Steel Industry Leaders Honored at AISTech 2007
05/23/2007 - The annual “Steelmaker of the Year” Award was given to Lakshmi N. Mittal, Arcelor Mittal Steel’s President of the Board and CEO, during AISTech 2007 — The Iron & Steel Technology Conference and Exposition. A number of other award winners were also announced during the event's President’s Award Breakfast.
The annual “Steelmaker of the Year” Award was bestowed on Lakshmi N. Mittal, Arcelor Mittal Steel’s President of the Board and CEO, during AISTech 2007 — The Iron & Steel Technology Conference and Exposition. The event’s manager, the Association for Iron & Steel Technology (AIST), presents the Steelmaker of the Year Award annually in recognition of notable leaders and their contributions to the steel industry.
Leonard H. Chuderewicz, Executive Vice President—Operations for Mittal Steel USA, accepted the award on behalf of Mittal during the conference’s annual President’s Award Breakfast on Wednesday, May 9. Speaking in Mittal’s absence, he said the award was testament to the extraordinary commitment of Arcelor Mittal employees around the world. He also thanked AIST for its invaluable contributions to the steel industry.
Mittal was cited for his evolutionary advancement of a sustainable business model for steel and was lauded for his “visionary leadership in strategic industry consolidation resulting in the merger of the world’s two largest steelmakers to create Arcelor Mittal.”
Other award winners announced during the President’s Award Breakfast included:
AIST Distinguished Member and Fellow Award — 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.
Nicholas M. Rymarchyk Jr., operations consultant, Berry Metal Co., received this honor for his expertise in the development of lance design and related process improvements for basic oxygen furnace technology, and for his long-standing membership and active service to AIST. In accepting the accolade, Rymarchyk thanked AIST for the “extraordinary honor,” and expressed gratitude to the steel industry as whole for the opportunities it provided throughout his career.
Charles J. Totten, National Accounts Manager — Integrated Steel Mills, P&H Morris Material Handling LLC, received this honor for the promotion of education in crane design and maintenance to the steel industry, and for his dedicated service to the association. In accepting the award, Totten remarked that the industry has 3000 to 4000 overhead traveling cranes in operation in the United States, with most ranging from 40 to 80 years old. He said he was honored to accept the award on behalf of the small handful of people who have kept these cranes operating so well. “It is in honor of this group that I humbly accept this award,” he said.
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.
Millet L. Wei, consulting engineer, Wei Consulting Services, received this honor in recognition of his specialized expertise and knowledge in troubleshooting various integrated steel plant problems that have required significant interdisciplinary knowledge in the fields of structural, mechanical, metallurgical and ceramic engineering. Mr. Wei accepted the award, saying he was “overwhelmed by this award and to be recognized alongside so many of the industry’s legendary figures.” He also said he was proud to have been associated with AIST over the past 40 years.
AIST Howe Memorial Lecture Award — This award was established in 1923 to honor the late professor Henry Marion Howe, who helped turn steelmaking from an art into a science. This honorary lecturer is selected in recognition of individual outstanding contributions to the science and practice of iron and steel metallurgy or metallography. This award was given to Alan W. Cramb, dean, School of Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
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. This year, Yasutaka Iguchi, President of Hachinohe National College of Technology, will present a lecture entitled, “The Far-reaching Impact of Today’s Steel Industry Relative to Metals, Ceramics and Bio-materials,” to students at selected universities nationwide.
Benjamin F. Fairless Award (AIME) — This award was established in 1954 in honor of Benjamin F. Fairless, Chairman of the Board of U. S. Steel, 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. This year’s award goes to Allan Smillie, Melt/Cast Metallurgist, Nucor Steel–Indiana
Hunt-Kelly Outstanding Paper Award (AIME) — This award recognizes the author or authors of the best published paper of the year by a member or nonmember of AIST. First, second and third place, as well as the following monetary awards, have been added to this award: $5,000 for first place, $2,500 for second place and $1,000 for third place.
- First Place was awarded to Colin Scott, Research Engineer, Arcelor Research SA; Sebastien Allain, Research Engineer, Arcelor Research SA; Michel Faral, Steelmaking, Arcelor Research SA; and Nicholas Guelton, Process Engineer, Senior Metallurgist, Arcelor Florange. These authors were selected to receive this year’s honor for their paper entitled, “The Development of a New Fe-Mn-C Austenitic Steel for Automotive Applications.”
- Second Place was awarded to Kaori Miyata, Masayuki Wakita, Suguhiro Fukushima, Manabu Eto, Tamotsu Sasaki, and Takashi Shibahara, Sumitomo Metal Industries Ltd. These authors were selected to receive this award for their paper entitled, “Super-short Interval Multipass Rolling Technology for Manufacturing Ultrafine-grained Steel Sheet.”
- Third Place was awarded to Stephen D. Chung, Steelmaking Process Improvement; Keith Delaurier, Specialist — Primary Automation Systems; Blair MacCuish, Senior Engineer — Process Automation; and Brian Cuthbertson, Senior Systems Analyst, Dofasco Inc. These authors were selected to receive this award for their paper entitled, “Mixed Grade Model Development and Implementation at Dofasco.”
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. This award is given in appreciation of the keynote lecture presented during the AISTech President’s Award Breakfast.
This year’s award was given to Keith E. Busse, President and CEO, Steel Dynamics Inc. In accepting the award, Busse remarked that “AIST is living testimony to the fact that two plus two does not equal four. Two associations (AISE and ISS) came together and made something that equaled more than four.” He went on to acknowledge and thank steel engineers for their contributions to the industry.
AISTech 2007 was one of the largest gatherings of industry personnel in the world this year. The four day conference program encompassed more than 350 technical presentations, and exhibits by almost 400 domestic and international companies. More than 5,500 people attended.
