The Steelmaker of the Year Award is presented annually by AIST to recognize notable leaders and their contributions to the steel industry.

Mr. Millett received the honor on 6 May during the conference's President's Award Breakfast, recognizing him as a visionary, people-oriented leader whose entrepreneurial spirit and relentless work ethic have fostered significant technical, economic and cultural advances in the steel industry. His pioneering leadership style combined with his technological problem-solving approach have led to the achievement of evolutionary milestones in steel manufacturing — most notably in the fields of alternative iron production, thin-slab casting and as a co-founder of Steel Dynamics Inc.


While accepting the award, Mr. Millett said, "It is both gratifying and humbling to receive such an award when it is at the discretion of one's peers. In his book, Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell highlights that success is more often than not born of a discrete, unique opportunity. I have been blessed, since my life has been full of opportunity, from a wonderful family, to wonderful friends and partners, and a fulfilling career. On behalf of my colleagues at Steel Dynamics, and all of you, I graciously accept this award."

Other award winners announced during the President's Award Breakfast included:   

AIST Distinguished Member and Fellow Awards — Established in 1975, the Distinguished Member and Fellow Award is presented to an AIST member who has attained eminent distinction in advancing the technical development, production, processing and application of iron and steel and/or related activities of the industry and has performed meritorious service to the association.
 
Thomas W. Goettge, retired, United States Steel Corporation, Birmingham, Ala., USA

Goettge received this award in honor of his distinguished career in integrated steel manufacturing technology and operations, and for his steadfast vision to guide the formation of AIST and growth of the AIST Foundation for the greater good of the global steel industry.
 
Goettge said, "This industry had shown great signs of distress. The industry needed better utilization of technology, and it was apparent that we needed a consolidation of technical organizations that would allow us to make good products and do so effectively. The answer was to do some rebuilding. Fortunately, we didn't have to go too far to find the answer, which is Ron Ashburn. That was the best decision I made for this organization. He dug in and got this organization back on track."

Kent D. Peaslee (posthumously), Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla, Mo., USA
Peaslee received this honor for his exceptional leadership of and service to AIST at all levels of the association, and for his numerous contributions to the greater steel manufacturing community. His passion for teaching young engineers was rivaled only by his desire to foster research to advance steel technology. He leaves a professional legacy that will inspire many in the steel industry to persevere and excel.

Mary Peaslee accepted this award on her husband's behalf. She said, "Kent would be so honored. He loved his time with AIST and all the people he got to work with. He especially enjoyed his students, and I'm so proud that 28 students from Missouri University of Science and Technology are at AISTech this year. These students also won the 'Real Steel' Marketing Video Contest this year.

“Kent loved what he did, loved his students, and loved the industry. On behalf of Kent, I thank you so much."

AIST William T. Hogan, S.J. Lecture Award — Established in 1990, this honorary lecturer is selected in recognition of individual outstanding leadership to the iron and steel industry, with selected lectures covering trade, economics, steel industry operations, developments or forecasts. 
 
Mark D. Millett, president and chief executive officer, Steel Dynamics Inc., Fort Wayne, Ind., USA
 Millett's keynote lecture was entitled, "Making Money in the Steel Industry Is Not a Mystery."

AIST Tadeusz Sendzimir Memorial Medal — This distinguished award was established in 1990 to perpetuate the memory of Dr. Tadeusz Sendzimir's achievements and engineering contributions in developing process equipment for the steel industry. The award is presented in recognition of an individual who has advanced steelmaking through the invention, development or application of new manufacturing processes or equipment.
 
John G. Speer, John Henry Moore Professor, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colo., USA
Speer received this honor for the development of the quench and partitioning process, an innovative and transformative concept for the production of advanced high-strength steels.
 
Speer said, "It's a great honor to accept this award in memory of Tadeusz Sendzimir. I'd like to accept this on behalf of the physical metallurgy community."
 
J. Keith Brimacombe Memorial Lecture — This award was established in 1999 to honor Dr. J. Keith Brimacombe's outstanding accomplishments in the area of process metallurgy, his dedication to the steel industry and his profound effect on people in the industry. The award is granted in recognition of an individual dedicated to the steel industry to acquaint members, students and engineers with the many exciting opportunities that exist in the area of process metallurgy and to inspire them to pursue careers in this field.
 
David K. Matlock, university emeritus professor, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colo., USA
Dr. Matlock's presentation was titled "Perspectives on Industry/University Partnerships to Support Innovations in the Steel Industry."

While accepting the award, Dr. Matlock said, "Thanks to AIST and the industry here for sponsoring and supporting education. It is a true partnership."
 
John F. Elliott Lectureship Award — Established in 1990, this honorary lectureship is designed to acquaint students and engineers with the exciting opportunities in chemical process metallurgy and materials chemistry. This lecturer is selected in recognition of distinguished contributions in chemical process metallurgy and materials chemistry to the iron and steel industry.
 
Arthur D. Pelton, emeritus professor, École Polytechnique de Montréal, Montréal, Que., Canada
Prof. Pelton received this award for his work as one of the founding developers of the FactSage™ thermodynamic software package widely used in iron- and steelmaking research, and as a developer of a thermodynamic solution model for slags and metals, and complex phase diagram analysis.
 
Pelton said, "I am very honored and pleased to receive this award. Prof. Elliott was one of my early mentors. Many years ago I spent a valuable post-doctoral year at MIT under his direction.  He was a pioneer in the application of fundamental science to the real world of chemical metallurgy. His passion for the field inspired me and generations of students.

“I fear that many engineering students today tend to regard chemical metallurgy as a well-established, somewhat 'low-tech' field without the same exciting prospects for innovation and development as some other 'sexier' engineering disciplines. In my lectures I shall make it my goal to dispel this entirely false belief."

Benjamin F. Fairless Award (AIME) — This award was established in 1954 in honor of Benjamin F. Fairless, chairman of the board of United States Steel Corporation, for his intense interest in the technology and development of the iron and steel industry. This award recognizes distinguished achievement in iron and steel production and ferrous metallurgy.
 
Johannes Schade, manager, Electrical Steel Technologies & Research Laboratories, AK Steel Corp. – Research & Innovation, Middletown, Ohio, USA
Schade received this honor for advancing the knowledge of clean steel technologies in continuous casting. His passion for steel technology, contributions to tundish metallurgy, and his leadership in steelmaking and casting process technology have had a significant impact on the steel industry.
 
As Schade accepted his speech, he told a story of his professor from college. Schade said, "Over 30 years ago, as a metallurgy student, my professor said to me, 'If you want to pass this course, you may want to think about completing these AIST membership applications.' Thanks to all of my colleagues for pushing me to do better. I am honored and humbled to receive this award, which represents passion for this industry."

Hunt-Kelly Outstanding Paper Award (AIME) — This award recognizes the author(s) of the best published paper of the previous year: US$5,000 for first place, US$2,500 for second place and US$1,000 for third place.
 
First Place — Debdutta Roy, Saint-Gobain Abrasives; P. Chris Pistorius, Carnegie Mellon University; Richard J. Fruehan, Carnegie Mellon University
These authors were selected to receive this year's honor for their paper entitled, "The Effect of Silicon on the Desulfurization of Al-Killed Steels."

Second Place — Nicholas A. Gregurich, ArcelorMittal Burns Harbor; Garrett P. Flick, ArcelorMittal Burns Harbor; Rudolf Moravec, ArcelorMittal Global R&D; Kenneth E. Blazek, ArcelorMittal Global R&D
These authors were selected to receive this award for their paper entitled, "In-Depth Analysis of Continuous Caster Machine Behavior During Casting With Different Roll Gap Taper Profiles."
 
Third Place — Gisèle Walmag, CRM Group; Sèbastian Flament, CRM Group; Jürgen Malbrancke, CRM Group; Geneviève Moreas, CRM Group; Mario Sinnaeve, Marichal-Ketin
These authors were selected for their paper entitled, "Development of New Materials Based on On-Site and Laboratory Evaluation Methods for Understanding Work Roll Surface Degradation."

AISTech 2014 is one of the largest gatherings of industry personnel in the world this year. The four-day conference program encompassed more than 500 technical presentations, and exhibits by over 500 domestic and international companies.

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AIST is an international technical association of more than 16,500 professional and student members, representing 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.