Brussels, 21 February 2014 – The World Steel Association (worldsteel) today announces the new World Champions of the 8th steelChallenge. A team from Tata Steel in India won in the category for young steel industry employees, and a team from Universidad Nacional del Sur in Argentina won in the student category.
The World Championship of the 8th steelChallenge took place in Brussels on 19 February 2014 with the regional champions from the first round competing for the global title. The task was to produce high strength steel billets at the lowest total cost using secondary steelmaking simulation tools at steeluniversity.org. An application of this steel is the cables of suspension bridges*.
Dr Karl-Ulrich Köhler, Chairman of worldsteel Education and Training Committee and CEO Tata Steel Europe, announced the winners. Dr Köhler said: “The steelChallenge is a key annual event organised by worldsteel. This global competition, simulating the manufacturing of steel, provides a unique opportunity to young professionals from steel companies and universities to test their skills. I am very pleased to meet these brilliant young men and women who will drive the steel industry to become even more competitive’.
Mr Joon-Yang Chung, Chairman of worldsteel and CEO and Chairman, POSCO, presented the trophies and certificates to the champions. Mr Chung said: “This is a fine assembly of talented young men and women from all around the world. It is a matter of great satisfaction that our industry hosts a brilliant pool of talent. The steel industry requires continuous innovation and creativity and, in exchange, offers a rewarding and challenging career. This industry boasts continuous technological innovations making a vital contribution towards the sustainable growth of society.”
Dr Edwin Basson, Director General of worldsteel, said: “In the successful first round in November 2013, over 2,000 entrants from 41 countries worldwide competed for the title of regional champion within 5 geographic areas. It is an impressive 76% growth in entries to this competition. I am particurlarly proud to provide this platform where young engineers and students meet industry leaders and experts and share knowledge and experience.”
| Region | Team members | Affiliation | Country |
| Middle East-India-Africa | Kausik Tamuli,Animesh Kumar Singh | Tata Steel Ltd. | India |
| Region | Team members | Affiliation | Country |
| Latin America | Ezio Agustín Casalini, |
Francisco BrañasUniversidad Nacional del SurArgentina
| Region | Team members | Affiliation | Country |
| Latin America | Franco Andrés Göttig, |
José Ignacio PeteanSiderar SAICArgentinaNorth AmericaJaclyn Howe,
Alyssa BriereU. S. SteelCanadaEurope-CISJuha Erkkilä,
Veli VuorenmaaRuukki MetalsFinlandEast Asia-OceaniaShen Yongdai,
Wang DugangAnsteelChinaMiddle East-India-AfricaKausik Tamuli,
Animesh Kumar SinghTata Steel Ltd.India
| Region | Team members | Affiliation | Country |
| Latin America |
Ezio Agustín Casalini, Francisco Brañas |
Universidad Nacional del Sur | Argentina |
| North America |
Seth Rummel, Allison Tengblad |
Missouri University of Science and Technology | USA |
| Europe-CIS |
Fabiano Da Silva Lima, Álax Jean Pereira Costa |
DID Deutsch Institut | Germany |
| East Asia-Oceania |
Zewei Liang, Jiafa Zhu |
Wuhan University of Science and Technology | China |
| Middle East-India-Africa |
Chandrahaasan Kattuputhur Soundararajan , Sethu Prasanth Shanmugam |
PSG College of Technology | India |
Notes :
- Modern suspension bridges are constructed using high strength steel cables which suspend a roadway from two tall towers. Suspension bridges can span greater distances than any other type of bridge and typically use less material, leading to lower construction costs. The main cables of the world’s longest suspension bridge, the Akashi-Kaikyō Bridge in Japan, were each fabricated using 36,830 individual wires of galvanised, high strength steel (~1800 MPa), arranged into hexagonal strands, which were then suspended over the towers to form the main cables.
- The steeluniversity website is an innovative e-learning resource focused on all aspects of steel, including steelmaking technology and the multitude of steel applications. It provides highly interactive, game-like simulations of the major steelmaking processes in real-time. This award-winning, online initiative is developed and sponsored by the World Steel Association.
- steeluniversity resources are used by more than 100 steel companies and 200 universities worldwide. Many of its modules have been translated into other languages, including Chinese (simplified), Chinese (traditional), Korean, Spanish, Russian, German and Japanese.
- steeluniversity won the European Academic Software Awards (EASA) in 2004 and the steeluniversity project team was recognised with the AIST’s Benjamin F. Fairless Award in 2008.
- The World Steel Association (worldsteel) is one of the largest and most dynamic industry associations in the world. worldsteel represents approximately 170 steel producers (including 17 of the world’s 20 largest steel companies), national and regional steel industry associations, and steel research institutes.
For More Information Contact: www.worldsteel.org