SCHAUMBURG, IL - The AFS Technical Council ratified a Best Student Paper award with the first awardee expected at the 2027 Metalcasting Congress in Cleveland, Ohio. The new national award is to be voted upon by the Honorary Lectures & Papers (HLP) Committee at the same time the Howard F. Taylor Technical and the Ray H. Witt Management Awards are selected. To be eligible, the paper must be principally written by a bachelor’s student within two years of graduation, presented at an AFS function, and peer reviewed and published within the last three AFS Transactions publications. The full list of requirements is spelled out on the award application accessible on the AFS website here.
| Thomas E. Prucha, Editor-in-Chief for the International Journal of Metalcasting, will be the award's namesake, so chosen for his career devoted to research, student initiatives, and peer-reviewed publishing. When advised of the new award, Tom pronounced, “I’m truly honored and humbled. First, I feel this is an important award that recognizes students. This differentiates it from other potential recipients of Howard Taylor or Ray Witt, which can be professors, industry researchers, etc. I think this helps complete our [AFS] achievement recognition, hopefully stimulating continued interest in metalcasting and publishing by students. Perhaps this might create our next generation FEF Key Professor, AFS Tech & Management Council, or AFS Tech Department leader.” |  |
The AFS Technical Council would like to thank the project committee members who met frequently over the past calendar year to finalize the details of the award. Tim Hoyt of AFS Corporate Member Allied Minerals led the project committee. It included AFS corporate members Adam Kopper of Mercury Marine, Brian Rachwitz of EJ, Mark Osborne of Wabtec, Jacob Johnson of Foseco, Lizeth Medina-Balliet of Wisconsin Aluminum Foundry Co., Jason Walker of The Ohio State University, and two student representatives, Carol Martinez of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Noah Brack of Georgia Southern University.
Please reach out to Brian Began, AFS Senior Vice President of Metalcasting Technical Services, at bbegan@afsinc.org to learn more about HLP awards.
The American Foundry Society is a dynamic technical and advocacy organization that serves and represents the $50 billion metalcasting industry. AFS is the only association serving the entire industry, including all metals and processes, with a three-part focus on advocacy, education, and innovation. AFS also publishes Modern Casting and Casting Source magazines and presents Metalcasting Congress and CastExpo, the largest metalcasting trade events in North America. Founded in 1896, the organization is based in Schaumburg, Illinois, with an advocacy office in Washington, D.C. More information is available at AFSinc.org.