Heat Treat Today publishes twelve print magazines annually and included in each is a letter from the publisher, Doug Glenn. This letter is from the August 2025 Automotive Heat Treat print edition.
Feel free to contact Doug at doug@heattreattoday.com if you have a question or comment.
The relationship between industry and higher-level educational institutions in North America is an interesting and evolving relationship. Unlike in Europe and Asia, the relationship is quite a bit less formal and far more scarce here. It is almost a foregone conclusion that leading industrial companies will have tight relationships with academic research institutions across Europe. The same is true in Asia, especially China, where many of the research institutes are government funded and are expected to assist with industry research projects. Of course, in both Europe and Asia, many companies are heavily subsidized by the government to conduct research. All in all, the relationships are more plentiful and tighter.
While there are thriving industry-academic relationships in North America, they are far less common, and they take a more practical, business-first approach. There are, however, a good number of strong relationships between educational institutions and the North American thermal processing industry. I’d like to mention three here in some depth and a few others briefly.
Illinois Institute of Technology Thermal Processing Technology Center (TPTC)
Without doing any thorough research, TPTC was perhaps one of the oldest industry-academic partnerships around. I was introduced to this partnership when Dr. Phil Nash, a professor at IIT, was the director of TPTC. That was back in the 1990s. I also know that our very own Dan Herring, the Heat Treat Doctor®, was supportive of the organization. TPTC reportedly shut down 10 years ago, but a webpage, which was not easy to find, indicates that it is now under the direction of Dr. Leon Shaw. After a quick review, there is a good bit about the academicians (professors and students) online, but I could not find any reference to industry partnerships or members. Nevertheless, TPTC was one of the go-to sources for industry for those who were interested in conducting ground-level research.
Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) Center for Heat Treat Excellence (CHTE)
The WPI CHTE remains quite active. Their website does not indicate the exact date that it was established, but I’m guessing the late 1990s or early 2000s. I remember its inception and the efforts of Diran Apelian, their first executive director. I recall that membership dues were steep, but there was a good bit of industry buy-in, including Surface Combustion, Houghton International (now Quaker Houghton), and ASM International.
Current industry partners include Bodycote, Aalberts, Thermatool, Dante, Arcelor Mittal, Pilot Precision Products, GKN Sintered Metals, Pratt & Whitney, DevCom, and Sikorsky. There are also many active industry-focused research projects. CHTE is led by Dr. Thomas Christiansen with the able assistance of Maureen Plunkett. More information about CHTE can be found at https://wp.wpi.edu/chte/.
Purdue University Purdue Heat Treat Consortium (PHTC)
Purdue is a relative newcomer but quite active. Under the leadership of Dr. Mark Grunninger and Dr. Mike Titus with assistance by Maddison DeLaney Walsh, PHTC has gained an impressive number of thermal processing end-user and supplier members, including Amsted Rail, California Pellet Mill (CPM), Caterpillar, Cummins, ECM USA Inc., Howmet Aerospace, Inductoheat, Inc., John Deere, Nucor, and Rolls-Royce. I believe that Quaker Houghton has also recently joined. The number of projects being conducted by this industry-focused consortium is also impressive. More details on PHTC are at https://engineering.purdue.edu/MSE/PHTC.
Others
Of course, there are many other universities around the country that cooperate with the industry to help advance real-world research. Many Heat Treat Today 40 Under 40 honorees are graduates of these educational institutions. Here is a short — and I’m sure incomplete — list of other universities that have a proven relationships with the thermal processing industry:
- Carnegie Mellon University
- Colorado School of Mines
- Michigan Technological University
- New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University
- Pennsylvania State University
- Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
- San Diego State University
- South Dakota School of Mines
- The Ohio State University
- University of Akron
Conclusion
Although the relationship between industry and education is less formal here in North America compared to Europe and Asia, the relationship does exist and can be tapped for the benefit of any company interested in using the great minds of up-and-coming engineers to help solve tomorrow’s challenges. If you’d like to contact any of the organizations listed above, please email me.
Publisher
Heat Treat Today
For more information: Contact Doug at doug@heattreattoday.com
