Press Release: Carnegie Mellon's Chris Pistorius Receives POSCO Professorship

Contact: Chriss Swaney / 412-268-5776 / swaney@andrew.cmu.edu

PITTSBURGH—Carnegie Mellon University's Chris Pistorius has received the POSCO (Pohang Iron and Steel Company, Ltd.) Professorship in Iron and Steelmaking.

"I am elated with this honor because it will help further research and academic exchanges between POSCO and CMU," said Pistorius, a professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. "Research visits to CMU by engineers from industry benefit my research, and give the visitors an opportunity to interact closely with my research group, and with others in the Center for Iron and Steelmaking Research. Such visits add practical insights to our projects, and help to transfer research results to industry."

Pistorius also said that research funding attached to the chair will help him explore new research areas and try out new ideas that may turn into full graduate research projects.

POSCO, a South Korean steelmaker, became the world's leading steel company in 1998 based on crude production through continuous efforts to increase facility efficiency and productivity.

"The main activities of the professorship are to promote teaching and research in the areas of materials science and engineering, and to enhance scientific and intellectual ties between POSCO and CMU," said Sung-Ho Park, executive vice president of the Steel Technology Strategy Department at POSCO.

A pioneering metallurgical engineer, Pistorius' work focuses on the production of metals and alloys, mainly steel and corrosion. Since 1991, Pistorius has explored technically challenging problems that allow students to develop their own skills and knowledge. He also works closely with Richard Fruehan and Bryan Webler in the Center for Iron and Steelmaking Research at CMU.

"This is a wonderful accolade for an innovative professor who is pursuing the limits for ongoing work in the important area of steelmaking and materials science," said Gregory S. Rohrer, head of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and the W.W. Mullins Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at CMU.

Pistorius is a member of the Academy of Science of South Africa, and a fellow of the South African Academy of Engineering. He has received several prizes, including multiple best-paper medals from the South African Institute for Mining and Metallurgy, exceptional achiever awards from the University of Pretoria in South Africa, and recently the Philbrook Prize of CMU's Department of Materials Science and Engineering.

A native of South Africa, he received his bachelor's and master's degrees in metallurgical engineering from the University of Pretoria. He completed his Ph.D. in corrosion at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.

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CMU's Chris Pistorius (pictured above) said that research funding attached to his professorship will help him to explore new areas and try out new ideas that may turn into full graduate research projects.