The board of trustees of the Forging Industry Educat ional and Research Foundation awarded more than $90,000 recently, for undergraduate scholarships, graduate fellowships, and industry research projects for the coming year.
Established in 1961, the Forging Industry Educational and Research Foundation (FIERF) operates as a “supporting organization” to the Forging Industry Association. FIERF’s mission is to support the industry through technology development and education. Its goals include:
• Research and development;
• Providing a medium for forging and related industry collaborative research;
• Funding technology development;
• Transfering technology to the forging industry and users;
• Technical education;
• Fostering development of a forging curriculum and experiential training in university engineering departments;
• Providing scholarships to encourage careers in the forging and related industries;
• Fundraising; and
• Seek support from government, industry, and individual sources to grow programs to fulfill research and education goals.
Scholarships
Sixteen $4,000.00 Finkl scholarships were awarded this year to university students who will enter their junior year this fall in electrical, industrial, materials, mechanical, and metallurgy engineering programs. The scholarship program continues to support 14 students entering their senior year.
These scholarships are named in memory of Charles W. Finkl, whose years of commitment and contributions to education and the forging industry included more than 25 years as a trustee of FIERF, twice serving as president of the board.
Scholarships were awarded to:
• Matthew R. Atkinson
California State University
• Tom J. Bailey
Missouri University of Science & Technology
• James R. Boldig
Marquette University
• Brian R. Daubenspeck
University of Central Florida
• Robert S. Gabrielse
Marquette University
• Daniel A. Griffin
Cleveland State University
• Jacob A. Kerr
Pennsylvania State University
• Laura Jean Lucca
Pennsylvania State University
• Rachael E. Madland
Colorado School of Mines
• David J. McLaughlin
Pennsylvania State University
• Asad Mughal
Rutgers University
• Amanda G. Nelson
Virginia Polytechnic Institute
• Jared M. Rosati
Youngstown State University
• Andrew E. Sulzer
University of Toledo
• James N. Sweetman
University of Toledo
• Michael A. Wicklund, III
Missouri University of
Science & Technology
The FIERF Education Committee noted the high quality of applicants this year. Of the students who received scholarships, five have a father or grandfather working in the industry, three have interned or worked at FIA member companies, and one student has worked on a FIERFsponsored university project.
More than 80 students have received scholarships since the program began. Scholarship - recipients have gone to work for FIA forging and supplier member companies and customers in the automotive and aerospace markets, and many have continued their studies in graduate school.
Fellowships
FIERF awarded $20,000 Graduate Fellowships to the following research efforts:
“The Effects of Prior Microstructure on Spheroidizing Treatments for Enhanced Cold Forgeability” – R. Allen Schaneman, Professor Chet Van Tyne, Colorado School of Mines, and “The Effects of Forging on the Tensile Properties and Microstructure of Magnesium Alloys” – David Poerschke, Professor David Schwam, Case Western Reserve University. David is a past Charles W. Finkl Scholarship student continuing his studies in the graduate program at CWRU.
Research Grants A $10,0 0 0 Finkl Challenge Undergraduate Research Grant was awarded to Colorado School of Mines to involve a student in a project to investigate “Tempering Behavior of Hot Forging Die Steels”. Dr. Chet Van Tyne will direct the research, and A. Finkl & Sons Co. will provide die material samples for the project.