ITA honors titanium metallurgist/researcher with Lifetime Achievement Award

The International Titanium Association (ITA), Denver, has named titanium metallurgist, researcher, and inventor Dr. Paul J. Bania as the winner of its Lifetime Achievement Award. The award recognizes exceptional contributions to the advancement of titanium applications and technology, while celebrating colleagues who have made a positive impact on the industry.

Bania, who has more than three decades of experience in titanium research and development, was chosen from a field of eight nominees for his outstanding efforts in developing new alloys and improving melting and mill processes used for titanium applications in such industries as aerospace and auto racing.

Bania has participated in the invention of eight titanium alloys and received four patents for melting and production advances. During his 17-year tenure at Timet, where he served as vice president of quality and technology, he invented a simple, effective method of reducing low-density inclusions in rotating-grade aerospace alloys by shearing sponge to a small size that prevented the defects from surviving the VAR melting process. He also worked on the formulation of a new generation of oxidation-resistant, high-temperature beta alloys that were first used by Boeing for aerospace gas turbine engine components.

In 1998, Bania formed TiPro Corp. to supply titanium into the auto racing industry. By buying and reselling downgraded aerospace engine alloys, he enabled mill product manufacturers to profit from material that would have otherwise been scrapped and racing part manufacturers to source higher grade metal.