Mark C. Emmendorfer - 2015 Steel Internship scholar
Being awarded this scholarship has helped me out significantly. It went toward an appreciable amount of my tuition this year, and I am very thankful. Obtaining an internship was part of the scholarship. I spent my summer in Spokane, Wash., USA, working at Spokane Industries, a steel foundry that also pours high-Cr white iron castings. My project studied the grain refinement of high-Cr white iron and the effects on its mechanical properties. This was done by adding inoculants in the ladle. I learned quite a bit about this intriguing iron. The microstructure consists of a multi-phase structure of carbides, martensite and retained austenite in the heat-treated condition. I am now in the process of completing wear tests and three-point bend tests. I thoroughly enjoyed my time working at Spokane Industries and worked with many great people. Working with such an interesting alloyed cast iron has made me want to continue working with 
this metal. I would love to work for Spokane Industries in the future. I plan on staying at Missouri University of Science and Technology to pursue my master’s degree while working on a foundry-related project, hopefully studying high-Cr white iron or cast iron. I would like to thank AIST for this very generous scholarship, Spokane Industries for a great experience and my professors at school for assisting me with my project.