The human brain is rather good at recognizing a large variety of objects: a chair, a ball, a hang-glider, etc. Recognition is usually almost instantaneous, assuming one learned at some point in the past what each of these objects is called.

Every day we use dozens of electromagnetic devices, from a simple water heater to brew a cup of coffee to cell phones, office computers, light bulbs, elevators, air conditioners and so on. What all of these devices have in common is that they use either electricity or magnetism or, in many cases, both.

Refractories have been used for as long as humanity has built furnaces and ovens – large and small. However, the science of refractories is much younger.

My research group at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) recently found that heat treatment can be leveraged to control inclusions in stainless steel.

With over 100 years of processing improvements, electric arc furnaces (EAFs) have become an efficient and reliable steelmaking alternative to integrated steelmaking.

The blast furnaces used today in the U.S. are similar in form and function to those built about 260 years ago, but the energy efficiency is incomparably better.