Steel Structures and Technical Working Group 8.3 Plates of ECCS. She was a member of the project team for the conversion of ENV 1993-1-1 to EN 1993 and has since been deeply involved in code drafting.