1. JAMES OLSZEWSKI
Gilbert, AZ (480) 628-6558
james.olszewski@gmail.com https://www.linkedin.com/pub/james-olszewski/9/166/6a
METALLURGIST possesses diverse experience as a mill, research and supervisory metallurgist. Expertise
includes, Direct Chill and Continuous Casting of Aluminum alloys, Vacuum Induction Melting of Nickel and
Cobalt alloys, Permanent Mold Casting of automotive components, Hard and Soft alloy Extrusions, heat
treatment of steel, Aluminum and Magnetic alloys, development of custom alloys for aircraft, high speed
machining, and magnetic memory applications. Specific material expertise covers Aluminum, Copper and
Brass, Low Carbon Steel and Co, Ni and composite Magnetic memory alloys. Seven years as senior
metallurgist in failure analysis lab. Four years as expat for new business start-ups in Iceland and Singapore.
CAREER ACCOMPLISHMENTS
 Served as Chief Metallurgist for the start-up of Alcoa’s 1.5 billion dollar aluminum smelter in Iceland was
responsible for the implementation of initial metallurgical practices. (two years overseas assignment)
 Startup Casting Engineer for Heraeus : Was responsible for start-up of Vacuum Induction Melting
Worked on new Memory Alloy for Hard Drives at their fabrication facility in Singapore in addition to
Vacuum Induction installation and start-up (two years overseas )
 Represented Alcoa’s Extrusion Division as QS 9000 and Technical liaison with Ford’s Visteon Div. in the
development of an advanced aluminum slip-tube drive shaft for Jeep Products. I was also Supplier
Technical Lead on a joint Alcoa/GM development team that established fatigue and micro-structural
testing protocols and limits used in the casting and the quality control procedure for the C-6 Corvette
frame.
 Awarded Two Arthur Vining Davis Awards –Alcoa’s award for Team Technical Excellence. One for
application research on Lead Free Machining alloys and a second for the development of novel practices
for continuous casting high strength aluminum.
 Technology Innovation Award 1st
place for joint work on “Reduced Fabrication Cost Process for Metal
Oxide Material”. Initiative led to a 1 million dollar per month saving in refining cost of Platinum and
Ruthenium alloy scrap.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Heraeus Material Technology Division, Chandler and Singapore 2005-2007 & 2010-2015
Manufacture of magnetic alloy materials for the computer hard drive industry
Sr. R&D Development Engineer & Start-Up Engineer for Singapore Fabrication Facility
• Researched and developed practices for novel alloys of the Co-Ni-Cr-Pt for increased memory storage
in hard drives.
• Transferred vacuum casting technology from U.S operations to Singapore facility.
• Responsible for the integrity and alloy development of casting used for Magnetic Memory Devices
Alcoa: Engineered Products, Automotive Casting, Primary Metal, Automotive Casting
1987-2002 & 2007-2010
Worked in Primary Aluminum, extrusion, ingot casting, component casting and heat treatment, failure analysis
Alcoa’s Ferndale Smelter 2009-2010
Primary aluminum smelter
Cast House Metallurgist/ISO Management Representative
• Temporary position to cover for unexpected departure of the technical staff. Successfully secured
critical ISO 9001 recertification. Successful maintained quality and metallurgical performance during a
massive reorganization. Provided Technical suppoort for cost cutting efforts.

3. JAMES OLSZEWSKI Page 2
(480) 628-6558 james.olszewski@gmail.com
Alcoa’s Iceland Fyðaál Casting Operation 2007-2009
Primary aluminum smelter
Chief Metallurgist for cast house start-up:
• Establish metallurgical practices, quality levels, and machine qualifications for the largest and most
technically advanced Aluminum smelter in Europe. Operational scope involved start up of a 90,000 tpy
Properzi Rod caster, a 140,000 tpy Herwick continuous “T” HDC and high speed sow caster. Involvement
in initial customer contacts, ISO 2001 qualification, and monitoring of molten metal safety. Trained
metallurgical staff for future operations. Assets valued in excess of $125 million dollars.
Alcoa Engineered Products, Massena N.Y. Chandler, Arizona 1987-2005
Manufacture of custom aluminum extrusions for aerospace and automotive applications.
Chief Metallurgist, casting and extrusion
Developed, improved and established controls for the casting of aluminum ingot, the heat treating
of Aerospace alloys, and the extrusion of complex aluminum shapes.
• Supervised metallurgical laboratory consisting of 6 technicians, and directed two mill metallurgists.
• Instituted advance chemistry monitor scheme for quenching systems, which resulted in $10,000 per
month saving by reducing quench related scrap.
• Used QS-9000 criteria to qualify drive shaft tubing for Chrysler Corporation.
• Set up and supervised machining researched lab for high speed machining alloy development.
• Oversaw and insured the quality of 400,000,000 lbs. /yr. of aluminum castings and 120,000,000 lbs.
/yr. of hard and soft alloy extrusions. ISO Management rep. for Casting and Extrusion Departments.
Improved Ingot casting practices that resulted in a 20% improvement in casting recovery. Estimated
cost savings of $250,000 per year. Supervised four Metallurgists, Seven Technicians.
• Preformed failure analysis in support of wire, rod and bar business. Established and operated the
Metallographic, Scanning electron microscopy labs and Machining. Initiated the use of image analysis
for product evaluation and improvement. Extensive customer problem solving.
EDUCATION
B.A. Chemistry State University College of New York at Buffalo
A.A.S. Chemical Engineering Technology Erie Community College
Continued course work at Master level in Metallurgical Engineering
McGill University Montreal (16 Hrs) - RPI’s Hartford Graduate Center (36 hrs) - ASU (12 hrs.)
Course work (15 hrs.) towards MBA Clarkson University, Potsdam N.Y)
ACCREDITATIONS AND MEMBERSHIPS
Certified Quality Engineer
ASQ, Certificate Number 35874 (retired), NDT Level 1 Ultrasonic Tester
AWARDS & PUBLICATION
Arthur Vining Davis Award for Team Technical Excellence “Development of Lead Free Machining Alloy 6020”
Arthur Vining Davis for Technical Excellence – Continuous Casting Commercial Alloys
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“An Evaluation of Weldments Jointed by Fe-Mn-Al and Fe-Cr-N: Consumables,” Welding Journal, March
1994, D.K. Aidun, K.M. Makhamah, D.J. Morrison, and J. Olszewski.
Three patent pending (1) Low Ox Co-Cr-Ru, (2) B2O3 Cr2O3 glass for magnetic media, (3) powder Co-Cr-B-Pt