FeMET Initiative Accepting Proposals for 2011–12 Design and Curriculum Development Grants
02/03/2011 - The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) and the Association for Iron & Steel Technology (AIST) Foundation’s FeMET Initiative is now accepting design and curriculum development grant proposals for the 2011–2012 school year.
The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) and the Association for Iron & Steel Technology (AIST) Foundation’s “Ferrous Metallurgy Education Today,” or FeMET Initiative, is now accepting design and curriculum development grant proposals for the 2011–2012 school year. The FeMET Initiative is aimed at attracting top scholastic talent to the North American steel industry.
The FeMET Design Grant Program seeks innovative designs and solutions for industry-related issues. Student-professor teams are asked to work collaboratively to address an important industry concern or “challenge”. Proposals must include the team’s approach/methodology, including a budget and schedule. Proposals will be judged based on: technical approach and relation to the theme, probability of success and its potential benefits, and team qualifications. The program may award a grant of up to US$50,000.
The theme for 2011 is “the recyclability of automobiles — past, present and future — i.e., the impact of advanced high-strength steels (AHSS) and embedded electronic components.” Teams should quantify the benefits arising out of the proposed technique/s and the study. Teams may propose to perform one or more comparative studies, as long as they remain within the budget parameters outlined in the proposal instructions.
Completed proposals must be submitted electronically, via PDF, to manufacturing@steel.org by May 28, 2011. Questions about the design grant program and/or proposal process should be directed to BV Lakshminarayana at blakshminarayana@steel.org or +1.202.452.7143. Awardees will be announced July 29, 2011.
FeMET Curriculum Development Grant proposals are being solicited from professors of ferrous metallurgy or materials science at North American universities for funding of a curriculum development assistant to enhance or update industry curriculum in ferrous metallurgy programs. The program objective is to utilize students to assist in the editing and updating of textbooks and/or other course materials for use in ferrous metallurgy education, with an underlying objective to increase industry awareness within the academic community. The proposals must indicate how the professor will approach the task, including budget and schedule requirements.
Up to five university professors will be awarded US$5,000 each per year to fund initiatives designed to enhance or update industry curriculum in ferrous metallurgy programs. The maximum allowable time for a Curriculum Development Grant is five years, beginning in the fall of 2011, for a total of US$25,000 per grant. The number of awards depends on fund availability.
Proposals will be evaluated according to the following criteria: direct benefits to the iron and steel industry and the ferrous metallurgy/materials science programs in North America, the plan’s potential to increase the number of students studying metallurgy and materials science in North America, and the expertise and capabilities of the professor to fulfill the program objective.
Completed proposals must be submitted electronically, via PDF, to lwharrey@aist.org by May 28, 2011. Questions about the Curriculum Development program and/or proposal process should be directed to Lori Wharrey at lwharrey@aist.org or +1.724.814.3044. Awardees will be announced July 29, 2011.
AISI and the AIST Foundation together launched the FeMET Initiative to encourage more students to choose metallurgy or materials science as their field of study, to recruit more of such graduates into the steel industry and to increase the number of professors knowledgeable in steel in North American universities.
The AIST Foundation is a Pennsylvania-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation organized for charitable, education and scientific purposes that seeks to attract technology-oriented professionals to the steel industry by educating the public about the high-tech, diverse and rewarding nature of careers in modern steelmaking. Scholarships are awarded on an annual basis to talented and dedicated students to encourage the pursuit of a career within iron and steel-related industries. Approximately US$400,000 was awarded in 2010 through the AIST Foundation and its affiliated groups.
The AIST Foundation is part of AIST, an international professional and technical association of more than 13,700 professional and student members. As the industry evolves, the AIST Foundation will strive to develop new and innovative programs to support the future of the iron and steel technology. For more information about AIST, visit AIST.org.
AISI serves as the voice of the North American steel industry in the public policy arena and advances the case for steel in the marketplace as the preferred material of choice. AISI also plays a lead role in the development and application of new steels and steelmaking technology. The Institute comprises 24 member companies, including integrated and electric furnace steelmakers, and 140 associate and affiliate members who are suppliers to or customers of the steel industry.
