Ironmaking Technology Committee Meeting

11–12 November 2025 • Purdue University • Hammond, IN, USA

►Agenda (PDF)
►Register or contact ldlugopolski@aist.org

Tour of United States Steel Corporation Gary Works BF14

Hotel Suggestions

Hampton Inn & Suites Hammond
2842 Carlson Dr, Hammond, IN 46323 
For reservations, book online or call 219.844.5564

Holiday Inn Express & Suites Hammond by IHG
2918 Carlson Dr, Hammond, IN 46323
For reservations, book online or call 888.465.4329

AIST technology committee members are asked to print out the latest revised meeting agenda from our website one week prior to this meeting.

Tuesday 11 November 

Address: CIVS theater, 2200 169th Street, Hammond, IN 46323

  1. Chair’s opening remarks - Achinta Haldar, Stelco Inc.     <08:00 a.m.>
  2. Appoint minute-taker
  3. Antitrust guidelines
  4. Membership and attendance – Anna Voss
  5. Review minutes of previous meeting – AISTech 2025
  6. AIST Staff Announcements
  7. Steel Industry Fatalities
  8. Main agenda items
    • AISTech session development - Husain Tapia / ArcelorMittal Dofasco G.P. and Lucas Melton / Cleveland-Cliffs Burns Harbor
      • Selection of Abstracts (Due by 16 Sept) – (Handle via conference call if necessary)
      • Determine session structure (Due by 28 Oct) including session titles & session chairs
      • Review Papers Chair and Session Chair instructions
    • Solicit AISTech 2026 Session Chair Volunteers:
    • Finalize AISTech call for papers for next year

♦ IRONMAKING
 Blast furnace operations including startup & shutdown; campaign extension; furnace relines/rebuilds; environmental programs in ironmaking; maintenance programs for ensuring reliability; hearth and taphole design; monitoring and maintenance; blast furnace stoves, stove refractory and safe stove operation; ironmaking raw materials; waste oxides recycling; hydrogen-based ironmaking; blast furnace refractory and cooling systems; ironmaking equipment design and improvement including injection; ironmaking control and modeling.

  • Technology committee award planning 
  1. J.E. Johnson, Jr. Award (AIME)
  2. Josef S. Kapitan Award*
  3. Thomas L. Joseph Award
  4. Tadeusz Sendzimir Memorial Medal
    This recognition is for engineers who have made a major contribution to the steelmaking process, to the individual or individuals who have advanced steelmaking through the invention, development or application of new manufacturing processes or equipment.  
    Any nominee for this award needs to have a Technology Committee “sponsoring” the award by having the principal nominator be a member of an AIST Technology Committee and one of three required letters of endorsement must be from the Technology Committee chair. 
    • Finalize committee roundup – TBD (Stuart J Street, Cleveland Cliffs)
    • Technology Training conference
  • Eastern States Blast Furnace and Coke Oven Association, 5 February 2026, Pittsburgh, PA
  • DRI & HBI: Logistics, Production and Utilization Seminar
  • McMaster’s Ironmaking Training, May 2026

Blast Furnace route decarbonization pathways – Part 2 

  • Re-emphasize the IMTC officers:
  • Chair: Achinta Haldar / Stelco Inc.
  • Vice Chair: Jesse Carreau / Allied Mineral Products Inc.
  • Papers Co-Chairs: Husain Tapia / ArcelorMittal Dofasco G.P. and Lucas Melton / Cleveland-Cliffs Burns Harbor
  • Membership Chair: Lucas Melton / Cleveland-Cliffs Burns Harbor
  • Roundup Chair: TBD (Stuart Street / Cleveland-Cliffs Dearborn Works)
  • Decarbonization Liaison: Joe Morey / Morey Industrial Consulting
  1. Discussion items
    1. Study Tour discussion
    2. Safety Roundtable discussion
    3. Next fall meeting locations in 2026.
    4. Request presentations for the IMTC winter meeting and Eastern States Blast Furnace and Coke Oven Association Conference
  2. Lunch in Meeting Room   <12:00 a.m.>
  3. Presentations
  4. HBI usage at Stelco’s Blast Furnaces, Achinta 
  5. Integrated virtual Blast Furnace Technology, Tyamo Okosun, CIVS
  6. Group Discussions on application areas
  7. Natural Gas Injection Heating, Brian Black
  8. Update on decarbonization of Blast Furnaces, Joe Morey and Brian Black
  9. Group Discussion 
  10. Next meeting - Eastern States Blast Furnace and Coke Oven Association, 5 February 2026, Pittsburgh, PA
  11. Chair conclusion - Achinta Haldar, Stelco Inc.
  12. Adjourn       <17:00 p.m.>
  13. AIST Midwest Chapter Dinner

Avalon Manor Banquet Center (3550 E Lincoln Hwy, Merrillville, IN  46410)

Please register for the dinner prior to the meeting.

Wednesday 12 November

Tour of Gary Works, BF14   <09:00 a.m.>

Address: Meet at security, 1 North Broadway

Note: There is a hard maximum of 13 people for the tour and people are asked to bring their own safety gear if possible. This is a CO gas hazard area so the policy is that everyone must be clean shaven. Also please no loose jewelry or rings. Foreign waiver forms need to be processed 1 week prior to the meeting.

  1. Flame-resistant pants and jacket
  2. Metatarsal boots
  3. Hard hats
  4. Safety glasses

Adjourn         <Noon>