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AIST Dedicates Digital Library to Kent D. Peaslee

Dr. Peaslee passed away unexpectedly in May 2013 at the age of 56. He was the 2012–2013 president of AIST and the former F. Kenneth Iverson Chair of Steelmaking Technology and Curators' Teaching Professor of Metallurgical Engineering at Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T). He was a member of the AIST Executive Committee since 2007.
 
He will be remembered for his steadfast leadership, reminding us of the importance of the academic community, students and young professionals to the future of the steel industry. Drawing on his expertise, AIST crafted new programs such as the AIST Foundation Junior Faculty Award and the Steel to Students program. He also helped facilitate AIST's international outreach strategy, with the clear objective to make AIST the global source of knowledge and networking for members.
 
Dr. Peaslee recognized the need to ensure that AIST bolsters its world-class knowledge sharing, not just through AIST's Member Chapters and Technology Committees, but with online resources such as the Digital Library, which provides access to the world's largest repository for steel technology. He championed the Digital Library, giving his time to thoughtful and thorough reviews of the site and its content in an effort to make the site a useful tool for today's steelmaking community, as well as for generations to come.
 
Peaslee joined the Missouri S&T faculty as an assistant professor in 1994. He was promoted to associate professor in 2000 and professor in 2005. He was named a Curators' Teaching Professor in 2006 and became the university's first Iverson Chair in 2007. The chair was established through a US$2 million gift from Nucor. In 2007, Peaslee received the Governor's Award for Excellence in Teaching from former Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt. At Missouri S&T, he received numerous Faculty Excellence Awards and Outstanding Teaching Awards, as well as the Dean's Teaching Scholar Award. He also received the Class of 1942 Excellence in Teaching Award from the Miner Alumni Association. Peaslee earned a B.S. degree in metallurgical engineering from the Colorado School of Mines in 1978 and worked for 13 years in a variety of technical and management positions in the steel industry, including Bayou Steel in La Place, La.; Border Steel Mills in El Paso, Texas; Raritan River Steel in Perth Amboy, N.J.; and CF&I Steel in Pueblo, Colo. He attended graduate school at Missouri S&T, where he earned a Ph.D. in metallurgical engineering in 1994.

 

AIST is an international technical association of more than 16,500 professional and student members, representing iron and steel producers, their allied suppliers and related academia. The association is dedicated to advancing the technical development, production, processing and application of iron and steel.