William H. Emling began his steelmaking career as an intern in the BOF shop of Republic Steel in Warren, Ohio, in 1978.  Emling graduated from Case Institute of Technology with a B.S. in Metallurgical & Materials Science Engineering in 1979.  Upon graduation, Emling joined National Steel in Granite City, Illinois, as a metallurgist.  He initially worked as a turn foreman in the coke plant, blast furnace, basic oxygen furnace, blooming mill, and scarfing areas, before participating in the startup of the No. 1 caster.

From 1981 to 1999, Emling worked for Jones & Laughlin Steel, which became LTV Steel post-merger.  Emling held several positions of increasing responsibility, including Corporate Manager of Continuous Casting Research & Development, Unit Manager of Operations, and Manager of Operations Improvement, Cleveland Works. While at LTV, Emling attended Weatherhead Graduate School of Management at Case Western Reserve University, graduating from the Professional Fellows program in 1997.

In 1999, Emling joined Acutus Gladwin, a company later acquired by SMS group, as Vice President of Maintenance Technology.  In 2003, Emling became Vice President & Plant Manager of the Oil City Division. In 2006, Emling became Vice President Sales & Business Development, Metallurgy Division, in charge of Steelmaking and Continuous Casting for SMS.  He retired from SMS group in 2022.

Emling has been a member of the Association for Iron and Steel Technology (AIST) and its predecessor organizations since 1981.  He has authored approximately 45 technical papers related to steelmaking, ladle metallurgy, and continuous casting.  Emling won the Iron & Steel Society Best Paper award in 1987 and 1992 and the Robert W. Hunt AIME award in 1991. He has served in several capacities:  member of the Northeast Ohio organizing board, Key Reader for Transaction of Iron & Steel Society (ISS), Chairman of the ISS Steelmaking Committee, ISS Board of Directors, AIST Board of Directors, Chairman of the Continuous Casting Technology Committee, member of Oxygen and Electric Steelmaking Committees, Instructor for Annual Continuous Casting Training Seminar, member of the Pittsburgh Chapter and as an AIST Foundation Trustee.

Emling was the winner of the AIST’s Tadeus Szendzimir Medal in 2021 and the AIST’s Benjamin Fairless Award in 2024.  He was recognized in 2023 as a Distinguished Member and Fellow of the AIST.

Since 2023, Emling has been a business development consultant for several companies.