ArcelorMittal and the University of Luxembourg are extending funding arrangements for the endowed chair in Steel and Façade Engineering

ArcelorMittal and the University of Luxembourg are extending funding arrangements for the endowed chair in Steel and Façade Engineering

Luxembourg, 25 September 2015 – ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steel company is extending its collaboration with the University of Luxembourg. It is sponsoring the endowed chair in steel and façade engineering at the University of Luxembourg for a further three years. The key points for the agreement signed on 24 September 2015 are the financing and implementation of joint research projects until 2019. Since 2010, ArcelorMittal has been one of the major partners and supporters of the University of Luxembourg.

CEO of ArcelorMittal Luxembourg Michel Wurth and University President Rainer Klump signing the extension to the collaboration agreement.

The extension to the collaboration agreement was signed yesterday at the Maison du Savoir on the new Belval Campus. University President Rainer Klump and Chairman of the Board of Governors, Marc Jaeger, signed on behalf of the University of Luxembourg, and CEO Michel Wurth and the managing director of ArcelorMittal Luxembourg, Valérie Massin, signed on behalf of ArcelorMittal Luxembourg.

In the coming years, the research priorities of Professor Dr.-Ing. Christoph Odenbreit, Professor of Steel and Steel Composite Construction in the area of Civil Engineering, will focus on the research and development of efficient and sustainable steel construction solutions for high-tech buildings, steel composites and glass. Several research projects have already been carried out with the collaboration of ArcelorMittal. These include a project to improve connections between steel beams and steel columns, a project for the mathematical detection of corrosion in steel sheet piling, a project for securing steel beams with high loads on concrete components, and a project that examines the lifespan of steel dowels in steel composite bridges. The results of the latest research project, which deals with steel composite floors, will be incorporated into future European standardisation. The Chair will be working on research and development projects with, for example, the University of Bradford, the technical universities in Darmstadt and Stuttgart, as well as the Steel Construction Institute in London. Christoph Odenbreit and his team will continue to explore in close detail the connection between steel and glass. They will also pay particular attention to optimising ArcelorMittal Luxembourg’s high-strength steel rolled products for structural engineering and high-rise construction. In future, component tests will be carried out in the new laboratory building for structural engineering at the Belval Campus in Esch/Alzette.

The President of the University of Luxembourg, Prof. Dr. Rainer Klump, believes that the Chair will be a focal point for the construction industry in Luxembourg. “We want to jointly recognise, explore and shape future trends and developments. We also believe that a major concern for the industry is to ensure the availability of highly trained engineers.” This sponsorship means that the University of Luxembourg will be able to expand and build on its research into structural engineering.

“ArcelorMittal Luxembourg’s devoted involvement with the University of Luxembourg illustrates our entrepreneurial investment in economic and social life and our commitment to education in our country. We constantly strive for architectural innovation in steel and steel composite construction. The collaboration with the first-class research teams of Prof. Dr.-Ing. Christoph Odenbreit augurs well for product development," says Michel Wurth.

“With ArcelorMittal Luxembourg and the University of Luxembourg, two powerful partners have found an interest in innovation and research into high-tech steel construction. This research collaboration is also an opportunity for us to attract the best students. I look forward to another three years of collaboration based on trust and a spirit of partnership," says Prof. Olivier Vassart, executive director of the research and development department for long products at ArcelorMittal.

The new laboratory building at the Belval Campus has already been completed. In 2016, the research laboratory for steel and steel composite construction at the Faculty of Science, Technology and Communication at the University of Luxembourg will be moving to the Belval Campus and will therefore continue its work in the immediate vicinity of the steelworks of ArcelorMittal Belval.

(in the background from left to right) Valérie Massin (managing director of ArcelorMittal Luxembourg), Prof. Olivier Vassart (executive director of the research and development department for long products at ArcelorMittal), Prof. Dr.-Ing. Christoph Odenbreit (Professor of Steel and Steel Composite Construction in the area of Civil Engineering), Prof. Paul Heuschling (Dean of the Faculty of Science, Technology and Communication). (in the foreground from left to right) Michel Wurth (CEO of ArcelorMittal Luxembourg) and Prof. Dr. Rainer Klump (President of the University of Luxembourg)

Pictures: Michel Brumat