International Journal of Metalcasting - The Carl Loper Symposium - Interview with Tom Prucha

Professor Carl Loper’s name has become synonymous with Cast Iron for anybody that has followed the development of this material over the last half century. His tireless pursuit of excellence has mobilized many generations of would be metalcasters both in industry and academia. Nobody else can claim to be ‘the professor’ of as many professors world-wide as Prof. Loper, or to have trained as many successful industry experts. While he has contributed in many different areas of metal casting, his passion and love was cast iron, which explains the title of this symposium.

Thus, the first Cast Iron Symposium named for Carl Loper was organized by his former students, colleagues and proteges to the focus on the fundamentals of cast iron solidification and highlight the latest research, technology and developments in metallurgy, production and applications of this remarkable material. Upon the 10th anniversary of that very successful 1st Symposium this 2nd conference was held in the fall of 2019 in Bilbao, Spain with 160 participants listening to 40 presentations over 2 days. Invited papers from that event will be published in an IJMC focus issue (Vol. 14 Issue 3) in June 2020 to disseminate the latest advances and applications of cast iron.

In this short interview (this opens in a new tab) conducted during the recently held 2nd Carl Loper Cast Iron Symposium,  Thomas E. Prucha (Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Metalcasting) relates what it means to attend a global event like The Carl Loper Symposium. It is more than just the technical presentations, the true value lies in the ability for face-to-face interaction, networking and communication.