Stuart J. Street, technical manager for USA-based AK Steel, and his co-authors from the Purdue University Northwest's Centre for Innovation Through Visualisation and Simulation (CIVS) were awarded first place in the Association for Iron & Steel Technology’s (AIST) Hunt-Kelly Outstanding Paper Award.
Entitled Investigation of Co-Injection of Natural Gas and Pulverized Coal in a Blast Furnace, the paper investigated a new concept for blast furnace operations that has the potential to increase efficiency and productivity, while reducing operating costs.
Roger K. Newport, CEO of AK Steel said the work reflected the company's continued focus on innovation, including steel manufacturing processes that enhance operating efficiency.
"I'm proud to congratulate Stuart for this honour from AIST," Newport said.
The Hunt-Kelly Outstanding Paper Award – First Place is the highest award given by AIST to a technical paper for excellence, originality, relevance to the technology of the iron and steel industry, and for the advancement of engineering and operating practice in the steel industry. The authors were nominated for this award as the recipients of the 2016 Josef S. Kapitan Award - Ironmaking from AIST, and also won recognition from AIST for a follow-up study.
Dr. Street joined AK Steel in 2001 as a senior metallurgical process engineer in the company’s Dearborn Works in Michigan. He has held technical roles supporting the Dearborn Works blast furnace including the blast furnace reline project and as a continuous improvement manager. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering, Masters of Engineering and a PhD, each in the field of materials engineering, from the University of Wollongong, Australia.