NSBE - January/February 2008 - (Page 16)

PREMIER PROFILE owen weston of u. s. steel building a career on basic principles o wen Weston is the manager for Continuous Improvement at United States Steel Corporation’s Mon Valley Works, which is composed of three facilities near Pittsburgh, Pa.: Clairton Works, which produces coke; the Edgar Thomson Plant, a steelmaking operation; and the Irvin Plant, a rolling and finishing facility. Growing up in Philadelphia, Weston was chosen to participate in a local program that identified minority high school students who excelled at math and science. Each summer, program participants learned about engineering at several local colleges. The program challenged Weston and solidified his determination to explore engineering as a career. Weston had to delay college to earn money for tuition, which led him to a temporary position in the mail room at U. S. Steel. One day, a purchasing manager for the company discovered him studying a set of blueprints for a gear reduction unit. The manager asked him if he knew how to read them. Weston said, “Yes” and that he had been studying mechanical engineering. The manager nodded and left. The next week, the same manager came back and offered Weston a full-time buyer’s assistant position. The manager knew his department needed people who understood the technology behind their purchases, and he realized Weston’s engineering background would be an excellent fit. Thanks to that unplanned encounter, Weston was able to take advantage of U. S. Steel’s tuition reimbursement program and attend the University of Pittsburgh, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering in 1997 and a master’s degree in the same subject in 2001. U. S. Steel promoted Weston to research technician during his junior year of college, which gave him the opportunity to apply things he was learning in the classroom while performing mechanical testing on flat-rolled steel at work. Later, he was named manager of Irvin’s Maintenance Engineering january/february Department and then served as operations manager for the facility’s Hot Rolling Department. From there, he advanced to his current position, manager of Continuous Improvement. Weston’s primary responsibility is to manage engineering projects with varying complexities, timelines and budgets. In this role, he helps select and support a diverse project team — which includes other engineers, managers, consultants and outside contractors — and walk them through a prescribed problem-solving process. “We all have something different that we bring to the table,” he says, “and we need to work as a team in order to finish our projects safely, on time and within budget. I also view every project as a personal continual improvement opportunity. I have the chance to work with highly skilled, highly knowledgeable individuals that I can learn from and teach at the same time.” When he is not working or spending time with his wife, Samantha, who is a material science engineer at U. S. Steel, and their son, Evan, Weston coaches youth sports — soccer, basketball and baseball — and tutors high school students in math and physics. His passion for teaching was sparked early in life by the women who raised him: his mother and his grandmother. Weston adopted their belief in the importance of developing a relationship with God. He also spends time recruiting for U. S. Steel, training new employees and helping them get acclimated once they arrive. “One thing students should know is that in industry, engineers don’t just plug numbers into equations,” Weston says. “They need to know why and how equations work. It is critical to master an understanding of the physical laws and principles that drive the equations. “As an engineer, I’m not just called upon to solve the unknown. I’m constantly called upon to explain it, too,” he says. ■ “i…view every project as a personal, continual improvement opportunity.” 16 • 2008 • www.nsbe.org http://www.nsbe.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NSBE - January/February 2008

NSBE - January/February 2008
Contents
The Pursuit of Excellence
Using Our Power
The Power of Belief
Saying It Well
Premier Profile: Owen Weston of U.S. Steel
NSBE Protégés Receive White House Honor
Regional News
International News
Fostering Competitiveness Through Innovation and Diversity
'Netting a Job
Why Graduate School?
NSBE Love
NSBE Calendar
"Igniting the Torch: Engineering in Action"
NSBE Golden Torch Awards
The AE Niche
Thinking Green
AE Members On the Move
CE Cover: Rough Road, Fun Ride
Join NSBE's Journey to Mars!
Advertisers Index

NSBE - January/February 2008