HIGHLIGHTS ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES | MAY/JUNE 2024 58 MEMBERS IN THE NEWS important to remember we all have different education and career paths. What works for one person does not necessarily work for everyone. You can take time and think about what you want to do with your life and there is nothing wrong with that. One does not have to have their whole career planned out by the end of undergrad. You can change what you want to do at any point in your career. What attracted you to engineering? I first became interested in materials science in high school chemistry class. I was taught about reactions in liquid or gas phases and almost nothing about solids. This sparked my interest in what I was not being taught. Why weren’t we learning about metals, ceramics, and plastics in high school chemistry? Then in the summer between my junior and senior year of high school, I attended a week-long seminar at Purdue University for prospective engineering students. In the portion on materials engineering, one of the professors had a demonstration on shape memory alloys that I found fascinating. After that I was hooked on materials science. Best career advice, given or received: The best career advice I have ever been given is “done is better than perfect.” I think this is great advice because sometimes the perfect solution is not the best solution. We often get caught up on unimportant details when trying to make something perfect as opposed to focusing on the true problem we are facing. Tell us about your involvement with ASM. I started with ASM International after completing my undergrad and I became heavily involved with my local chapter. I served as a member of the local chapter’s executive committee for several years and I now serve on one of ASM’s national committees. I stay involved with ASM because I love materials engineering and I want to help make ASM as great as it can be. Favorite quote? “Yet such is oft the course of deeds that move the wheels of the world; small hands do them because they must, while the eyes of the great are elsewhere.” J.R.R. Tolkien Do you know someone who should be featured in an upcoming Face of Materials Engineering profile? Contact Vicki Burt at vicki.burt@asminternational.org. MEMBERS IN THE NEWS Apelian Awarded WPI Presidential Medal Diran Apelian, FASM, (shown in center) was awarded the Presidential Medal at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) on March 22. The presentation was made during the inaugural celebration for the Institute’s 17th president. Apelian is one of only two recipients of the award this year, which honors accomplishments that embody the technological humanist ideal. He is a UC Irvine Distinguished Professor of materials science and engineering and former provost and faculty member at WPI. Pathak Delivers Kottewar Oration Udayan Pathak, FASM, immediate past chair of ASM’s Pune Chapter, delivered the 14th Er. A.B. Kottewar Memorial Oration. The lecture, “Electric Vehicles: Evolution, Opportunities & Challenges,” was presented to more than 250 attendees. Kottewar was chair of the Institution of Engineers (IEI), Nagpur Local Centre, India. Under his leadership, many IEI conferences and workshops were organized. Members of the ASM Pune Chapter and Material Advantage Chapters at MKSS’s Cummins College of Engineering & Govt. Polytechnic attended the talk, as well as members of the Kottewar family.
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