Keith Dwight Millis (May 20, 1915 – July 6, 1992) was an American metallurgical engineer and inventor of ductile iron.
The original intent was to find another element that would cause all the carbon in the cast iron alloy to be combined as carbide.
Millis and others at the International Nickel Company (Inco) sought and obtained U.S. patent 2,485,760 on October 25, 1949 for magnesium additions to cast iron that would spheroidize the graphite and dramatically ductilize the material.
The event has been held approximately every 5 years: The most recent symposium was co-sponsored by the American Foundry Society.
[2] A perpetual international scholarship has been awarded by the Ductile Iron Society Foundry Educational Foundation in Millis's name since 1991.