FEF Key Professors are great at their jobs. They are on the front line of educating and influencing the next generation of metalcasters. They spend hours preparing lectures and hands-on activities that help your future employees graduate with knowledge that contributes to the success of your company. Who would blame them for taking the summer off to relax and recharge?

But many of our professors see the summer months as an additional opportunity to share their expertise; to reach a different pool of individuals who would like to expand their knowledge of metalcasting processes or hone the abilities that they have.

This past summer, FEF Key Professors Charlie Monroe (University of Alabama) and Russ Rosmait (Pittsburg State University) collaborated in two events geared to reach industry professionals and science teachers.
In early June, the 22nd annual ICI Industry Certification Program was held at Pittsburg State in Pittsburg, Kansas. This was an eight-day program that drew about 30 industry personnel from the U.S., Mexico, and Australia. Monroe made his way from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, to Pittsburg to teach melting and metallurgy, while Rosmait covered shell fire and mold pouring.

Later that month, traveling to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Rosmait joined Monroe as they participated in the ASM 2nd Year Science Teacher Camp held at the University of Alabama. This five-day camp includes a metalcasting component that introduced the 6th- to 12th-grade teachers to a variety of casting processes and metals. About 20 teachers from across the Southeast attended this camp.

Both of these events provided the attendees with classroom instruction and laboratory hands-on activities. The science teachers were even gifted a foundry-in-a-bucket to take home with them, which enables them to more effectively teach metalcasting to their students.

Not only were FEF Key Professors involved in these camps, several University of Alabama and Pittsburg State University metalcasting students helped out with the projects. They had the opportunity to teach and to share their excitement of this industry with those who have that same passion. And, of course, the students had a great time networking with industry professionals.

For over 77 years, FEF has been connecting college-age students with industry to keep the metalcasting field growing. The connections are now expanding so that our students are teaching teachers who influence an even younger generation to consider the field of metalcasting.