AIST Foundation Steel Intern Scholarship
Zachary A. Plummer
This summer I had the opportunity to intern at Nucor Steel–Berkeley as a metallurgist on the continuous galvanizing line. During this time period I learned a lot of new things that grew my metallurgical technical knowledge through projects that promoted safety, quality control and accelerated training inside the mill.
I had the pleasure of taking on two safety projects this summer. My first safety project consisted of reviving a medical ID tag inside hard hats. This is used so that if someone is unresponsive in the mill, the emergency response personnel that arrive have a comprehensive background on what medications they can safely administer/not administer. It also aids their understanding of the person’s medical history when creating a treatment plan. My second safety project consisted of the installation of a chain link fence to the cleaning section of the galvanizing line. The cleaning section of the galvanizing line can drip a lot of alkali solution onto passersby below. Thus, having a chain link fence is a cue for operators that there is a hazard inside this area.
I also had the pleasure of doing two technical projects this summer. My first project was a welding characterization study that improved safety, saving money, as well as accelerated training. This project will help new teammates see the differences in good and bad welds in some of the more difficult-to-weld grades as they start their journey on the galvanizing line. My second project was an analysis of a titanium bearing high-strength low-alloy grade to improve process control on the galvanizing line that looked into titanium alloying amounts and how it affects the precipitation of titanium carbides as they are run through the line and affected by temperature and time.
I am blessed to have learned so much over the course of this internship that will undoubtedly help me move forward with my career in the steel industry. I am grateful for Nucor Steel–Berkeley for this opportunity and I cannot wait to see where my future takes me!