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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 | M A Y / J U N E 2 0 1 7
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Dr. David U. Furrer, FASM
Nominee for Vice President
Dr. David U. Furrer is senior
fellow discipline lead for the Mate-
rials and Processes Engineering
organization at Pratt & Whitney.
In this role, he leads the Pratt
& Whitney Materials Discipline
Chiefs and Materials Fellows in
development of technical strat-
egies and engineering standards
and procedures. Furrer supports the development, design,
and deployment of new materials and associated man-
ufacturing processes. He is responsible for manufactur-
ing technologies development and maturation, including
computational tools and methods to support legacy and
emerging manufacturing process application and design
for manufacture. He is involved in additive manufacturing
process development along with other emerging manufac-
turing processes.
Prior to Pratt & Whitney, Furrer was chief of strategic
materials and process technology and fellow of materi-
als and process modeling at Rolls-Royce, where he led the
strategy for materials modeling tools and methods, and the
development and acquisition of advanced materials and
processes. Furrer also held various roles at Ladish Co. Inc.
(now ATI Forged Products) where he developed and deliv-
ered unique thermo-mechanical processing technology for
aerospace and general industrial industries. He has over
25 years of experience in the areas of aerospace materials
engineering, development and application of computa-
tional modeling and simulation tools for engineering mate-
rials and manufacturing processes, and data analytics.
In addition to working within the aerospace and forg-
ing industry, he has been an adjunct professor at the Mil-
waukee School of Engineering, where he taught materials
and manufacturing technology courses within the mechan-
ical engineering department.
Furrer is a Fellow of ASM International and has served
on the ASM Board of Trustees from 2010-2013. He is also a
member of the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engi-
neering. Furrer received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees
in metallurgical engineering from the University of Wiscon-
sin-Madison, and a doctorate of engineering from the Uni-
versität Ulm in Germany.
About the President-Elect and
Board Nominees
Dr. Frederick E. Schmidt, P.E.,
FASM
President-Elect
Dr. Frederick E. Schmidt, Jr.,
retired in 2015 after 17 years as
a senior managing consultant at
Engineering Systems Inc. (ESI).
He served as technical director of
materials engineering at ESI for
many years. He was responsible
for a very broad professional engi-
neering practice, which used interdisciplinary teamwork
with clients and other experts while working to solve com-
plex “mission impossible” problems. Prior to ESI, he served
as chief metallurgist for Remington Arms, a subsidiary of
E.I. DuPont De Nemours. He designed and specified all
materials, coatings, and processes for advanced weapons,
i.e., Navy SEALs, sniper firearms, commercial products, and
ammunition optimization for the U.S. Army.
Schmidt was employed by DuPont from 1972 to 1993
as an R&D coordinator of inter-department projects at the
Experimental Station, Wilmington, Del. He was appointed a
research fellow in 1989 in recognition of his creative solu-
tions to proprietary electronic and materials processing
quality control issues. He was also the designated liaison
to the engineering development laboratory and DuPont
legal department tasked to invent unique products and
processes.
Schmidt was commissioned in the U.S. Army in 1968.
He served for 12 years in various command positions, as a
combat qualified reserve officer, and retired in 1980 as Cap-
tain in the Corps of Engineers.
Schmidt is a Fellow of ASM International and past pres-
ident of Alpha Sigma Mu (2017-19). He served on the ASM
Board of Trustees from 2004-2007 as well as serving on the
ASM Materials Education Foundation Board as Trustee from
2007-2010. Schmidt received the ASM International Allan
Ray Putnam Service Award in 1991 and the William Hunt
Eisenman Award in 2015. He has a Ph.D. and M.S. in mate-
rials science and engineering from Drexel University, and
a B.S. in metallurgical engineering from Drexel Institute of
Technology. He became a professional engineer in the state
of Pennsylvania in 1981 and currently holds P.E. licenses in
eight states. Schmidt has earned the National Council of
Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) designa-
tion as a Model Law Engineer.
Furrer
BOARD NOMINATIONS
Schmidt