Open / Close Advertisement

AIST Selects T.C. Graham Prize Contest Jury

The winner (an individual or group of up to four individuals) will be chosen based upon an original idea for a new innovative application for steel that may lead to the development of new markets. The winning entry will win US$20,000.
 
The Contest Jury consists of:

John Ferriola — chairman, president and chief executive officer, Nucor Corp.
 
Ferriola joined Nucor Corp. in 1991 as manager of maintenance and engineering at the Jewett, Texas, USA, bar mill. In 1995, he was named general manager of Nucor's Grapeland, Texas, USA, joist fabrication division. Later the same year, he was named vice president and general manager of Nucor's Norfolk, Neb., USA, bar mill. From 1998 to the end of 2001, he served as vice president and general manager of the Crawfordsville, Ind., USA, sheet mill.
 
In January 2002, Ferriola was appointed executive vice president, and in September 2007 was named chief operation officer of steelmaking operations. He became president and chief operating officer and a member of the board of directors in January 2011.
 
In November 2012, Nucor announced that its board of directors elected Ferriola to the position of chief executive officer and president, effective 1 January 2013.
 
He currently serves as the chairman of the board of directors of the Steel Manufacturers Association (SMA) and serves on the board of directors of the American Iron & Steel Institute (AISI).
 
Ferriola has been active in AIST for more than 20 years and has served on its board of directors. He has also served on the board of directors of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM).
 
Prior to joining Nucor, Ferriola began his career with Bethlehem Steel Corp. in 1974, and worked for 17 years in various operating and management roles. He graduated from the Maritime Academy, State University of New York with a B.S. degree in electrical engineering. In the spring of 2012, he received an honorary doctorate from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology.
 
Mario Longhi — president and chief executive officer, United States Steel Corporation
 
Mario Longhi joined United States Steel Corporation in July 2012 to serve as executive vice president and chief operating officer. He was appointed president and chief operating officer in June 2013, and was elected president and chief executive officer in September 2013.
 
Prior to joining U. S. Steel, Longhi spent six years at Gerdau Ameristeel Corp., serving first as president from 2005 through 2006, and additionally served as chief executive officer from 2006 until 2011. Before his arrival at Gerdau Ameristeel, he spent 23 years at Alcoa Inc., which he joined in 1982 as a construction superintendent for the company's Alumar Refinery in his native Brazil.
 
Longhi began his career in the metals industry in 1978 as an engineer at Cobrasma, a Babcock and Wilcox licensee for the sale, design and manufacture of pressure vessels for use in South America.
 
A native of Tatui, state of São Paulo, Brazil, Longhi earned a bachelor's degree in metallurgical engineering from the Institute Mauá de Tecnologica in São Paulo.
 
Longhi serves on the executive committee of the World Steel Association. During his career, he has also served as chairman, director and executive committee member of the SMA and director of the AISI.
 
Mark Millett — president and chief executive officer, Steel Dynamics Inc.
 
Mark Millett assumed the position of president and chief executive officer of Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI), effective 1 January 2012. One of the co-founders of Steel Dynamics, he has held a variety of senior management positions and has served on the board of directors since the inception of the company in 1993.
 
In August 2008, Millett was named executive vice president for Metals Recycling and Ferrous Resources, as well as president and chief operating officer of OmniSource Corp., the metals-recycling business SDI had acquired in late 2007. As OmniSource's leader, he spearheaded the integration of OmniSource with Steel Dynamics, as well as managed the company's ferrous and non-ferrous scrap operations. In addition, he led SDI ferrous technologies teams, creating and implementing both of SDI's ironmaking initiatives — Iron Dynamics and Mesabi Nugget.
 
From 1998 to 2008, Millett was responsible for the company's flat roll steel business, including the Flat Roll Division, the company's first and largest division, and The Techs, which was acquired and successfully integrated into the company in 2007.
 
Prior to the formation of Steel Dynamics, Millett was employed by Nucor Corp. for 12 years, serving in key technical and management roles, including the design, construction, and operation of the melting and casting facility at the world's first thin-slab flat roll mini-mill at Crawfordsville, Ind., USA. He left Nucor in 1993 to co-found SDI.
 
Millett earned a bachelor's degree with honors in metallurgy from the University of Surrey, England.
 
Mike Rippey — president and chief executive officer, ArcelorMittal USA
 
Michael Rippey is president and chief executive officer for ArcelorMittal USA, Chicago, Ill., USA. A steel industry veteran, Rippey is responsible for the company's business functions, which include sales and marketing, operations, finance, procurement, human resources and legal. When the company merged to create ArcelorMittal in mid-2007, Rippey provided critical leadership to integrate U.S. facilities including flat and plate steel operations. Rippey also serves on the ArcelorMittal Global management committee. Prior to August 2006, he held roles as executive vice president, sales and marketing, with direct responsibility for light, flat rolled and plate products, and also as executive vice president — commercial and chief financial officer, at Ispat Inland, a predecessor company. A member of the senior leadership team since 1998, Rippey began his career with Inland Steel in 1984.
 
He holds a bachelor's degree in marketing from Indiana University, a master's degree in banking and finance from Loyola University, and an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago.
 
James L. Wainscott — chairman, president and chief executive officer, AK Steel Corp.
 
James L. Wainscott joined AK Steel as vice president and treasurer in 1995. He was named chief financial officer in 1997; president, CEO and a member of the board of directors in 2003; and chairman of the board in 2006. In addition to his leadership of AK Steel, Wainscott serves as a member of the board of directors of Parker-Hannifin Corp. He is chairman of the Steel Market Development Institute and a member of the Washington, D.C.-based Business Roundtable. He is a former chairman of AISI, and a recipient of the Institute's Gary Memorial Medal for his lifelong contributions to the North American steel industry.
 
He currently serves on the board of trustees of Xavier University and the board of directors of the United Way of Greater Cincinnati.
 
Wainscott graduated from Ball State University with a B.S. degree in accounting, and also holds an M.B.A. from the University of Notre Dame.

All contest applications must be submitted by 31 December 2014. A Selection Committee will begin their review of applications 1 January–31 March 2015, and the semi-finalists will be announced on 5 May 2015 at AISTech 2015 — The Iron & Steel Technology Conference and Exposition in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. Semi-finalists will have until 31 July 2015 to submit additional information to the Contest Jury to more thoroughly showcase their innovative idea. In September 2015, semi-finalists will deliver oral presentations for the Contest Jury. The winner will be announced in the fall of 2015.
 
Full details and information can be found on the T.C. Graham Prize Web page, or contact Chris McKelvey for questions.


AIST is a non-profit technical association of 16,500 members from 70 countries, with the mission to advance the technical development, production, processing and application of iron and steel. The organization is recognized as a global leader in networking, education and sustainability programs for advancing iron and steel technology.