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 / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 3 2 1 I first met Dave Williams in late 1975 when I was a graduate student at Lehigh University and he was interviewed for an assistant professorship in the materials science and engineering department. He gave a lecture on discontinuous precipitation in Al-Li alloys as part of his interview. It was a commendable performance and Dave was offered the position and started in fall 1976. Joe Goldstein, my Ph.D. advisor, suggested I ask Dave to join my advising team and assist me in using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and x-ray analysis to study low-temperature phase transformations in Fe-Ni alloys. Dave and I worked together during my Ph.D. studies. During that time, I convinced him to take part in Lehigh’s annual turkey trot, when he was still young enough to be the metallurgy “rabbit.” He had previously made the mistake of telling me that when running track at university in the U.K., he was one of the 25 fastest 200-meter sprinters in the country. We continued our partnership when I moved to Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, N.M., after completing my Ph.D. Over the years, we’ve published together on numerous occasions, taught microscopy short courses together, helped lead professional societies, and developed strategic initiatives in the materials and manufacturing space. Dave and his family visited “Al from Albuquerque” (as his sons called me) and Steve, his youngest, spent a summer at Sandia Labs after high school before going to Carnegie Mellon to study engineering. I returned to Lehigh on many occasions, attended Dave’s inauguration as president of The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) in 2008, and served on his external advisory council to the College of Engineering at The Ohio State University. I was proud to support Dave’s election to the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) as an associate fellow. The recognition fromAIAA came for his leadership of aerospace and related disciplines both at UAH and Ohio State. FORMATIVE YEARS Dave was born (a ’49-er) in the postwar, food-rationed, industrial north of England. He chose his parents well. They made it clear that he was going to university, even though they never had the chance. By carefully manipulating his skills on the rugby field and maneuvering his way through an interview he was admitted to Cambridge University, where he was intent on studying physics in the renowned Cavendish Laboratory. After his first year, his tutor called him into his office and said, “Williams, if you want to graduate from this university, pick another subject! Dismissed.” Dave selected metallurgy because he liked looking through microscopes and exercising his graphic art skills by drawing pictures of polished metals. Upon graduation, he was admitted to Cambridge’s metallurgy–materials science Ph.D. program. Throughout his studies, Dave played rugby, which helped him retain his sanity, although it took a toll on his body. All four limbs are now either tied in place or replaced—a testament to 20th century biomaterials engineering. His Ph.D. dissertation was on electron energy-loss spectroscopy of Al-Li alloys—a useless technique applied to a useless material—perfect for a Ph.D.! After receiving his doctorate, Dave traveled around the world seeking employment (and playing rugby in Japan and South Africa) while holding down a postdoc at Cambridge. His first academic presentation, at the 8th International Congress on Electron Microscopy in Canberra, Australia, was followed by six interviews. None of them resulted in employment, but the seventh took place in a pub on Sydney Harbor where a meeting with his cousin’s best friend, Margie, started a 48-year relationship, producing three sons and three grandchildren. His next interview was at Lehigh University. He’d obviously learned from his past failures. We all give thanks to George Krauss, FASM (ASM president 1996-1997), for his foresight in taking a chair at the Colorado School of Mines because this opened the door for Dave at Lehigh. There, Dave was mentored by some of ASM’s greats: Al Pense, Bob Stout, Joe Goldstein, and Joe Libsch 2022-2023 PRESIDENT OF ASM INTERNATIONAL DAVID B. WILLIAMS Alton D. Romig, Jr., FASM, 1997-1998 ASM President Al Romig (left) celebrates with Dave Williams during his induction as an AIAA associate fellow.
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