Abstract: An apparatus and method for cooling a strip of moving metal in a hot strip mill, or the like, is disclosed. The apparatus utilizes an infrared sensor for measuring a temperature profile across a transverse section of the strip. A coolant manifold is utilized to apply coolant to the metal strip after the temperature is measured from a plurality of independently controllable outlets in the manifold transversely spaced across the strip. A controller adjusts the flow of coolant of the outlets in response to the transverse temperature measurements to selectively cool the strip in order to establish an uniform temperature profile.