Dr. Hong Yao Receives 2003 SAE/AISI Sydney H. Melbourne Award for Excellence in the Advancement of Automotive Sheet Steel

DETROIT, March 9 -- The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) and the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) today named Dr. Hong Yao, a senior research engineer at Ispat Inland Inc., as the recipient of the 2003 Sydney H. Melbourne Award for Excellence in the Advancement of Automotive Sheet Steel.

Dr. Yao, who won the award for his technical paper entitled "Laminated Steel-Forming Modeling Techniques and Experimental Verifications," receives a $3,500 honorarium and a plaque at today's SAE Honors Convocation in Detroit. The Sydney H. Melbourne Award recognizes an author who effectively demonstrates ways to advance the application of sheet steel in automotive environments.

"We researched this topic because it 's an area that engineers haven't developed fully," said Dr. Yao. "This is an honor, and I greatly appreciate the acknowledgement from the SAE and AISI." The award-winning paper investigates techniques for modeling laminate-forming processes to help improve vibration and sound-dampened sheet steel for the automotive industry.

"Automotive manufacturers are finding more requirements for high-quality laminated steel, and my team and I believe that developing a good computer simulation offers the key to constructing parts to meet these needs," added Dr. Yao. Joining him in the development of the paper were Chin Chun Chen and Dr. Sheng-Dong Liu with National Steel Corp. and Dr. Kaiping Li, Dr. Chang Qing Du and Li Zhang with DaimlerChrysler.

Dr. Hong Yao is a senior research engineer at Ispat Inland Inc. His specialty lies in Finite Element Analysis (FEA) simulation, assisting automotive customers to meet cost and performance requirements through part design, steel selection and manufacturing process design and feasibility. Dr. Yao also worked for National Steel Corp. as a project engineer at the Center for Product Applications and Development, where he was responsible for performing forming and structural analysis to promote steel applications in the automotive and construction industries.

During his career, Dr. Yao has developed new techniques to model steel behavior in both the forming process and in its structural performance. His improved FEA methods significantly enhanced the accuracy of FEA simulations for new steel products.

The Sydney H. Melbourne Award for Excellence in the Advancement of Automotive Sheet Steel recognizes an author who effectively demonstrates ways to advance the application of sheet steel in automotive environments. The award honors the memory and accomplishments of the late Sydney H. Melbourne of Dofasco Inc., and encourages others to strive for the level of excellence he attained within his organization, the steel industry and the automotive marketplace.

Dr Yao's submission was studied by the SAE's Ferrous Committee and AISI's Automotive Applications Committee before being selected by the Sydney H. Melbourne Award Review Committee.

An AISI endowment funds the awards.

SAE is a non-profit engineering and scientific organization dedicated to the advancement of mobility technology to better serve humanity. Nearly 84,000 engineers and scientists who are SAE members develop technical information on all forms of self-propelled vehicles, including automobiles, aircraft, aerospace craft, trucks, buses, marine, rail and transit machinery. This information is disseminated through SAE meetings, books, electronic products and databases, technical papers, standards, reports, and professional development programs.

The American Iron and Steel Institute is a non-profit association of North American companies engaged in the iron and steel industry. The Institute comprises 31 member companies, including integrated and electric furnace steelmakers, and 118 associate and affiliate members who are suppliers to or customers of the steel industry. For more news about steel and its applications, view the American Iron and Steel Institute's website at www.steel.org .

The Automotive Applications Committee (AAC) is a subcommittee of the Market Development Committee of AISI and focuses on advancing the use of steel in the highly competitive automotive market. With offices and staff located in Detroit, cooperation between the automobile and steel industries has been key to its success. This industry cooperation resulted in the formation of the Auto/Steel Partnership, a consortium of DaimlerChrysler, Ford and General Motors and the member companies of the AAC. For more news or information, view the American Iron and Steel Institute/Automotive Applications Committee's website at www.autosteel.org .

   -- American Iron and Steel Institute/Automotive Applications Committee:
   -- Dofasco Inc.
   -- Ispat Inland Inc.
   -- Nucor Corporation
   -- SeverStal North American Inc.
   -- United States Steel Corporation