January_2021_AMP_Digital

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 A N U A R Y 2 0 2 1 2 2 I t is a pleasure to introduce my good friend Diana M. Essock. I am so thrilled that she was selected as ASM’s Presi- dent for 2020-2021. I remember givingmy presidential speech in Pittsburgh in 2014. I remarked at the time that it was an hon- or to be the second woman president of ASM International—after Dianne Chong— and I predicted others would follow. How exciting to see Diana take on this leader- ship role for ASM International! Diana and I have known each other for nearly 30 years. I am pretty sure the first time we met was at an ASM Cleve- land Chapter meeting back in 1990. I re- member how friendly and welcoming she was to me. She had already made her mark on the chapter with strategic planning and documenting operational processes. Over the years, and through our ASM activities, we developed a wonderful friendship that continues to this day. In our careers, Diana and I have worked for different companies in Northeast Ohio, but always remained in good contact. Diana has been a techni- cal contributor, an effective manager, and the owner principal of a successful technical consulting practice. She has a particular gift for technical market- ing and has assisted several companies in honing their messages and connect- ing with potential customers. Over the years, Diana has demonstrated great technical business acumen and integ- rity, and has always supported ASM for both its technical and social functions. ASM SERVICE Diana is a dedicated contributor to ASM. Her service to the Cleveland Chap- ter has been outstanding. She has been Chapter chair, historian, and most re- cently co-chair withDave Kovarik for the ASMCleveland Chapter’s 100th Anniver- sary celebration. Diana has also been a driving force on Chapter Council and was instrumental in the development of Leadership Days and its programming. During her term on the ASM Board of Trustees, she co-sponsored the estab- lishment of the Women in Materials En- gineering Committee (WiME) to meet the needs of women in ASM. She has been a champion for diversity and in- clusion, and her ability to organize and create coalitions has already had a sig- nificant impact on the Society. This past year as ASM vice presi- dent, Diana supported and gained ap- proval from the Board for a proposal to expand the WiME Committee’s initiative and establish the IDEA Committee—In- clusion, Diversity, Equity, and Aware- ness—which seeks to reach out to all underrepresented groups in ASM. She is a past recipient of ASM’s Allan Ray Put- nam Award, given annually to recognize the exemplary efforts of one volunteer to further the Society’s objectives and goals. In recognition for her technical contributions to the materials field, she was named a Fellow of ASM Internation- al in 2007. EDUCATION AND CAREER Diana is a trailblazer! She was the first woman undergraduate from the materials science and engineering de- partment at Case Western Reserve Uni- versity. Originally planning to major in astronomy, Diana was introduced to materials science during the sum- mer between her freshman and soph- omore years. She spent those months analyzing lunar rocks and lunar glass with Prof. Ar- thur Heuer and Prof. Al Coo- per. Heuer encouraged her to consider becoming a ma- terials engineer. Subsequent summers were spent at Bell Laboratories and Battelle Memorial Institute perform- ing microhardness studies on copper alloys, and high temperature flow studies of neodym- ium glasses for laser lens coatings, re- spectively. Her senior thesis involved the production, testing, and analysis of niobium single crystals. After receiving an M.S. in metal- lurgical engineering at The Ohio State University, where her thesis was on the sulfidation of molybdenum-iron alloys, Diana began her career at TRW Inc. Ma- terials and Manufacturing Technolo- gy Center (MMTC). There she procured funding, and managed and conducted technology development programs for new materials and processes in the jet engine industry. After the closure of TRW’s MMTC, Diana worked at General Electric Com- pany’s Lighting Business from 1986 through 1990 on new product devel- opment and introduction. There she had the opportunity to create a new lamp product from inception through to final production. While at General Elec- tric, she completed an executive MBA program at Baldwin Wallace College. 2020-2021 PRESIDENT OF ASM INTERNATIONAL DIANA M. ESSOCK Sunniva Collins, FASM, 2014-2015 ASM President Early days at Case Western Reserve University.