FeMET Initiative accepting proposals for 2011 grants

The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) and the Association for Iron & Steel Technology (AIST) Foundation’s “Ferrous Metallurgy Education Today,” or FeMET Initiative, which is aimed at attracting top scholastic talent to the North American steel industry, is now accepting design and curriculum development grant proposals for the 2011–2012 school year.

The FeMET Design Grant Program seeks innovative designs and solutions for 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 based 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 theme for 2011 is “the recyclability of automobiles – past, present and future – i.e., the impact of advanced high-strength steels (AHSS) and embedded electronic components.” Teams should quantify the benefits arising out of the proposed technique/s and the study. 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 manufacturing@steel.org by May 28, 2011. Awardees will be announced July 29, 2011.

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 5 university professors will be awarded $5,000 each per year to fund initiatives designed to enhance or update industry curriculum in ferrous metallurgy programs. The maximum allowable time for a Curriculum Development Grant is 5 years, beginning in the fall of 2011, for a total of $25,000 per grant. The number of awards depends on fund availability.

Proposals will be evaluated according to 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, and 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 May 28, 2011. Awardees will be announced July 29, 2011.