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HIGHL IGHTS 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 |
O C T O B E R
2 0 1 6
5 3
WOMEN IN ENGINEERING
part-time education, at universities (or their equivalent)
or colleges. Students who have graduated within the past
three years and whose paper describes work completed
while an undergraduate or post graduate student are also
eligible. The winner will receive a plaque and a check for
$2500. Paper submission deadline is March 1, 2017.
Nominations Sought for George H.
Bodeen Heat Treating Achievement
Award
ASM’s Heat Treating Society (HTS) is currently seek-
ing nominations for the George H. Bodeen Heat Treating
Achievement Award, which recognizes distinguished and
significant contributions to the field of heat treating through
leadership, management, or engineering development of
substantial commercial impact. Deadline for nominations is
February 1, 2017.
ASM HTS/Surface Combustion
Emerging Leader Award
The ASM HTS/Surface Combustion Emerging Leader
Award recognizes an outstanding early-to-midcareer heat
treating professional whose accomplishments exhibit
exceptional achievements in the heat treating industry. The
award was created in recognition of Surface Combustions’
100 Year Anniversary in 2015. The winning young profes-
sional will best exemplify the ethics, education, ingenuity,
and future leadership of our industry. Deadline for nomina-
tions is April 1, 2017.
For nomination rules and forms for all three awards,
visit hts.asminternational.org and click on Membership
& Networking and Society Awards. For more information,
IMS Salutes Corporate Sponsors
The International Metallographic Society (IMS) relies
on corporate financial support to maintain its excellent
awards program. IMS extends sincere appreciation to the
following companies for their support.
IMS Benefactors: Buehler and Precision Surfaces
International
IMS Patrons: Allied High Tech Products Inc. and Struers Inc.
IMS Associates: Carl Zeiss Microscopy LLC, Evans Analytical
Group, Hoeganaes Corp., Metkon Instruments Inc., MetLab
Corp., PACE Technologies Corp., and Ted Pella Inc.
IMS Sponsors: IMR Test Labs, Leco Corp., Nikon Metrology
Inc., and Scot Forge Co.
WOMEN IN ENGINEERING
This new profile series introduces lead-
ing materials scientists from around the
world who happen to be females. Here
we speak with Judith A. Todd, head of
the engineering science and mechanics
(ESM) department, P.B. Breneman Chair,
and professor of engineering science
and mechanics at Penn State.
What does your typical workday look like?
While there is no typical workday, they are all equally
exciting. Research is the norm for all students and faculty in
the department, so we are continually developing propos-
als and new educational initiatives to support the research.
Recent examples include: additive manufacturing of metals
and 3D bioprinting of cartilage, bone, and pancreas, with a
new, college-wide master’s degree; growth of our Center for
Nanotechnology Education and Utilization, which provides
education at all levels and has workforce development pro-
grams in 16 U.S. states and Puerto Rico; establishment of a
Center for Neural Engineering emphasizing infant brain dis-
eases in Uganda (our global partners) and with a new M.D./
Ph.D. degree program; and development of new, biodegrad-
able self-healing polymers based on proteomic sequencing
of squid ring teeth.
What’s been your biggest technical challenge?
Keeping up with my research students as my adminis-
trative load limits the time available for research.
What part of your job do you like most?
My favorite part is the people and the research. I enjoy
one-on-one interactions with students at all levels, inspiring
all to be the best they can be, and then escaping to conduct
research with my group. What greater privilege is there than
to facilitate and encourage students to accomplish beyond
their expectations, faculty to make breakthroughs in their
research, and staff who make everything occur seamlessly.
What is your engineering background?
My B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. degrees are in materials sci-
ence from Cambridge University, England. I was fortunate
to be able to define my own Ph.D. topic, which involved
a year’s fieldwork in the Ethiopian bush studying the
2000-year-old bloomery iron (solid state reduction) process,
which was still practiced in 1972. My thesis contains one
of the last ethnographic records, with metallurgical analy-
ses, of the manufacture of iron tools and products by the
bloomery process. Upon completion, I conducted post-doc-
toral research programs in advanced fracture mechanics,