August 2019 Volume 1

FORGING RESEARCH

FIERF Magnet School Profile: Ohio State University

Engineering, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, and Integrated Systems Engineering. The College of Engineering also has increased its focus on collaborating with external companies to enhance students’ experiential learning through capstones, internships, co-ops,mentorships and facility tours. This collaboration balances the academic-industry-technology paradigm as research within the university aligns with external market demands, which has yielded a precision-focused curriculum to produce highly-skilled graduates with retention value. Ohio itself has been amanufacturing hotbed since the industrialization of coal, iron and steel in the 18th century (barring the Rust Belt phase of the 1980s). The migration from a rural society to a more industrialized landscape meant sustainable careers and nearly instant wealth. Trades were attainable for the uneducated, underprivileged and restless. Ohio, the seventeenth oldest state, quickly earned a reputation as a competitive producer, upholding the honor to this day. Three industrial revolutions later, Ohio contributes 3.4 percent ($649.1 billion) to the national GDP as reported in 2017. Unemployment is dropping consistently as native job offers are as frequent as the

downpours bludgeoning Midwest farms this past summer. In a supply-demand imbalance, a drought of highly skilled people plagues Ohio’s industrial workforce and that of other manufacturing-rich states. The power of a strong Buckeye network encourages ongoing participation as a Magnet School. Mark Shirley (CEO of Finkl Steel, immediate past FIERF Board president and a 1990 graduate of Ohio State) and Steve Niezgoda, associate professor at Ohio State, recently spurred the university’s participation in FIERF through efforts aimed at introducing students to the forging industry. Shirley’s roots in Ohio State’s Materials Science and Engineering program inspired a resurrection in activity. Niezgoda, for his part, coordinated and led a group of students to TimkenSteel and Finkl Steel in April, where they saw up-close the full manufacturing process of large-scale forged components frommelt to finish machining. Students also had significant opportunities for one-on-one time with both senior personnel and young professionals at both facilities to better understand life as a production or R&D engineer in a modern manufacturing environment. Response from the students has been exceptionally positive. After the trip, Materials Science and Engineering junior Justin Western was contemplating a switch to the metallurgy curriculum track. “I’d have to say that [I was] wanting to go into polymers or biomaterials originally,” Western says. “I was extremely surprised to find out how interested I was inmetallurgy.” Material Science Engineering master’s student Eric Magnuson felt the trip “put all of the physical metallurgy coursework I’ve taken into reality. Seeing the entire steelmaking process from recycling all the way to finished forgings really put my entire materials science education into perspective.”

With deep roots in metallurgy and manufacturing, The Ohio State University enjoys a long history as a FIERF Magnet School. FIERF’s mission of supporting the forging industry through technology development and education complements the founding mission of this land-grant institution, whose foundation is layered with agriculture and mechanical disciplines. OSU established its Department of Geology, Mining, and Metal in 1873, making it one of the university’s first established disciplines (the Department of Mechanical Engineering wasn’t even established until 1878). As the nature of manufacturing has changed over the years, the preparation of professionals for entry and immediate employment and interdisciplinary engineering roles has become part of the strategic focus of several departments: Materials Science and

Ohio State Students Visit TimkenSteel Faircrest Steel Plant

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