Frank Peters, C. G. “Turk” and Joyce A. Therkildsen Professor, ended 2021 on a strong note by winning a prestigious industry award for his research in metalcasting.
Peters, who also serves as the director of Iowa State University’s Study Abroad Center as well as an associate professor in industrial and manufacturing systems engineering (IMSE), is the 2021 recipient of the Thomas E. Barlow Award of Honor from the Steel Founders’ Society of America (SFSA). Peters was recognized with this honor during the 2021 National T&O Conference which took place in Chicago, marking the 30th T&O Conference that Peters has attended. The Barlow Award is one of SFSA’s three top honors and aims to recognize individuals who have gone above and beyond the call to support the steel casting industry but are not eligible (an employee of a member company) for SFSA’s other awards.
“This recognition is especially meaningful as it demonstrates that our research to improve the competitiveness of metalcasting operations is valued by industry,” Peters said.
As part of this award, a scholarship in Peters’ name will be set up at Penn State University’s Behrend campus in Erie, Pa. Peters, who is originally from the Erie area, spent two years at Behrend as an undergraduate prior to transferring to Penn State’s University Park campus where he completed his B.S. in industrial and manufacturing engineering. He went on to also complete his M.S. and Ph.D. in the same field from Penn State. It was during his graduate studies that he began research with the metalcasting industry.
Peters joined the IMSE faculty at Iowa State in 1996. He teaches classes in manufacturing processes and systems, and the central theme of his research has been manufacturing system improvements and reducing measurement error.