Robert D. Halverstadt, FASM, Chairman Emeritus (retired) of Special Metals Corporation, New Canaan, Conn., has been named an Honorary Member of ASM International, the materials information society (www.asminternational.org).
Mr. Halverstadt has been cited for “distinguished service to the specialty metal industries, for leadership in assuring safe flight and for excellence in mentoring young metallurgists and managers in the metals business,” said ASM President Roger J. Fabian, Bodycote Thermal Processing, Berlin, Conn.
Mr. Halverstadt joined Special Metals Company as President in 1974 and was Chair¬man of the Board from 1987 until 2002 when he retired as Chairman Emeritus.
Prior to joining Special Metals, he was Group Vice President of the worldwide engineering and consulting firm of Booz, Allen and Hamilton, Inc. At BA&H, he served as President, Design and Development, Inc. a subsidiary that designed and built automated equipment and developed electro-mechanical consumer and industrial products for commercial clients. As group executive, he was also Chief Executive Officer of Forster D. Sneil, Inc. a subsidiary that developed chemically-based consumer and industrial products, performed chemical engineering projects and evaluated biological and pharmaceutical products for both government and commercial clients.
In addition, Mr. Halverstadt was responsible for coordinating and marketing the BA&H Environmental Service businesses on a worldwide basis in charge of a division called ERG - The Environmental Resources Group. Earlier at the General Electric Company, he was a Development Engineer, Laboratory Supervisor, and Manager of the Thomson Engineering Laboratory, which was responsible for all materials development and application, equipment development and manufacturing engineering for the aircraft gas turbine engine business in Lynn, Mass.
At GE, he received three patent awards for his work in charge of the Metal Working Research Laboratory which was established to develop methods to economically manufacture components from superalloys. His patent awards included the electro-chemical process used by GE to manufacture its first production air-cooled turbine blades for its line of turbo-jet engines.
Mr. Halverstadt graduated from the Case Institute of Technology (now Case Western Reserve University) and is a Registered Professional Engineer in the states of New York and Ohio. He is a graduate of a formal four-year apprentice training program at the Republic Steel Corporation. He is currently a Director of the Carus Corporation.
An ASM Fellow and Distinguished Life Member, Mr. Halverstadt joined ASM in 1954 and has served on many committees, including Handbook, Finance, Investment, Nominating and Awards. He was on the Board of Trustees from 1982-1985 and was Treasurer of the Society from 1988-1991. He now serves on the Board of the ASM Materials Education Foundation.
ASM International is the world’s leading society serving the materials science and engineering community, with 36,000 members worldwide. ASM provides authoritative information and knowledge on materials and processes -- from the structural to the nanoscale. Information on materials is obtained from wherever in the world it is available and distributed wherever in the world it is needed through conferences and expositions, publications, educational programs and the ASM website at www.asminternational.org.