July/August_AMP_Digital

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 | J U L Y / A U G U S T 2 0 2 0 7 2 Recent Changes at ASM International “The Only Thing That Is Constant Is Change” ― Heraclitus “Any Internal Process Produces Entropy” ― Second Law of Thermodynamics The first statement above is philosophic, while the second is scientific. As a philosopher, one keeps asking questions, and as a scientist, one develops hypoth- eses and processes to answer those questions, during which both order and disorder are pro- duced. Every time I talk with peo- ple on philosophy and/or science, it helps make my own thoughts clearer, deeper, and more coherent and enables me to com- municate better the importance of integrating philosophy and science in the spirit of my TKC theory ( AM&P Vol. 178, No. 1, p 22). This is reflected in my “From the President’s Desk” columns in AM&P magazine, where some questions were posted, such as “How is ASM doing?” and “What’s next?” (Vol. 177, 2019, No. 8, p 72), “What is Materials 4. 0?” (Vol. 178, 2020, No. 2, p 50), “How can ASM repeat the success of the Granta investment?” (Vol. 178, 2020, No. 3, p 71), and “Why am I doing this? How can I do better?” (Vol. 178, 2020, No. 4, p 70). While I tried my best to share my thoughts, many of them remain open questions. As the governing body of ASM International, the ASM Board of Trustees is vested by the ASM Constitution with the responsibility to ask critical questions about the future of the organization. This is hard not only because the future is unknown, but also because there can be many pathways to achieve ASM’s long-term goals. Of course, that does not even take into account unprecedented events along the way such as the COVID-19 pandemic that we have been experiencing and the recent protests after the tragic death of George Floyd. Despite these challenges, we need to per- severe in envisioning the future of ASM International by focusing on its vision and mission and especially by concen- trating on three critical areas: increased membership, tech- nical excellence, and strategic partnerships/collaborations, which were identified in both ASM’s 2016 and 2020 strate- gic plans. These are areas in which ASM International must excel to ensure its success and growth. In the 2020 strategic plan t hat extends the key ele- ments of the 2016 Strategic Plan, the ASM Board of Trust- ees proposed four key initiatives to accomplish its goals: (1) Develop a digital-first platform that encompasses all aspects of ASM activities; (2) Establish an interdisciplinary collabo- ration framework to engage organizations and members in the materials production and manufacturing supply chain and integrate materials information into partners’ informa- tion flows and decision-making metrics; (3) Create a global professional network with technical and professional soci- eties through mutually beneficial joint activities, including webinars, workshops, conferences, and publications, based on needs of members and interests of stakeholders; and (4) Cultivate a foundational culture and practice of diversity, equity, and inclusion. I am pleased to report that ASM has officially launched the “IDEA Committee” – a membership- driven committee geared toward fostering an authentic cul- ture of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Awareness (IDEA) as an expansion of the impactful ASM Women in Materials Engineering Committee launched in 2013. As revealed in my “From the President’s Desk” pages mentioned above, significant progress has been made in the past several years through the hard work of ASM’s dedi- cated volunteers and employees. This particularly includes ASM’s game-changing digital transformation going back to the organization’s bold investment in Granta in 2000 that led to ASM’s entry into the digital world. Today, Granta has establishe d itself as the foundation of materials informatics (Vol. 178, 2020, No. 3, p 72). At the same time, the Board rec- ognized that there were misalignments between the Board and the CEO regarding the direction that ASM should go. As a result, the ASM Board of Trustees and Mr. Mahoney agreed to a process to transition him out of his role as CEO and end his relationship with ASM International. We are pleased to announce that the Board appointed Ron Aderhold as the acting managing director of ASM Inter- national (see next page). Aderhold has been with ASM for more than four years, serving as both chief operating officer and chief information officer. Thus, we are confident that the selection of Aderhold by the Board creates an orderly tran- sition that will not interrupt any of the services or program- ming ASM provides to its members. He can be reached at ron.aderhold@asminternational.org if you would like to contact him for questions or to provide input as a member. An international search will be conducted for a permanent managing director. I would like to circle back to the two statements at the beginning of my message. Practically any change as a pro- cess results in entropy production, thus some degree of dis- order in a certain portion of the society. At the same time, it provides improvements and order for the society as a whole to accomplish the larger goal—in this case, to keep ASM’s programs and operations in alignment with its mission and strategy. The ASM Board believes that this change will allow our organization to evolve with greater stability and align- Zi-Kui Liu, FASM FROM THE PRESIDENT’S DESK FROM THE PRESIDENT’S DESK