Awards of Excellence

AAC Awards of Excellence

The 2011 Awards of Excellence were announced during the 20th Annual International Anodizing Conference and Exposition October 2011 in Tempe, Arizona, USA. The awards recognize outstanding achievements by individuals who presented papers the prior year at the 2010 Anodizing Conference in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Donald I. Johnson Award for Best Presentation

The best presentation award is named for Donald I. Johnson, retired from AaCron Inc. in Minneapolis, Minnesota, who was one of the founding fathers of the Council. He served as AAC Chairman from 1987 to 1994.

Using Anodic Alumina to Fabricate Artificial Cilia Sensors

Bethanie Hills Stadler, Ph. D., from the University of Minnesota

The Donald I. Johnson Award of Excellence for best presentation at the 2010 Anodizing Conference was award to Bethanie Hills Stadler from the University of Minnesota for her paper Using Anodic Alumina to Fabricate Artificial Cilia Sensors. Professor Stadler works on the integration of nanomagnetic and photonic materials with a variety of platforms to allow the development of practical devices and systems at the Electrical and Computer Engineering department at the University of Minnesota, where she is also on the Graduate Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science.

Robert L. Kersman Award of Excellence for Best Paper

The Robert L. Kersman Award of Excellence for best paper is named for Robert (Buzz) Kersman of Lorin Industries in Muskegon, Michigan, who was instrumental to the formation of the Council, helping to fund and organize the early meetings.

Metallurgical Assessment of Acid Etch as Anodizing Pretreatment
Nick Parson, Rio Tinto Alcan

and

Anodizing Quality Aluminum Sheet Material with High Recycled Content
Greg Courval, Novelis

The Robert L. Kersman Award of Excellence for best paper from the 2010 Anodizing Conference was awarded to both Nick Parson and Greg Courval.

Metallurgical Assessment of Acid Etch as Anodizing Pretreatment; Nick Parson, Rio Tinto Alcan

Nick Parson from Rio Tinto Alcan compared the newer acid etch method recently adopted by anodizing lines in the U.S. and Australia to the conventional caustic etch method. His paper described the significant differences between the two methods, with the acid etch method offering a number of advantages over caustic etch, including a lower gloss surface produced with one-third of the metal removal and the reduced appearance of extrusion streaks.

and

Anodizing Quality Aluminum Sheet Material with High Recycled Content; Greg Courval, Novelis

Greg Courval’s (Novelis) paper addressed the strong and growing demand from the building and construction market for high recycled-content products, led by initiatives such as LEED-type certifications that are becoming much more prevalent throughout the industry. Greg presented information on a new class of clad anodizing quality sheet products developed by Novelis that contain approximately 70-percent post-consumer recycled content material. His paper summarized the development of these products, their mechanical properties and anodizing performance, as well as gave us a preview of products being developed for the future with even higher levels of recycled content.