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A D V A N C E D M A T E R I A L S & P R O C E S S E S | J U N E 2 0 1 5
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juniors pursuing research careers in science, math, or engi-
neering. Helfrecht, of Batavia, Ill., studies materials science
in the School of Materials Engineering and the Honors Col-
lege. He researches atomic mechanisms at work in electron-
ic materials and how these mechanisms influence material
properties and behavior.
MEMBERS IN THE NEWS
HIGHL IGHTS
Asthana Receives Engineering Educator Award
Rajiv Asthana, FASM, pro-
fessor at the University of Wis-
consin-Stout, received the Dis-
tinguished Engineering Educator
Award of The Engineers’ Council
from Sonja Domazet, council
president at the 60th annual hon-
ors and awards banquet on Febru-
ary 28 in Universal City, Calif. The
award is given to individuals “who
are outstanding in professional
qualities and have a top reputa-
tion for engineering accomplish-
ments and leadership.” Asthana is editor of the
Journal of
Materials Engineering and Performance
and is the Fulton
and Edna Holtby Endowed Chair in manufacturing at Stout.
Apelian Honored for Sustainable Stewardship
Diran Apelian, Alcoa-
Howmet Professor of Me-
chanical Engineering at
Worcester Polytechnic In-
stitute (WPI) and director of
WPI’s Metal Processing In-
stitute, received the Audu-
bon Society’s Joan Hodges
Queneau Palladium Medal.
Established by the soci-
ety in 1977 and adminis-
tered by the American As-
sociation of Engineering
Societies (AAES), the medal recognizes individuals who
encourage cooperation between engineers and environ-
mentalists to create solutions to environmental problems.
Apelian was recognized “for articulating an inspiring vision
of sustainable stewardship of our earth’s resources and
then rallying varied disciplines and constituencies with-
in the science and engineering community to collaborate
meaningfully toward outcomes that satisfy the interests of
industries and conservationists alike.” The award was pre-
sented on April 20 at the annual AEES awards banquet in
Washington.
Helfrecht Named Goldwater Scholar
Purdue University junior Ben Hel-
frecht was named a 2015 Goldwater
Scholar. The Barry Goldwater Scholar-
ship and Excellence in Education Pro-
gram, established by Congress in 1986,
awards up to $7500 to sophomores and
IN MEMORIAM
Karl Thomas Aust,
FASM, Life Member,
passed
away on April 3. He received
his B.A.Sc, M.A.Sc, and Ph.D.
in metallurgical engineer-
ing from the University of
Toronto in 1946, 1948, and
1950, respectively. He was
employed at U.S. Metals Re-
fining Co. as a physical met-
allurgist from 1946 to 1947,
at Kaiser AluminumandChemical Corp. as a research
metallurgist from 1950 to 1952, then at Johns Hop-
kins University as a research associate from 1952 to
1955, and General Electric Research and Develop-
ment Center as a research metallurgist from 1955
to 1967. In 1967, Aust returned to his alma mater as
a professor of metallurgy and materials science at
the University of Toronto. During this time, he also
held visiting scholar and scientist positions at uni-
versities and research institutes in the U.S., Germa-
ny, France, and Japan. In 1991, he officially retired
to the status of Professor Emeritus but continued
to be active in research and co-supervised graduate
students until 2013. In his career, Aust published
more than 250 scientific papers that established
himas a pioneer in grain boundary engineering and
the development of revolutionary nanocrystalline
materials. Among his many awards, he received the
American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Pe-
troleum Engineers’ Mathewson Gold Medal, a Gug-
genhiem Fellowship to the École des Mines Paris,
Hoffman Award, Japan Society for the Promotion
of Science Awards, Yamada Science Foundation
Award, Gauss Professorship at the Gottingen Acad-
emy of Science, and the Canadian Metal Physics
Medal.
Word has been received at ASM Headquarters
of the deaths of John Hunter and Joseph Hepp.
Aust
Helfrecht
Apelian (second from left)
with, from left, AAES chair
James Melsa, TMS president
Patrice Turchi, and TMS execu-
tive director James Robinson.
Sonja Domazet and
Rajiv Asthana.