ASM honors best in materials science and engineering

To honor the distinguished accomplishments of members of the worldwide materials science and engineering community, ASM International, The Materials Information Society, has announced the recipients of the society’s 2006 awards.

Honorary Membership
Dr. Aziz I. Asphahani, FASM, president and CEO (Retired), Carus Chemical Company, Peru, Ill., is recognized for “excellence in the transfer of scientific and technical knowledge to valuable commercial products and for outstanding leadership and service to ASM International and the ASM Materials Education Foundation.”

Honorary Membership is awarded for distinguished service to the materials science and engineering profession, ASM International, and the progress of humanity.

Medal for the Advancement of Research
Dr. Albert R.C. Westwood, FASM, vice president emeritus for research and technology, Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, N.M., is recognized for “inspirational and productive leadership of industrial and government research laboratories that has helped develop and introduce to practice numerous technological advances.”

The medal was established in 1943 to honor an executive in an organization active in production, fabrication or use of metals and other materials. The recipient, over a period of years, shall have consistently sponsored research or development and by foresight and actions shall have helped substantially to advance the arts and sciences relating to materials science and engineering.

Distinguished Life Membership
Mr. Robert J. Torcolini, chairman, president and CEO, Carpenter Technology Corporation, Reading, Pa., is recognized for “outstanding commitment, dedication, and leadership to advance the performance of one of the leading U.S. specialty metals companies and the specialty metals industry.”

Established in 1954, this honor is conferred on those leaders who have devoted their time, knowledge and abilities to the advancement of the materials industries.

Gold Medal Award
Anthony G. Evans, professor of materials, mechanical engineer, University of California-Santa Barbara, is recognized for “pioneering applications of applied mechanics to the design of advanced materials.”

The medal was established in 1943 to recognize outstanding knowledge and great versatility in the application of science to the field of materials science and engineering, as well as exceptional ability in the diagnosis and solution of diversified materials problems.

Engineering Materials Achievement Award
Swagelok Company of Solon, Ohio, is recognized for “the development and commercialization of low-temperature colossal supersaturation (LTCSS), a novel surface-hardening method for the carburization of austenitic stainless steels.”

Mr. Carl E. Meece, vice president of engineering; Dr. Sunniva Collins, manager of materials technology; and Peter Williams, chief scientist, accepted the award.

Established in 1969, this award recognizes an outstanding achievement in materials or materials systems relating to the application of knowledge of materials to an engineering structure or to the design and manufacture of a product.

Albert Sauveur Achievement Award
Dr. David Seidman, FASM, Walter P. Murphy professor, Materials Science Department, Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill., is recognized for “seminal and sustained applications of field-ion and atom-probe microscopies to numerous fundamental and technologically important problems in physical metallurgy and materials science over a 30-year period.”

Established in 1934, the award recognizes pioneering materials science and engineering achievements that have stimulated organized work along similar lines to such an extent that a marked basic advance has been made in the knowledge of materials science and engineering.

William Hunt Eisenman Award
Professor R. Viswanathan, FASM, senior manager of materials and technical fellow, EPRI, Palo Alto, Calif., is recognized for “visionary research and development with sustained application to reliability, availability and life extension of electric power plant components.”

Established in 1960, the award recognizes unusual achievements in industry in the practical application of materials science and engineering through production or engineering use.

Allan Ray Putnam Service Award
C. Ravi Ravindran, FASM, professor of Advanced Materials, Ryerson University, Ontario, Canada, received the 2006 award for “dedicated leadership and untiring service to ASM as Chapter leader, Canada Council Officer, national committee member, and Board of Trustee member and for his long-term commitment to the development of student chapters, educational opportunities and for his boundless enthusiasm in extending ASM at the international level.”

Dr. Jack G. Simon, FASM, senior advisory consultant, Westinghouse Savannah River Technology Center in Aiken, S.C., received the 2005 award in recognition of his “45 years of exceptional and enthusiastic service to ASM, and for his long-term commitment to initiate and provide educational programs and career guidance to the next generation of materials engineers.”

Established in 1988, the Putnam Service Award recognizes the exemplary efforts of members of ASM International on behalf of the Society to further its objectives and goals.

Albert Easton White Distinguished Teacher Award
Professor Hans H. Stadelmaier, FASM, professor emeritus, Department of Materials, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, is recognized for “outstanding contributions to the understanding of interstitial compounds and permanent magnet materials and a lifetime of dedicated teaching in the classroom and the laboratory.”

The award, established in 1960, recognizes unusually long and devoted service in teaching as well as significant accomplishments in materials science and engineering, and an unusual ability to inspire and impart enthusiasm to students.

Bradley Stoughton Award for Young Teachers
Christopher Li, assistant professor, Drexel University, Philadelphia, is recognized “for his outstanding enthusiasm for teaching materials science and engineering classes and the establishment of the thermal analysis center for undergraduate education at Drexel University.”

This award was established in 1952. It recognizes and fosters excellence in the teaching of materials science, materials engineering, design, and processing to encourage young teachers in this field.

Jacquet-Lucas Award for Excellence in Metallography
Ryan M. Deacon, graduate student, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pa., is recognized for his “Analysis of 19th-Century Boat Anchor Using Field Metallography Techniques.”

This award was established in 1946 for the best entry in the annual ASM metallographic competition. In 1972, ASM joined with the International Metallographic Society in sponsoring the Pierre Jacquet Gold Medal and the Francis F. Lucas Award for Excellence in Metallography. The award has been endowned by Buehler, Ltd. since 1976.

Henry Marion Howe Medal
The following authors are recognized for their paper entitled “Grain Refinement of Magnesium Alloys,” which was published in the July 2005 issue of Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A.
• Professor David St. John, CEO, Cast Cooperative Research Centre, Queensland, Australia
• Dr. Ma Qian, lecturer, Brunel Centre of Advanced Solidification Technology (BCAST), Brunel University, United Kingdom
• Mark A. Easton, research fellow, Department of Materials Engineering, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
• Dr. Peng Cao, postgraduate student, Department of Materials and Process Engineering, The University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand
• Zoë Hildebrand, postgraduate student, Division of Materials, School of Engineering, University of Queensland, Queensland, Australia

The medal was established in 1923 to recognize the authors whose paper has been selected as the best of those published in a specific volume of Metallurgical and Materials Transactions.

Marcus A. Grossmann Young Author Award
The following authors are recognized for their paper entitled “Modeling the Precipitation Processes and Strengthening Mechanisms in a Mg-Al-(Zn) AZ91 Alloy,” which was published in the August 2005 issue of Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A.
• Dr. Christopher R. Hutchinson, university fellow, School of Physics and Materials Engineering, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
• Dr. Jian-Feng Nie, reader, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
• Stèphane Gorsse, Maître de Conference, Institut de Chimie de la Matière Condensée, De Bordeaux et Ecole, Nationale Supérieure de Chimie et de Physique de Bordeaux, Cedex, France

This award was established in 1960 in memory of an eminent metallurgist, research director and author, who was President of ASM in 1944, to honor the authors under 40 years of age whose paper has been selected as the best of those published in a specific volume of Metallurgical and Materials Transactions.

International Graduate Student Paper Contest
Rajen Sidhu, graduate student, Arizona State University, is recognized for his paper, “Creep Behavior of Sn-Rich Solders in Bulk Form.” The contest was established in 1985 to recognize the best graduate student technical paper in the field of materials science and engineering.

George A. Roberts Award
Professor Thomas G. Stoebe, FASM, professor emeritus, University of Washington, Seattle, is recognized for “his focus on using the materials of everyday life to instill in students a basic understanding of how things behave, demonstrating that we all have an innate knowledge of science through our everyday experience.”

This award was established in 2003 to highlight the importance of educational outreach and is presented annually to an individual who has made a significant impact to reach students and teachers, in efforts to increase awareness of materials and applied science careers. The award is named for Dr. George Roberts, president of ASM in 1955, who has served the materials community with great distinction for more than 50 years.

About ASM International
Founded in 1913, ASM International serves the materials science and engineering profession. ASM's worldwide membership is comprised of 38,000 research scientists, materials engineers, faculty members, industrial and manufacturing engineers, technicians and students whose work involves advanced materials, processes that improve performance and applications that improve our quality of life. Visit http://www.asminternational.org for more information.