Weldability Study of Resistance Spot Welds 'Steels' 2004 Sydney H. Melbourne Award for Excellence in the Advancement of Automotive Steel
DETROIT, April 12 -- This year, two gifted engineers will be honored with the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE)/ American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) Sydney H. Melbourne Award for Excellence for their award-winning paper on "Weldability Study of Resistance Spot Welds and Minimum Weld Button Size Methodology Development for DP [Duel Phase] Steel."
This research -- conducted by Dr. Min Kuo of Ispat Inland, Inc. and Dr. John Chiang of Ford Motor Company -- offers insight into the issue of "weldability," a primary concern for high-strength steel automotive applications.
The award recognizes authors who effectively demonstrate ways to further the use of sheet steel in automotive applications, and is named after the late Sydney H. Melbourne of Dofasco, Inc., recognized widely for his achievements within the steel and automotive industries. Recipients of the award, established in 1997 and funded by AISI, share a $3500 honorarium and plaque. This year, Dr. Kuo and Dr. Chiang will be presented with the award during the Honors Convocation portion of the 2005 SAE World Congress on April 12.
According to Ron Krupitzer, senior director, Automotive Applications, AISI, "We congratulate Drs. Kuo and Chiang on their timely and rigorously researched paper. Through this new thinking on weldability issues -- as well as the papers submitted by previous award recipients -- the steel industry is able to demonstrate year-after-year the benefits, adaptability and efficiency of steel in automotive applications."
Don Pether, president and CEO of Dofasco Inc., amplified Krupitzer's remarks. "This award was created to encourage the engineers in our industry to work together to address ways to improve and advance steel in automotive applications. Given the high demand we continue to see for dual phase steel, the work of Dr. Kuo and Dr. Chiang is important to the entire industry and is a reflection of the excellence Sydney Melbourne embodied."
About the authors:
Dr. Kuo is currently the automotive platform manager for product application in the R&D Department of Ispat Inland. He works in the early vendor involvement program with Ford truck platforms providing technical support in the areas of AHSS applications R&D, engineering, manufacturing, and material consultation. His background includes work as a key member of Total Quality Assurance in Chuan Yuan Steel Structural Construction Company in Taiwan; manager of electronic packaging applications at the Gintic Institute of Manufacturing Technology, National Research Institute of Singapore; and chief engineer of RoMan Engineering Service Inc. Dr. Kuo has authored more than 30 technical papers. He holds a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering from Feng Chia University in Taiwan, and an M.S. and Ph.D. from the Department of Welding Engineering at The Ohio State University in the United States.
Dr. Chiang works for Ford on super-duty truck frame design and leads several frame development activities, across truck frame programs, such as production welding issue support, welded joint/structure design improvement and the study of advanced high strength steels in welding applications. He has 13 years of experience in the automotive industry covering production welding design and trouble shooting, advanced high strength steel welding, generic architecture design rule of thumb, structure NVH, structural durability, and automation of truck frame x-ray inspection. He holds two master's degrees in welding and engineering mechanics from The Ohio State University and a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Case Western Reserve University.
About SAE:
SAE is a nonprofit 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, aircrafts, aerospace crafts, 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.
About AISI:
AISI serves as the voice of the North American steel industry in the public policy arena and advances the case for steel in the marketplace as the preferred material of choice. AISI also plays a lead role in the development and application of new steels and steelmaking technology. AISI is comprised of 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. AISI's member companies represent approximately 75 percent of both U.S. and North American steel capacity.
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 Corporation, Ford Motor Company and General Motors Corporation 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 - AK Steel Corporation - Dofasco Inc. - Mittal Steel Company - Nucor Corporation - Severstal North America Inc. - United States Steel Corporation