Merrillville, Ind.

Twenty-four students from CIVS contributed to a near-capacity attendance for the AIST Midwest Chapter’s annual Kick-off Dinner Meeting, held at the Avalon Manor in Merrillville, Indiana, on Tuesday, October 8, 2019.

Keynote speaker John Mengel, Vice President & General Manager, ArcelorMittal Burns Harbor spoke on processes for change over castors and the design behind them occurring at ArcelorMittal. The current state of American steel manufacturing was over viewed and outlined in U.S. Steel’s commitment to modernizing and investing in their Gary Works facilities—including use of advanced technologies for integrated mill systems, processes, and workforce development, topics always of interest to students working on CIVS and SMSVC projects.

Students also took advantage of opportunities to network with attendees from numerous local and regional steel and steel-related/equipment manufacturers and supported companies. Over time the attendees have gotten to know important figures like John Mengel, as shown in the picture above.

“This was not only an awesome learning experience, but it was a great networking opportunity for both the students and professionals involved,” –said CIVS Research Assistant John Resa.