FeMET Initiative Seeks Proposals for Design, Curriculum Development Grants
04/18/2008 - FeMET Initiative is accepting design and curriculum development grant proposals for the 2008–2009 school year.
The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) and the Association for Iron & Steel Technology Foundation’s “Ferrous Metallurgy Education Today” (FeMET Initiative) are now accepting design and curriculum development grant proposals for the 2008–2009 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 to industry-related issues. Student-Professor teams are asked to address an important industry concern or “challenge” by working collaboratively. Proposals must include the team’s approach/methodology, including a budget and schedule. Proposals will be judged 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 $50,000.
The 2008 theme is “Technologies for Welding of New Generation Steels.” Teams must quantify the benefits of the proposed technique and study. Data will be provided, where available, from AISI to the teams. Other data will be determined by the investigation during the study. Teams may propose to perform one or more comparative studies, as long as they remain within the outlined budget parameters.
Completed proposals must be submitted electronically, via PDF, to manufacturingt@steel.org by June 30, 2008. Awardees will be announced July 31, 2008. Questions about the design grant program and/or proposal process should be directed to BV Lakshminarayana at blakshmi@steel.org or 202.452.7143.
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 $5,000 each 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 fall 2008. The number of awards granted depends on fund availability; each grant will be $5,000 maximum per year for five years, totaling $25,000.
Proposals will be evaluated on 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.
- 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 June 31, 2008. Awardees will be announced July 31, 2008. Questions about the curriculum development program and/or proposal process should be directed to Lori Wharrey at lwharrey@aist.org or 724.776.6040, ext. 621.
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.
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 comprises 31 member companies, including integrated and electric furnace steelmakers, and 130 associate and affiliate members who are suppliers to or customers of the steel industry.
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. 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. The AIST Foundation is a Pennsylvania-based, 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation that is part of AIST, an international professional and technical association of more than 14,000 professional and student members. As the industry evolves, the AIST Foundation will strive to develop new and innovative programs to support the future of iron and steel technology.
