ASM International Designates Apelian an Honorary Member

Oct. 28, 2024 - UC Irvine Distinguished Professor Diran Apelian was awarded honorary membership from the American Society of Materials (ASM International) at its recent Materials, Applications and Technologies 2024 conference in Cleveland, Ohio this month. ASM International is the world’s largest and most established materials information society.

Apelian was recognized for “the development of solutions for sustainability challenges of the 21st Century: carbon-reduced infrastructure, recovery and reuse, and energy storage, and for over five decades of service and leadership to the field.”

A Distinguished Professor in the Samueli School’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Apelian is widely recognized for fostering innovations in design and recycling of materials. His research has helped establish mechanisms and fundamentals in metal processing and lay the foundations for significant industrial developments. His most recent work focuses on the development of technologies to recover and recycle materials. He is co-founder of Ascend Elements, a leading company for Li-Ion battery recycling that TIME named one of America’s Top Green Tech Companies of 2024.

Apelian is a fellow of TMS, ASM International and the American Powder Metallurgy Institute; he is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, National Academy of Inventors, the European Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Armenian Academy of Sciences. He was recognized as Worcester Polytechnic Institute Innovator of the Year in 2018, and as the Samueli School’s Innovator of the Year in 2020. Earlier this year, he received the Presidential Medal from WPI's Board of Trustees. Apelian received his bachelor’s degree in metallurgical engineering from Drexel University in 1968 and his doctorate in materials science and engineering from MIT in 1972. 

In his acceptance speech, Apelian credited his success to all those who have assisted him, stressing the importance of relationships. He also thanked the society for being a supportive community for him over many years.  "At times I feel like the little frog who finds himself on top of the flag pole and wonders how I got there,” he said. “Many colleagues and friends helped me get there, and I thank them for that."

– Lori Brandt