Carl Loper's legacy: development of industry talent through research.

For a man that clearly seems to have found his calling, Carl Loper's path to earning a place atop the industry's most respected university researchers and professors was atypical and, in fact, seemed to happen by chance. As he prepares to close out his industrious career as professor at the Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison next year, the marriage between the 66-year-old Loper and the industry has yielded years of rewards that are unlikely to be repeated by the next generation of academicians.

While a summary of the Milwaukee native's accomplishments could go on for pages, here's a sampling. He's prepared more than 400 technical and scientific publications, lectured to technical and scientific societies more than 380 times, has published a textbook and four lecture/lab manuals, and holds nine U.S. patents, including five that also have been granted in nine other nations. He and his team of researchers also have received the AFS Gold Medal in 1972, as well as the AFS Div. "Best Paper Award" on six-plus occasions, including the Howard F. Taylor Award for the industry's most influential research paper of the year in 1967.

Loper also has become a U.S. metalcasting ambassador of sorts, sharing his research and knowledge with foundry officials in Japan, Korea, Denmark, Switzerland, Spain, Israel, China, Brazil, Egypt, Columbia, Argentina and Mexico. In fact, his reputation may even be stronger overseas than in the U.S.

At a time when many university metalcasting curriculums with soon-to-be retiring "metalcasting champions" sit at a crossroads, this article examines one of the industry's most effective advocates within the academic community.

Finding His Way

"I never intended to go to college, much less get a doctorate and teach," said Loper, who rarely lets an opportunity for a laugh go by. Despite the fact that his father was a sand lab technician for the huge Allis Chalmers Foundry in West Allis, Wisconsin, Loper had never considered a foundry career. It was only after he grew bored with several manual labor jobs following high school that he decided to enroll in the Milwaukee Extension of the Univ. of Wisconsin System (forerunner of today's UW-Milwaukee).

With little direction on what to do, the 19-year-old Loper found himself in a metallurgy course that contained a number of working foundrymen. These guys, he said, started his fascination with the foundry industry. After transferring to UW-Madison in 1954, he took a summer job on the shakeout deck at Milwaukee's Pelton Casteel and returned in the fall with a firm direction for his future - one in metalcasting that put him in a close contact with Professor Dick Heine (now emeritus professor). This dynamic duo (Heine calls Loper the "Happy Norwegian") continues to be active in the industry 45 years later.

After Loper graduated with the help of a Foundry Educational Foundation (FEF) scholarship in 1955, Pelton President Al Slichter hired him as a metallurgical engineer. It was only due to an industry downturn that Loper returned to the classroom. "I enrolled in a thermodynamics class in Milwaukee taught by Phil Rosenthal," he recalls.

When business picked up again, he was back working 14-hr days, and it looked as though his classroom days were over. But unbeknownst to him, Rosenthal and Heine sold Slichter on Loper's promise as an instructor and graduate student, and Slichter, in turn, encouraged him to return to the university. Loper, who acknowledged that he was "following a girl" as much as anything, returned to UW-Madison as a graduate student and instructor. Still not seriously considering an academic career, he remained there to earn his doctorate in 1961 and accepted the assistant professorship that fall.

Students in Industry

While other schools have produced more undergraduate FEF scholars, the research-oriented UW-Madison (a charter FEF school) has had a long history of producing students who've made metalcasting a career choice. Among the long list of individuals produced by the program are Rani Agarawal, Al Alagarsamy, Gary Gigante, Bill Irvine, Jay Janowak, Ed Kaczmarek, Mike Lalich, Don Marlborough, Bill Powell, Tom Prucha, Dave Sanders, Steve Sauer, Bill Shaw, Pete Sohlden and John Svoboda. His former student list also consists of professors and foundrymen covering nearly all corners of the globe.

"While his technical contributions stand out foremost, a perhaps more important legacy is the number of students he's trained that have ended up within the industry," said Pennsylvania State Univ. Professor Bob Voigt, who earned his master's and doctorate degrees from Wisconsin in the early 1980s. "He's been a tremendous mentor and advocate for the industry, and I'd guess that he and Heine have placed a larger percentage of students into the foundry industry than any other program."

Loper is acclaimed for his rare ability to connect with floor personnel, young students and graduate-level engineers alike. "His students have a reputation for their flexibility and thinking processes," said AFS' Ezra Kotzin. "He doesn't create desk metallurgists. He's a very practical metallurgical educator with a leaning toward operational aspects."

The late Bob Reesman, who had a distinguished executive career with Auburn Foundry, Internet and Castwell, frequently praised Loper for directing the chemical engineering candidate toward a career in the foundry industry. Loper recalled that shortly after he helped Reesman get his job at Auburn and was told of the annual shutdown, he told Reesman to be sure to take a work assignment on the cupola reline. "He did that and quickly earned the confidence and respect of the work force."

In addition to the Loper-tutored metallurgists in the field, several of Loper's proteges are now educating the next generation of foundrymen. These include Voigt, the Univ. of Alabama's Doru Stefanescu (who studied and worked for 6 months under Loper immediately after his defection from Romania), Kettering Univ.'s Chuck White, Tri-State Univ.'s Von Richards, and Univ. of Wisconsin-Platteville's Kyle Metzloff.

A Niche in Ductile Iron 

While Loper insists that his career has been aimed at improving metallurgical understanding as a whole, it was ductile iron that quickly made Loper his name and secured his place in history over the last four decades. "Dick (Heine) was so well established in malleable iron that I needed to carve a different niche," recalled Loper. "Ductile iron was considered to have the least technical expertise in the industry, so there was a definite need. Many thought it was just a 'flash in the pan.'"

Relatively "green" in ductile iron, he joined the AFS ductile iron committees to hear the wisdom of the likes of Keith Millis (the "father of ductile iron") and Grede's Hal Ruf. "They hooked me in by giving me assignments they didn't want," he said. "It was great fun working with them first-hand and learning how the rest of the world was applying the technology."

Some of his most noted work involves heavy-section ductile iron, the crystallization of graphite, the role of alloying and tramp elements, and inoculation practices. Loper also chaired two of ductile iron's biggest historical events - the 25th anniversary meeting in 1973 and the 50th anniversary "World Symposium on Ductile Iron" last year.

Research's Importance

Loper believes the time has come for industry to revisit its view of university-conducted research and how it affects the industry's livelihood. "I don't think the metalcasting industry has been as thoughtful as it could be in supporting the research activities at universities, primarily to develop programs in which metalcasting will be stressed," he said. "Far more important than the research itself is the ability to develop the talents of the students - and faculty - in ways that can benefit the industry over the long run. But this requires dedication and nurturing by the industry."

Years ago, a great deal of university R&D was sponsored by suppliers, which over time has dwindled. "R&D is quite different here than in Asia, where companies budget for research and stick to it, regardless of economic conditions. We, on the other hand, look at things as, 'How much is left over for R&D?'"

Because of a variety of factors, metalcasting doesn't hold nearly as strong a position at the college level as it once did and in some cases, is barely addressed. Citing UW-Madison's own situation, he said that the level of research funding available for metalcasting is often a fraction of what "higher-tech" industries bring in. As a result, it can be difficult to capture the attention of engineering administrators, who rely on private funding to a greater extent today due to the cutbacks in state funding. Government-funded programs that have emerged in recent years have been encouraging to university curriculums, however.

"Still, the higher-tech, nano-sciences are emphasized, while manufacturing remains in the shadows," Loper said, noting that the exceptions are areas like virtual reality modeling. The result, he said, are fewer people exposed to, and studying, metalcasting. Further, a high percentage of the graduate level students at his program are overseas students who tend to return to their homelands after completing their degrees.

Despite the challenges, Loper's program has worked hard at securing funding for research, primarily by "knocking on foundry doors." According to Voigt, only perhaps Case Western Reserve Univ. can match the productivity of the UW research team over the years.

An Uncertain Future

With the threats that his program (in the third-highest casting-producing state) and other programs are facing, Loper is concerned over the future of education and how metalcasting will be impacted, although he admits he doesn't possess the magic solution. "It would be well worth the while for the foundry industry to have a high-level meeting to address the impact of education," he said. "The question is whether the industry is willing to accept basic science graduates that it will develop itself. If not, then it must do something to ensure a continued and focused metalcasting presence."

A look at the annals of FEF show a number of traditionally strong metalcasting programs that have died off or are only a shadow of their former selves. To flourish in the future, the industry may need to endow chairs or creatively develop a steady stream of university research funding. With Loper looking to retire next year without an heir apparent in place, the clock appears as though it's begun to tick.

In this changing academic and manufacturing environment, a professor today must be an educator, researcher, consultant, fund-raiser, recruiter and politician. Wisconsin may find a capable individual to charge the program into the next millennium, but it'll be near-impossible to replace the colorful personality and tireless contributions of Loper.

Carl R. Loper, Jr. Material Sciences and Engineering Professor, Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison

Education/Degree: Univ. of Wisconsin/B.S., M.S. and Ph.D in Metallurgical Engineering

Immediate Family: Wife - Jane; Daughters - Cynthia and Anne.

Professional Assns: AFS, Cast Metals Institute faculty member, American Institute of Metallurgical Engineering, American Welding Society, Foundry Educational Foundation.