Peggy A. McCartney/ B & B Welding Company, Inc. Fellowship

AISC is excited to announce our inaugural Peggy A. McCartney/B&B Welding Company, Inc. PhD Fellows!

Congratulations to the following 2026 recipients:

• Rajshri Chidambaram Muthu Kumar, Johns Hopkins University
• Kara Stall, University of Cincinnati
• Margaret Sullivan-Miller, University of Cincinnati

About the Program

This program provides funding to full-time PhD students at accredited U.S universities who are participating in AISC-funded or co-funded research through their current university.  AISC will award $15,000 in PhD Fellowships to deserving students in 2026.

These fellowships aim to support PhD candidates committed to academia and build a lasting relationship between the AISC student researcher and the steel industry.

At the time of application, eligible applicants must:

• be in a full-time PhD program at an accredited U.S. university,
• have completed one term of their PhD program,
• be supporting an AISC-funded or co-funded research project, and
• complete the application form, including required essays and a recommendation from the research project’s Principal Investigator (PI), Co-Principal Investigator (Co-PI), or research advisor who is most familiar with and directly involved in your work, as instructed in the application.

The annual NASCC convention held in Atlanta, April 2026, marked the unveiling of a new AISC Education Foundation initiative to further the industry with PhD aspirants’ academic endeavours. The keynote address on opening day of the conference was highlighted by announcing the “Peggy A. McCartney/ B & B Welding Company, Inc. Fellowship” initiative, with the first recipients to be awarded in 2027.