T.C. Graham Prize   

What’s Next for Steel? T.C. Graham Prize Annual Design Competition

Recognizing innovative applications for iron and steel, the T.C. Graham Prize is awarded to the winners of the Association for Iron & Steel Technology’s (AIST) annual design competition. The winning entry/team will receive a US$20,000 cash prize. The purpose of the contest is to encourage, generate and potentially incubate ideas that may lead to the development of new markets for steel.

The T.C. Graham Prize was established in 2014 with a US$100,000 donation to the Association for Iron & Steel Technology by Mr. Thomas C. Graham Sr.  A Life Member of AIST, Mr. Graham is the former president of Jones & Laughlin Steel, United States Steel Corporation, Washington Steel, Armco Steel and the first chairman of AK Steel. The AIST Board of Directors wish to express their sincere appreciation and gratitude to Mr. Graham for his generosity to the Association.

Entries will be accepted from any individual or team. The entries will be judged for practical application, performance and marketability. Sustainability initiatives relative to profitability, energy intensity, safety, environmental impact and overall life cycle assessment will also be evaluated.

It doesn’t matter if your idea is big or small, only the potential impact. Previous winning ideas have included nanotextures on stainless steel, a steel-based system that melts snow and ice on concrete surfaces, and improvements to cladding for auto body panels and cladding applications using induction heating.

While the cash prize will be awarded to an individual or team, Mr. Graham feels strongly that absolute market growth should be the focus of major efforts within each steel company as a matter of supreme urgency. The spirit of this fund is to catalyze these efforts by encouraging companies to take an active role in supporting the market development initiatives of their employees.