Four Anodizing Industry Volunteers Recognized by AAC

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Wauconda, Illinois - The Aluminum Anodizers Council (AAC) recognized four individuals with awards at the Eighteenth Annual International Anodizing Conference & Exposition, which was held October 6 though 8, 2009 in Fort Worth, Texas. During the Conference two speakers from the 2008 Anodizing Conference were recognized with the Council’s Awards of Excellence, and two volunteers were presented with two new awards, recognizing their outstanding efforts.

Awards of Excellence Presented
The Awards of Excellence were created by the Aluminum Anodizers Council to acknowledge exemplary contributions by authors and presenters from the previous year's Anodizing Conference. The Robert L. Kersman Award of Excellence for best paper at the 2008 Anodizing Conference in San Francisco, California was awarded to Naja Tabrizian for her paper, Effect of Microstructure of AlMg0.8 Cu and AlMag0.7 Si on the Optical Quality of Anodic Film. Ms. Tabrizian is an Industrial PhD student in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Technical University of Denmark. The subject of her studies is an industrial project on “Advanced Anodizing Technology,” which deals with the development and optimization of advanced surface technologies for aluminium treatment. The project is carried out in collaboration with Bang & Olufsen Operation A/S in Denmark. Her paper from the 2008 Conference studied the optical quality of anodized aluminum by several methods of microstructural investigation of both oxide film and substrate, including the grain size and intermetallic particles.

The Donald I. Johnson Award of Excellence for best presentation at the 2008 Anodizing Conference was awarded to Petter Isaksson from Ahlins I Habo AB for his presentation on Automatic Racking. Mr. Isaksson’s presentation outlined a flexible automated racking system that required no special tools, racks or feeders and featured a pallet tipper, transport belts, two industrial six-axis robots, and a vision system to identify parts. The system accommodated more than 200 vastly different parts, including extrusions, sheet and cast aluminum.

Excerpts from both of these award-winning presentations at the 2008 Anodizing Conference can be found at www.anodizing.org. Unabridged versions of these and other papers from the 2008 Anodizing Conference are available on the Seventeenth Annual International Anodizing Conference Proceedings CD for sale through the Council. Order online using the Publications Order Form, or contact AAC at mail@anodizing.org for more information.

Two Exceptional Volunteers Recognized by AAC
In addition to the Awards of Excellence, new awards were presented to two outstanding volunteers. Jude M. Runge, PhD was presented with the Council’s Outstanding Achievement Award. Dr. Runge was recognized for “consistently [delivering] on the promise of excellence,” stated AAC Chairman Terry Snell, Manager—Environmental for Bonnell Aluminum in Newnan, Georgia. “She consistently brings fresh, innovative work that reflects insight and thoroughness, thus raising the bar and elevating the standard by which our conference content is judged…such exemplary contributions deserve special recognition,” Snell explained. Dr. Runge is a metallurgical consultant and anodizing specialist in her own company, CompCote International in Elmhurst, Illinois. Her experience as a metallurgical engineer and as a metal finishing expert spans more than 30 years. Her analytical experience and expertise encompass a variety of manufacturing processes for all materials, as well as the science and engineering of many aspects of the metal finishing process. Dr. Runge has received both of the Council’s Awards of Excellence—the Donald I. Johnson Award for best presentation in 2002 and the Robert L. Kersman Award for best paper in 2006.

Richard Mahn, Technical Service Manager for Houghton Metal Finishing in Alpharetta, Georgia, was presented with the Steadfast Service Award. Mahn, an inaugural recipient of the Donald I Johnson Award of Excellence for best presentation in 2001, has been involved in the technical side of the aluminum industry for more than 35 years, including more than 25 years experience in anodizing. He was a long-time member and former chair of AAC’s Technical & Standards Committee, which is now part of the Council’s Education Committee. In addition, Mahn was a member of the faculty teaching at AAC Regional Forums long before they evolved into today's Anodizing Essentials Workshops—and he developed and refined much of the content for those technical educational programs. He also has been instrumental in the development of numerous AAC Technical Bulletins over the years, sharing his expertise and years of wisdom with the entire anodizing community.

“Richard has [exhibited] extraordinary fidelity to the industry—and the Council—reliably, over his whole career,” commented Snell. To illustrate his comment, Snell explained further. “When an AAC member was unavailable to present on a given subject at [an industry conference] in 2005, Richard stepped up and with less than 20-minutes advance notice he extemporaneously delivered the presentation. That’s the thing about Richard, he volunteers without any hesitation; he’s there when we need him and can always be counted on,” Snell continued. “Richard Mahn is an outstanding volunteer and colleague, committed to advancing the aluminum anodizing industry.“

The Aluminum Anodizers Council is the international trade association of firms engaged in aluminum anodizing and whose mission it is to support its members—and users of anodized aluminum—through education, advocacy, and promotion.

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For more information, contact the Aluminum Anodizers Council:

Nancy Molenda, Communications Manager

1000 N. Rand Road, Suite 214
Wauconda, IL 60084 USA
Telephone 847.526.2010
Fax 847.526.3993
mail@anodizing.org
www.anodizing.org

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