Dear Sudhakar (Chairman, ASM India Chapter)
I want to personally offer you my congratulations on launching the new India Chapter website. I am sure that it will be a great asset to your Chapter members.
The India chapter of ASM International was the launch pad for ASM in India, and it is my pleasure to address the launching of its new website on 06 February 2021, the occasion of Annual General Meeting of the India Chapter.
India chapter has offered wonderful events as I gather from the periodic reports sent. I congratulate the team of the India Chapter under the leadership of dynamic Chair Sudhakar Bonde in achieving their targets and being the chapter with the highest number (>250) of members in India.
I understand that the India chapter is the final stage of receiving the ISO 9001 Certification, which to the best of my understanding, would be the first chapter in all chapters of ASM worldwide to achieve this distinction. This will streamline the functioning of Chapter with the help of various committees. Congratulations to Shri Prem Aurora, Past ASM Trustee and Chair of ISO committee, and to all those who worked to make this achievement a reality.
In this past year, one which has been unlike any other in recent memory, I would like to express my gratitude to the members of ASM in the India Chapter for their resilience and noteworthy endeavors. From the founding of the first ASM India chapter in 1979, and the establishment of INC in the 80’s under the leadership and dedication of Dr. H.M. Mehta, who is indeed a legend in the India Materials Engineering community, ASM India volunteers have set an example for all ASM members worldwide of generous volunteerism and devotion to the materials community. The energy and commitment of ASM India’s early leaders like Shri Pradeep Goyal, FASM and Past Trustee, is reflected in today’s ASM India volunteer members.
With the arrival of this New Year, it is possible to imagine a hopeful future with new initiatives. This past year, we unexpectedly found ourselves facing a world turned upside down, yet our ASM staff quickly reinvented how we do many things enabling us to not only function in a virtual world but to seek new ways to help our members.
ASM has launched an array of new virtual programs to stay connected and to provide our global audiences with needed information. Our virtual IMAT conference and exhibition, digitally accessible publications and new education programs, and data ecosystem initiatives were established to assist our membership. ASM Connect now offers our members the ability to reach out to like-minded members and establish communities of interest thus providing a communication platform to address issues and receive input. Using tools like RingCentral, all chapters can now offer programs to members globally, and themselves attend distant chapter events. As you are now able to connect virtually across the globe using this new website features, I encourage you to reach out to all of your fellow ASM members.
Over the years, I have been fortunate to travel through India for both business and pleasure, and I have found your country endlessly fascinating. It is a great disappointment to me that during my presidential year I am unable to visit India due to pandemic restrictions. I want to take this opportunity to thank you all for being dedicated members of ASM International. Through your actions, our Society continues to meet the needs of materials engineers, scientists, technologists and users of materials information worldwide. Together, we can look to the New Year with hope and the promise that better days are ahead.
Wishing you and your team all the best for the inauguration of your chapter’s website.
With enormous gratitude for all that you do for our ASM, and best wishes for the New Year,
Diana Essock, FASM
2020 – 2021 President, ASM International