Aug. 1, 2006 — The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) and the Association for Iron & Steel Technology Foundation’s (AIST Foundation) FeMET (Ferrous Metallurgy Education Today) Initiative has awarded its design grants for 2006.

Teams of materials science engineering students and their professors from Carnegie Mellon University and University of Missouri–Rolla have been granted $47,500 each to put toward their efforts in addressing an industry technological challenge by working collaboratively to determine how the problem is best solved. The teams’ proposals included exposure to important problems in the steel industry, as well as learning various technical and economic aspects in creating a solution.

The two teams that submitted the winning proposals will address the 2006–2007 design theme, “Comparative Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Assessments of Steel Products.” The Carnegie Mellon University team will address the problem in the project, “An Environmental Life Cycle Comparison of Steel Versus Wood in Residential and Commercial Construction.” The project to be taken up by the team from University of Missouri–Rolla is titled, “Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emission Comparison of Steel With Other Materials.”

“The universities are addressing one of steel’s most important attributes — sustainability — and we look forward to seeing the progress the teams and projects make in the coming year,” said Andrew G. Sharkey, President and CEO of AISI. “The Design Grant Program, a part of FeMET, will expose metallurgy and materials science students and professors to real-life issues and enable them to acquire better knowledge of the North American steel industry.”

According to Ronald E. Ashburn, AIST Foundation Executive Director, “Not only will this segment of the FeMET Initiative bring a practical, working knowledge in ferrous metallurgy to these students, but it will also bring the industry insight into how steel competes with other materials with respect to environmental sustainability.”

The Association for Iron & Steel Technology (AIST) was formed on Jan. 1, 2004, by the merger of the Iron & Steel Society and the Association of Iron and Steel Engineers. AIST is an international technical association representing more than 9,000 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. The AIST Foundation seeks to attract young, technology-oriented professionals to the industry by promoting the high-tech, diverse and well-paying nature of careers in modern steelmaking. For more information about AIST, visit www.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. AISI is comprised of 32 member companies, including integrated and electric furnace steelmakers, and 118 associate and affiliate members who are suppliers to our customers of the steel industry. AISI's member companies represent approximately 75% of both U.S. and North American steel capacity. For more information, view AISI’s website at www.steel.org.