Celebrating 30 years of leadership: A look at ACerS past women presidents

When Monica Ferraris was sworn in as ACerS president during ACerS Annual Meeting at MS&T24, she joined a long line of women presidents that welcomed its first inductee 30 years ago, when Carol Jantzen was announced as president-elect in 1995.

Jantzen’s nomination was a natural transition considering her previous volunteer roles at ACerS: She had been a part of the ACerS Strategic Planning Group in the early ’90s and later became chair of the Implementation Group to bring the plan to life. In total, she served 14 years on the ACerS Board.

Since Jantzen officially began her term in 1996, there have been eight more women who have held the role and helped the Society evolve to where it is today.

Carol Jantzen, FACerS and DLM

Retired from Savannah River National Laboratory, affiliated faculty member at the University of South Carolina Aiken

Jantzen served as ACerS’ first woman president from 1996–1997. During her time as president, she worked to continue the ACerS strategic plan that had been started in 1990 to strengthen the Society at the turn of the century. The strategic plan involved a market research survey to better serve manufacturing and a reorganization of ACerS committees to better serve members. She said serving as president was a great honor.

“I pondered whether I could define any one thing that made my presidency ‘different’ from those of my predecessors. Just as anticipated, I found more similarities than differences,” Jantzen said in the May 1997 Bulletin. “Serving as president of ACerS has been very challenging, very interesting, and very rewarding.”

Read more about Jantzen’s experience as the first woman president of ACerS in the May 1997 ACerS Bulletin, Vol. 76 No. 5.

Kathryn Logan, FACerS and DLM

Principal Research Engineer Emerita at Georgia Institute of Technology and Virginia Tech National Institute of Aerospace Langley

Professor Logan served as ACerS president from 2003–2004, during which time she focused on serving members worldwide. One of the ways that Logan accomplished this goal was by starting a Globalization Task Force to facilitate international membership and interactions while also growing the Society.

“Paul Holbrook retired and Glenn Harvey became executive director during my term. My main priorities were working with Harvey and the Board of Directors to secure the financial and organizational structure of ACerS, as well as working with professor David Pye to recognize and support the international activities and members of ACerS,” Logan said in an email. “My fondest memory during my time as president was becoming certified in driving an M1A1 Abram’s tank at the Army Aberdeen Proving Ground.”

Read more about Logan’s time as president in the May 2003 ACerS Bulletin, Vol. 82 No. 5.

Katherine Faber, FACerS and DLM

Simon Ramo Professor of materials science, California Institute of Technology

Faber served as ACerS president from 2006–2007, and one of her focal points as president was connecting the ceramics community with the larger society. During her term, Faber helped bring electronic membership to ACerS, aiming to provide membership options to a broader range of people both in and outside of North America.

She also continued the work of the Globalization Task Force—which was founded by past president Kathryn Logan—to foster collaboration between the international ceramic and glass community and to provide membership benefits to those around the world. Faber also strived to bring more diversity to ACerS.

“Diverse groups tend to be more creative and productive than groups made up of very similar members. The Society can better enjoy those benefits if we first make a commitment to diversity,” Faber said in the January 2007 Bulletin.

Read more about Faber’s time as president in the January 2007 ACerS Bulletin, Vol. 86 No. 1.

Marina Pascucci, FACerS and DLM

Retired from CeraNova Corporation as director of government programs and contracts

Pascucci served as ACerS president from 2010–2011, and her goals focused on growing and strengthening the Society, especially with industrial and international members. She represented ACerS at international meetings such as ICC3 in Osaka, Japan, and the PACRIM meeting in Cairns, Australia. She also traveled to several Division meetings and universities to speak with members about how ACerS could better serve their needs.

“Serving as president of The American Ceramic Society was one of the highlights of my professional career,” Pascucci said in an email. “One Society committee that was particularly active during my term was the Structure Review Committee, chaired by Rajendra Bordia and charged with critically examining ACerS’ structure with particular attention to Divisions. The work of this committee formed the foundation of our current ACerS structure, with the addition of new Divisions, the merging of smaller Divisions, and improved Division meetings. Although I recently retired, I continue to participate in ACerS, which has been my professional ‘home’ for nearly 50 years!”

Read more about Pascucci’s time as president in the September 2010 ACerS Bulletin, Vol. 89 No. 7.

Kathleen Richardson, FACerS and DLM

UCF Board of Trustee Chair, Pegasus Professor of optics and materials science and engineering, Florida Photonics Center of Excellence professor at CREOL/College of Optics and Photonics at the University of Central Florida

Richardson served as ACerS president from 2014–2015, during which time she laid out three main goals for her term: facilitating communication and collaboration between Divisions; building global diversity throughout the ACerS membership; and laying the groundwork and first strategy and its implementation for the Ceramic and Glass Industry Foundation, which was founded in 2014.

“Our community and industry is only as good as the workforce that we provide it,” Richardson said in an email. “The first part of improving our workforce is the education and training by our colleges and universities and the next step is the engagement by our industry with these students. I will put the challenge out there to our industrial partners: Here’s an opportunity to reengage and support the process of educating their workforce. Tell us what you need. Come to the table and be part of the process.”

Read more about Richardson’s time as president in the January/February 2015 ACerS Bulletin, Vol. 94 No. 1.

Sylvia Johnson, FACerS and DLM

Retired from NASA Ames Research Center as chief materials technologist, entry systems and technology division

Johnson served as ACerS president from 2018–2019. During her time as president, Johnson aimed to maintain the financial health of ACerS, closing the gap between meetings by evaluating the possibility of a Pan American conference, and creating more volunteer opportunities. Emphasizing diversity among volunteers and recognizing their contributions was also important to Johnson.

“It was a great honor, learning experience, and delight to serve as president of ACerS. I had long admired many of the presidents, and still do, for their hard work and vision,” Johnson said in an email. “I enjoy volunteering for the Society and support our efforts to include everyone in the varied opportunities and rewards available to all. I particularly look forward to the next generation of leaders.”

Read more about Johnson’s time as president in the January/February 2019 ACerS Bulletin, Vol. 98 No. 1.

Dana Goski, FACerS

Vice president of research and development at Allied Mineral Products LLC

Goski served as ACerS president from 2020–2021, during which time the effects of COVID-19 were widespread and many in-person activities halted. One of Goski’s goals as president was to develop a strategic plan for ACerS in 2021, along with working on risk management and continuing to expand the Society’s reach.

“Just last month, I pulled out an old purse I hadn’t used in ages and found an ACerS-branded face mask tucked inside—a souvenir from one of our earliest post-pandemic, in-person conferences,” Goski said in an email. “Leading a not-for-profit during a pandemic wasn’t exactly a role anyone would seek out, yet it gave our team of volunteer leaders and staff a unique chance to discover what resilience truly means and to define it for ourselves. The future of ceramics and glass continues to be more than just bright: It is luminous.”

Read more about Goski’s time as president in the January/February 2021 ACerS Bulletin, Vol. 100 No. 1.

Elizabeth Dickey, FACerS

Teddy & Wilton Hawkins Distinguished Professor and department head of materials science and engineering at Carnegie Mellon University

Dickey served as ACerS president from 2021–2022. Her main priority as president involved maintaining the strength of the Society coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as continuing the strategic plan that Goski implemented in the term prior. Dickey made it a priority to emphasize diversity and inclusion within ACerS, especially concerning young professionals.

“I think one of the strengths of The American Ceramic Society is it really brings together academic research and education with industry, and it’s a super important interface between those two communities,” Dickey said in the January/February 2022 Bulletin. “Meeting the needs of industry [is important], but also calling on industry to have them play a role in mentoring our students or young professionals and being involved in their professional development.”

Read more about Dickey’s time as president in the January/February 2022 ACerS Bulletin, Vol. 101 No. 1.

Monica Ferraris, FACerS

Full professor of science and technology of materials at Politecnico di Torino, Italy

Ferraris is currently serving as ACerS president for 2024–2025. Her main priority as president involves strengthening the ACerS community through what she calls the three “Ms”: members, meetings, and marketing. She will also help support the implementation of ACerS’ latest strategic plan, which was finalized in the term prior.

“All these different initiatives help us expand our found family,” said Ferraris in an interview. “I have always felt welcomed by the ACerS community, and I want to make sure other members feel that way as well. I am excited to work with all the staff of The American Ceramic Society, who are incredible, to help our members and Society thrive in the coming year.”

Read more: Meet ACerS president Monica Ferraris

View the list of all ACerS past presidents at https://ceramics.org/about/governance/past-presidents.