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After being a longtime member of the two groups that merged to form the Association for Iron and Steel Technology, Richard O’Hara ’77 led AIST as its president for 2005-06.
AIST is an international technical association representing iron and steel producers, their allied suppliers, and related academia. It is dedicated to advancing technology and production in the industry.
“I have been on the board for many years, the last five of which were leading up to this term as president,” he says. “Essentially I see my participation as an opportunity to get involved with others in my field and to drive the industry to things that benefit iron and steel producers.”
Richard Teets ’77is AIST president for 2006-07. The 9,000-member nonprofit group offers conferences, training courses, and publications that keep members in touch with the latest in technology, as well as environmental, managerial, and IT issues within the industry. AIST formed as a result of a merger between the Iron & Steel Society and the Association of Iron and Steel Engineers.
“Each of the groups had different focuses and cultures, but they realized the best strategy was to join forces because they could do more together,” explains O’Hara. “Initially we had to focus on how to make the merger seamless. Then we had to learn how to survive economically. When my term as president began, I knew it was time to stop worrying about the past and to look toward growth and providing members with best product available.”
O’Hara values the challenge of this role, enjoying the creative thinking and learning it requires him to do. In his job at Carpenter Technology Corporation, a leading manufacturer and distributor of specialty alloys, he appreciates the same aspects.
“I have been here since I graduated from Lafayette in metallurgical engineering,” he says. “The best part is that I have had the opportunity to work in many different areas – moving every five or six years to different positions in engineering, corporate development, manufacturing, purchasing, overseas branches, global sourcing, special project work, and now procurement. It has been both stimulating and humbling.”
Leon McGeady, former Charles A. Dana Professor Emeritus of Metallurgy, was responsible for bringing O’Hara into the field.
“I was interested in chemistry and the sciences and started in biology,” says O’Hara. “Leon encouraged me to switch in my sophomore year after I was fascinated by a course he taught. We talked and I was hooked. He had the biggest influence on me. He was intelligent and had a unique way of expressing things – a great storyteller who took dry, droll engineering concepts and projected them into real-world situations. After a story, you’d realize you’d learned something and how that formula made sense in the real world.”