FeMET Initiative Seeks Proposals for Design and Curriculum Development Grants
04/16/2009 - FeMET Initiative is accepting design and curriculum development grant proposals for the 2009–2010 school year.
The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) and the Association for Iron & Steel Technology (AIST) Foundation’s “Ferrous Metallurgy Education Today” (FeMET) Initiative is now accepting design and curriculum development grant proposals for the 2009–2010 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 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 potential benefits and team qualifications. The program may award a grant of up to $50,000.
The theme for 2009 has two parts: “The Description of the State-of-the-Art Modeling Techniques,” and “The Detailing of how they can be Applied to Steel Processes and the Benefits that could be Derived.” Student-Professor teams must quantify the benefits that would result from the proposed technique and study, and the work should address both parts of the theme. 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 manufacturingt@steel.org by May 31, 2009. Awardees will be announced July 31, 2009. 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. 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 in the fall of 2009. 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 to 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 30, 2009. Awardees will be announced July 31, 2009. Questions about the curriculum development program and/or proposal process should be directed to Lori Wharrey at lwharrey@aist.org or 724-814-3044.
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 24 member companies, including integrated and electric furnace steelmakers, and 138 associate and affiliate members who are suppliers to or customers of the steel industry. To learn more, visit AISI’s website at www.steel.org.
The AIST Foundation 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. To encourage the pursuit of a career within iron and steel-related industries, the Foundation awards scholarships on an annual basis to talented and dedicated students, with approximately $450,000 awarded in 2008 through the AIST Foundation and its affiliated groups.
The AIST Foundation, a Pennsylvania-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation organized for charitable, education and scientific purposes, is part of AIST, an international professional and technical association of more than 15,100 professional and student members. As the industry evolves, the AIST Foundation strives to develop new and innovative programs to support the future of the iron and steel technology. For more information about AIST, visit www.aist.org.
