Growing up in a poor family in Brazil, Ronaldo Santos Sampaio was no stranger to hard work. His youth was spent getting an education and assisting his father at the family grocery store in his free time. In college, his eagerness to succeed earned him the number one spot in his class and the opportunity to teach. As a professor, Santos Sampaio finished his master’s Mathematical Model of the Reduction of Hematite by Hydrogen in an Isothermal Fixed Bed, published books on essential industry topics, and won eleven awards for his work with Ferrous Alloys and Iron and steelmaking subjects. He then went to the United States and earned his PhD at Carnegie Mellon. Over the course of his decades-long career as an engineer and consultant, Santos Sampaio made countless advancements to the steel industry in Brazil. His work with blast furnace reactors, ore-selling systems, zero-emissions mills, and the pelletizing process changed the industry forever. However, what he is most proud of is the work he has done with his students and interns. Under his guidance, Santos Sampaio’s protégés have become good engineers and managers with major companies across the globe.