September_AMP_Digital

FEATURE A D V A N C E D M A T E R I A L S & P R O C E S S E S | S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 9 6 1 ATTRACTING TOP TALENT TO THE HEAT TREAT INDUSTRY Members of the Center for Heat Treating Excellence are finding creative ways to bring awareness to careers in heat treating in order to recruit and retain top-notch talent. THE HEAT TREAT CHALLENGE: RECRUITING Engineering is an interesting field right now. There is so much going on in biochemistry, biomedical, biophysics, aerospace, as well as computer and data science that top- notch students flock to these “hot” engineering fields, often completely overlooking the important role that heat treat- ing plays in the manufacturing process. Or worse, students might not be aware of this field until after they’ve almost completed their B.S. degree in a different engineering field. To complicate matters, there is a perception—some- times accurate, oftentimes dated—that the heat treat in- dustry is a dirty, dark, and dangerous business that doesn’t pay well. SOLUTIONS FOR ATTRACTING TALENT So how can the heat treat industry compete with these other exciting opportunities? How can it dispel the current false perceptionof a dirty businesswith lowpay? This iswhat leaders at the Center for Heat Treating Excellence (CHTE) at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Worcester, Massa- chusetts, are working to address. Last year, Richard Sisson, the George F. Fuller Professor of Mechanical Engineering at WPI and CHTE technical director, spoke about this issue at the International Federation for Heat Treatment and Surface Engineering (IFHTSE) in Spartanburg, South Carolina. He stressed the importance of the heat treat industry working together to find solutions to bring greater awareness to the importance of heat treatment. He emphasized that this field is unique as it can literally change the physical components of amaterial to ensure longevity and better performance un- der evolving conditions, and that the industry needs to bring greater awareness to the advances in the field, such as addi- tive manufacturing. Many CHTE members are actively working not only with each other, but also with trade groups and educators, toward this goal. They implement and sponsor materials science camps, apprentice programs, internships, industry field trips, STEM labs, and short courses (at trade schools, community colleges, and universities). Following are some examples of this outreach work. BUILDING AWARENESS: CAMPS & FIELD TRIPS One of CHTE’s members, John Deere, has been very ac- tive in STEM initiatives and has consistently supported the ASM Quad Cities USA Chapter’s efforts to introduce the field 12 Victoria Birk Hill Center for Heat Treating Excellence, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Massachusetts 13