LATROBE, PA – As a senior engineer at ATI Latrobe Operations, Saint Vincent College alumna Autumn Miller, C’19, has already used her skills and expertise to help save the company millions of dollars and was honored by advancedmanufacturing.org as a 30 Under 30 Honoree for 2025.
Having first worked as a quality intern at ATI’s Materials Test Lab in Natrona Heights while still enrolled at SVC, she toured the facility’s melt shops and was hooked. After graduating from Saint Vincent with a Bachelor of Science degree in materials and mechanical engineering science and a Bachelor of Arts degree in math, Miller started a full-time position at ATI Latrobe Operations.
“Right after graduation, I jumped straight into a major capital project in the melt shop,” she said. “Having already proven myself during an internship where I introduced a new program in one of our labs, the team trusted me to lead the research and development of our first melt shop model.”
What began with evaluating several proposals and selecting the most suitable model evolved into a three-year process encompassing installation, commissioning and full implementation.
Miller’s second major project, focused on argon oxygen decarburization, followed a similar three-year timeline and continues to evolve through optimization to this day. Through installing both models, ATI has realized approximately $1.5 million in savings. In 2025 alone, the company has seen over $2 million in additional savings from ongoing process improvements made possible by the availability of data from model implementation.
“There’s something incredibly cool about working with molten metal,” Miller said. “Not many people can say they work beside giant buckets of molten steel—material that’s essential to virtually anything that flies, floats or rolls. It’s a unique and exciting environment.”
Classified as a senior engineer in Process Control and Automation at ATI, Miller’s work now centers on data analysis and process improvement. She reviews recent heats daily, identifies any irregularities and digs into data to spot trends that could reveal efficiency or cost-saving opportunities. If Miller identifies something unusual, she investigates even further into the digitalized data by writing queries to collect information for charts and graphs.
“If a pattern or trend emerges, I quantify its impact, putting a number to the potential loss or inefficiency, and then launch a cost-savings project around it,” she said. From there, the SVC alumna monitors that specific area over time to confirm whether the issue is consistent and operationally significant. If it is, Miller collaborates with the operations team to propose changes that can lead to measurable improvements. There are multiple projects running simultaneously that Miller monitors daily along with an ATI colleague.
Beyond the data side of the operation, Miller provides real-time support for the shop floor.
“If something looks off, equipment malfunctions or a model behaves unexpectedly, I’m the one who gets the call,” she said—whether it’s 2 p.m. or 2 a.m. “Thankfully, as the systems have stabilized, those calls have become far less frequent over time.”
Miller has also been able to take on partial support responsibilities for another melt shop located in New York and has begun learning the models at ATI’s Brackenridge facility so she can also assist at that location.
“I truly enjoy the challenge of learning these different processes and expanding my technical knowledge,” Miller said, “just as I did during my time at Saint Vincent College and when I first entered the workforce.”
Growing up in North Huntingdon Township, when exploring postsecondary education options, the 2015 Norwin High School graduate knew a big-city school wasn’t for her.
“I knew I wanted to study the sciences … I wanted smaller classes, the chance to connect with professors and an environment that would push me out of my comfort zone,” she said, recalling a “genuine sense of community and belonging” the moment she stepped on the SVC campus for an open house event.
“At Saint Vincent, it truly felt like I’d be joining a community,” she added, “not just a campus.” Miller originally planned to pursue mechanical engineering at SVC, but she developed a strong interest in chemistry during her freshman year.
“To my surprise, I ended up loving it,” Miller said. That new interest, combined with her background in math and mechanics, led her to explore materials science alongside her mechanical engineering coursework.
“One of the things I loved about my program at Saint Vincent was the flexibility to take classes that overlapped between both disciplines,” she said.
Miller credits SVC professor emeritus Dr. Paul Follansbee, former James F. Will Endowed Chair of Engineering in the Herbert W. Boyer School of Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Computing, as a huge influence.
Two of Follansbee’s classes—Mechanics of Materials and High-Temperature Materials—deepened Miller’s interest. Follansbee also assisted with Miller’s capstone project with PES Testing in Unity Township on the strength of materials.
“Autumn was one of those students who developed a fascination—growing into a passion—for materials,” Follansbee said. “It was a pleasure to have her in my classes and to work with her on her undergraduate research project. I am not surprised and am pleased that she earned this honor. I expect her career to continue to blossom, and I wish her all of the luck going forth.”
On a more personal note, Miller’s interest in the steel industry runs deep in her roots. Through genealogy research, she discovered that all her great-grandfathers worked in Pittsburgh-area steel mills—mainly Homestead Works, now US Steel.
“Growing up in the region, I was always fascinated by the industry,” she said, “but looking back, it feels like it was part of my DNA all along.”
Reflecting on her time at Saint Vincent, the senior engineer said the College will always be a part of her as well. In fact, she loved her time at Saint Vincent so much that she recruited her younger siblings, Noah Miller, C’24, and Trinity Miller, C’25.
“No matter how long it’s been since I’ve visited, campus always feels welcoming and familiar,” Miller said. “That feeling taught me how much a strong, supportive community can impact your life. When you surround yourself with positive, uplifting people, you grow and thrive right alongside them.”
