HIGHLIGHTS ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES | SEPTEMBER 2024 65 for consideration. Recommendations should be submitted to the headquarters of either Society. View sample forms, rules, and past recipients at asminternational.org/about-asm/awards. To nominate someone, contact Christine Hoover at christine.hoover@ asminternational.org for a unique nomination link. You may also contact Deborah Hixon at TMS Headquarters, hixon@tms.org. • An eminent individual who has an overview of technology and society in which technology and society are a ected by development in materials science and engineering. • A person associated with government, industry, research, or education. Nominations may be proposed by any member of either Society. Submit your nominations by October 1 GIBBS AWARD WINNER ASM’s financial staff, updated processes, and introduced new sales incentives that resulted in a $50,000 increase per month in revenue. In 2015, Becker was named ASM’s chief financial officer. Among other important accomplishments during the next eight years, she achieved a $12 million increase in ASM’s investment portfolios, achieved financial stability during the pandemic by securing $3.5 million in CARES Act funding, and successfully pivoted the ASM staff to a digital workforce during that unprecedented time. “Our Board is excited about Veronica’s energy, enthusiasm, and expertise,” Board President Goyal said. “And we look forward to beginning a new era at ASM with her leadership.” Prof. David E. Laughlin Named 2025 Recipient of the J. Willard Gibbs Phase Equilibria Award ASM is pleased to announce that Prof. David E. Laughlin, FASM, emeritus professor, materials science and engineering department, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, is the 2025 J. Willard Gibbs Phase Equilibria Award recipient. His citation reads: “For sustained teaching and research on the application of thermodynamics to MSE, including a textbook and application of the third law to the proper display of phase diagrams.” The Gibbs Award was established in 2007 to recognize outstanding contributions to the field of phase equilibria. The award honors J. Willard Gibbs, one of America’s greatest theoretical scientists. Originally proposed by the ASM Alloy Phase Diagram Committee, the award supports ASM’s strong brand identity and reputation in the field of phase diagrams. The J. Willard Gibbs Phase Equilibria Award is endowed by QuesTek Innovations LLC. In addition to many other contributions, Gibbs laid the thermodynamics foundations of phase equilibria with his brilliant essay, “On the Equilibrium of Heterogeneous Substances,” published in 1876 and in 1878 in the Transactions of the Connecticut Academy. Laughlin Veronica Becker Named ASM Executive Director ASM International, the world’s largest association of materials-centric engineers and scientists, has chosen as its new executive director Veronica J. Becker, a senior executive and financial professional with more than 20 years’ experience enhancing processes and guiding financial departments for both public and nonprofit organizations, including a previous successful stint as ASM’s chief financial officer. “Veronica’s extensive business background, along with her deep knowledge of ASM and her experience managing ASM’s finances through some highly challenging years including the pandemic, made her the Board’s top choice,” said Pradeep Goyal, president of the ASM International Board of Trustees. Becker officially joined ASM on August 26. Carrie Wilson, who had been serving as ASM interim executive director, returned full time to her responsibilities as executive director of the ASM Materials Education Foundation. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin, Becker holds an MBA from New York University’s Leonard Stern School of Business. She began her career as division manager for VNU Business Publications in New York. She next served as a financial and strategic planning consultant for the business-to-business publishing arm of the McGraw-Hill Companies. In 2002, she joined Time Inc., serving first as senior financial manager for the company’s corporate business office, where she was responsible for all corporate information technology strategic planning, $115 million in gross expenses, and $26 million in capital expenditures. She subsequently became Time Inc.’s associate financial manager and then group edit financial manager, overseeing Fortune, Money, Fortune Small Business, and Business 2.0. Veronica most recently served as CFO for Universal Screen Arts, helping to manage the company through a highly sensitive business transition. Becker joined ASM in 2009, serving as controller for the next six years. During that time, she restructured Becker
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