Award Honors Pioneering Namesake

This week, the TMS Board of Directors approved the creation of the Ellen Swallow Richards Diversity Award. Named for the first U.S. professional degreed female scientist (the first woman admitted to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology) and the first female member of TMS's antecedent organization, the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers (AIME), this award will recognize an individual who reflects Richards's remarkable pioneering spirit in overcoming personal, professional, educational, cultural, or institutional adversity to pursue a career in minerals, metals, and/or materials or in helping others to overcome such challenges to pursue such a career.

The inaugural award will be presented at the First TMS Summit on Creating and Sustaining Diversity in the Minerals, Metals, and Materials Professions (DMMM1): Honoring the First Female Member of AIME: Ellen Swallow Richards. The summit will be held July 29–31, 2014 at the National Academy of Sciences Building in Washington, DC.

"The Ellen Swallow Richards Diversity Award offers a unique recognition opportunity," said Elizabeth Holm, 2013 TMS President. "Ellen Richards was a pioneer in diversity who quietly and, in her own way, overcame seemingly insurmountable barriers to become an accomplished, professional member of the engineering establishment. We want to make sure that members of today's professional community are aware of their colleagues who, like Ellen Richards, are role models in their perseverance and courage in the face of adversity. By celebrating their achievements, we hope to provide inspiration and affirmation to those professionals who are addressing challenges of their own, as well as those who want to become involved in efforts to advance the cause of diversity and inclusion within our field."

This award is made possible through a generous donation to the TMS Foundation by Dr. and Mrs. Jeffrey Wadsworth.

Nominations for the inaugural award will be accepted through December 31, 2013. Nominations should include the nominator's letter of support, nominee's CV of no more than five pages, and two to five letters of recommendation. Send nomination files to Deborah Price, TMS Awards and Recognition Specialist.

Diversity Summit