Howe Memorial Lecture
Monday, May 4, 2009 • 8–8:45 a.m.

The 2009 Howe Memorial lecture will be held on Monday, May 4, 2009, in the America’s Center, St. Louis, Mo. The Howe Memorial Lecture was established in 1923 to honor Henry Marion Howe. Dr. Howe helped turn steelmaking from an art into a science with his gift of observation and deduction. He reviewed the experiments and breakthroughs of others and added to them with investigations of his own to establish metallography. The lecturer is selected in recognition of outstanding individual contributions to the science and practice of iron and steel metallurgy or metallography.

The 2009 lecturer is Dr. Brian G. Thomas, Wilkins Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Illinois and Director of the Continuous Casting Consortium. Dr. Thomas received his bachelor’s degree in metallurgical engineering from McGill University, Montreal, Canada, in 1979, and his Ph.D. in metallurgical engineering in 1985 from the University of British Columbia, Canada. He has worked in the Research departments of Algoma Steel, Sault Ste. Marie, Canada, and BHP in Melbourne, Australia. His research efforts focus on the development and application of computational models of the continuous casting of steel and related processes. Dr. Thomas has coauthored more than 200 papers on his research, which has been recognized with several awards, including a Presidential Young Investigator Award from NSF, Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineer Award from SME, Xerox Award from UIUC, Distinguished Scientist/Engineer Award from TMS, and more than 10 best paper awards from AFS, AIME, ISS, AIST, TMS, CIM and ASM International. He has given over 100 presentations worldwide and co-instructed many short courses to transfer technology to industry, including the annual Brimacombe Continuous Casting Course.

President’s Award Breakfast
Tuesday, May 5, 2009 • 8–9:30 a.m.

"Back to the Future"

Sponsored by:

The AIST president, Andrew S. Harshaw, will host the President’s Award Breakfast on Tuesday, May 5 in the America’s Ballroom in the America’s Center, St. Louis, Mo. The breakfast program will consist of the presentation of several prestigious association awards and AIME awards, followed by a keynote presentation by John J. Ferriola, chief operating officer of steelmaking operations, Nucor Corp. Advance single tickets are US$35. Tables of 10 are available at US$350. Tickets may be ordered at www.aistech.org.

John J. Ferriola graduated from the Maritime Academy, State University of New York with a B.S. degree in electrical engineering. He began his career with Bethlehem Steel Corp. in 1974 and worked in various operating and management assignments. He joined Nucor Corp. in 1991 as manager of maintenance and engineering at the Jewett, Texas, bar mill. In 1995, Ferriola was named general manager of Nucor’s Grapeland, Texas, joist fabrication division. Later the same year, he was named vice president and general manager of Nucor’s Norfolk, Neb., bar mill. In 1998, he was named vice president and general manager of the Crawfordsville, Ind., sheet mill. At the start of 2002, Ferriola was appointed to executive vice president. His current position, as of Sept. 30, 2007, is chief operating officer of steelmaking operations. Ferriola has been active in AIST for more than 20 years and has served on their board of directors.

Nucor and affiliates are manufacturers of steel products, with operating facilities primarily in the United States and Canada. Products include: carbon and alloy steel — in bars, beams, sheet and plate; steel joists and joist girders; steel deck; fabricated concrete reinforcing steel; cold finished steel; steel fasteners; metal building systems; light-gauge steel framing; steel grating and expanded metal; and wire and wire mesh. Nucor, through DJJ, also brokers ferrous and nonferrous metals, pig iron and HBI/DRI; supplies ferroalloys; and processes ferrous and nonferrous scrap. Nucor is North America’s largest recycler.

Plant Tours

Thursday, May 7, 2009, 
7:30 a.m. to Noon
Departing from and returning to:
America’s Center
St. Louis, Missouri

Advance Tickets – US$50

This year’s tour options are Alton Steel Inc. or ABB Transformer Remanufacturing and Engineering Services Facility.

	Alton Steel’s main production units are an EAF meltshop, 6-strand continuous caster and a bar mill. Alton is capable of producing 700,000 tons of steel annually. Half of its current production is processed into SBQ and MBQ bar product and the other half is sold to third-party processors.
	ABB’s Transformer Remanufacturing and Engineering Services facility designs, builds and remanufactures transformer of all sizes. They are equipped with the personnel, resources and equipment to promptly repair transformers to working order again.