Don B. Daily Safety Grant

To Promote Steel Industry Safety and Health

►Application
►Grant Recipients

Proposals for the 2025–2026 academic year will be accepted through 20 July 2025.

	Don B. Daily 1947–2009

History and Purpose

The Don B. Daily Safety Grant was established in 2011 by the Steel Manufacturers Association (SMA) and the AIST Foundation to commemorate the life and industry service of Mr. Daily, a compassionate man who truly cared about the safety of all employees working in the steel industry.  His enduring mark on the mini-mill steel industry of North America has been the establishment of numerous safety and health initiatives that have significantly improved the work place.

The objectives of the grant are to promote a safe workplace for the steel manufacturing industry, to increase the number of students who study health and safety awareness relative to the manufacturing environment, to provide direct student interaction for awareness of the steel industry, and recruit more students for employment in the steel industry.

Call for Proposals

The Don B. Daily Safety Grant challenges North American university teams (students and professors) to submit proposals for grant funding in the theme area of safety and health awareness within the steel manufacturing industry. The proposal should indicate how each team of professor(s) and undergraduate students will approach the challenge including budget, direct steel plant interaction during the project and schedule requirements. The maximum allowable time for the project is one academic year beginning in September. Universities may submit more than one proposal; however, each must be an entirely separate submission and will be evaluated independently. The number of grants awarded depends on fund availability; the maximum grant per award for the current academic year will be US$20,000.

Topics and Outcomes

The proposals must be related to safety and health awareness within the steel manufacturing industry. Potential topics include safety management, project safety, railroads, mobile equipment, machinery, electrical apparatus, falls, confined space, industrial hygiene, personal protective equipment, communications, technology, etc. The proposal may include research, internships, field investigations, etc. At the completion of the project, a report shall be submitted to the AIST Foundation defining the effective outcome of the team effort. A student team will be encouraged to present the project at a convenient AIST or SMA event. Travel expense reimbursement is available upon request.

Proposal Content

Please follow the instructions carefully for submitting proposals. Proposals should be no more than 10 pages in length and contain the following sections:

• Project name, submission date, funding amount requested and grant type (new, ongoing, or multi-year up to two years).
  
  
• Team Lead: Professor(s) name, title, department, contact info, and mailing address.
  
  
• Steel Mentor: Name of the industry mentor and company involved with your project.
  
  
• Project Statement: Briefly define the challenge, proposed solution, and how the project enhances safety and health awareness in steel manufacturing.
  
  
• Detailed Plan: Project goals, methodology, expected deliverables (e.g., models, reports) and steel industry engagement activities. Include a list of student participant names and/or number of students, including their majors and a description of how students will contribute throughout the project
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• Schedule: Provide a timeline of key tasks, phases, and/or milestones.
  
  
• Budget: Include a cost breakdown, noting any funds used as stipends for professors or students.
  
  
• Letter of Endorsement: Include a letter of support from the industry mentor.

Evaluation Criteria

It is the responsibility of the submitter to assure that sufficient information is contained in the proposal for reviewers to evaluate the proposal according to the following criteria:

• Technical Approach/Relation to the Theme (15%) — The proposal topic, quality of the technical approach and fit to the theme of safety and health awareness for the steel manufacturing industry, the deliverables and overall quality of communication (clarity and completeness) in the proposal.

• Probability of Success/Benefit (15%) — The methodology used to approach the topic, including its widespread applicability to the steel industry and the thoroughness of the evaluation made by the submitting team.

• Qualifications (15%) — The expertise and capabilities of the team to bring the project to a meaningful on-time completion. Other factors considered under this criterion are project schedule including milestones, decision points and overall cost.

• Industry Awareness (55%) — The potential of the plan to promote a safe workplace for the steel manufacturing industry, to increase the number of students studying health and safety awareness in industry with a strong emphasis on steel manufacturing, to provide direct student interaction for awareness of the steel industry, and to recruit more of these students for employment in the steel industry.

Mentor

Selected recipients will be matched with a steel industry mentor from a conveniently located steel producing company willing to support the project. If a suitable mentor cannot be confirmed within a reasonable amount of time, the grant will be void.

Overhead Costs

To ensure the grants funded by the Foundation go directly to the intended purpose, it is the policy of the AIST Foundation to not allow overhead costs. The AIST Foundation is a Pennsylvania-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation organized for charitable, education and scientific purposes that 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. The Foundation receives contributions from industry corporations and individual members of AIST. The AIST Foundation reserves the right to assess grants on a case by case basis to determine the application of this policy.