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 | A P R I L 2 0 2 1 6 7 Liu WOMEN IN ENGINEERING This profile series introduces materials scientists from around the world who happen to be females. Here we speak with Guiru Nash Liu, FASM, senior experimental metallurgist, Progress Rail Inc., A Caterpillar Company, LaGrange, Illinois. What does your typical workday look like? I am very busy every day conducting failure analysis on locomotive/engine components. Often, I am needed on hot and urgent failures from new engines to determine the root cause so that we can improve the process or design to improve the reliability. What part of your job do you like most? Finding the evidence that contributed to the failures. It is just like doing a detective’s job. What is your greatest professional achievement? Since 2000, my colleagues at Progress Rail and I have worked to meet U.S. EPA restrictions for locomotive emissions Tier II, III, and IV engines.With stricter emission requirements, there are increased demands on the materials of construction. It is a testament to our work that today’s locomotives are more reliable, fuel efficient, and environmentally friendly than ever before. My greatest contributions are in finding the failure mechanisms of the locomotive/engine components and providing the solutions to prevent production lines being shut down, ensuring on-time delivery of locomotives, and preventing further failures in the railroad industry. Other engineers have describedmy failure analysis reports as “always very thorough.” I report the facts without speculation and provide the root cause of the failures and the solutions. Whenever engineers need urgent answers to a failure, they seek me out for answers because they trust my findings. My motto is to seek truth from facts. With high quality and fact-oriented root cause analysis results and preventive solutions, I have saved millions of dollars and perhaps lives by preventing future failures. Are you actively engaged with ASM or its affiliates? Yes, I have been and continue to be very active with ASM. I have held various positions in the Chicago Chapter including chair, where under my leadership, the chapter started the first local students summer camp nationwide. I have served at the ASM national level on many committees and am a reviewer for Metallography, Microstructure, and Analysis and the Journal of Materials Science. I served on the ASM Nominating Committee in 2012 and will serve again in this year. I was inducted into the 2020 Class of ASM Fellows and will receive the 2022 Alan Ray Putnam Service Award. Do you know someone who should be featured in an upcoming Women in Engineering profile? Contact Vicki Burt at vicki.burt@asminternational.org. WOMEN IN ENGINEERING
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