Locke selected to receive TMS Frank Crossley Diversity Award

Materials Science and Engineering Professor Jenifer Locke will receive the Frank Crossley Diversity Award at The Minerals, Metals and Materials Society (TMS) 2023 Annual Meeting for her prolific career in metallurgy and for being an advocate of equity and inclusion.

Recipients of the TMS Frank Crossley Diversity Award represent victory over personal, professional, educational, cultural, or institutional adversity while establishing a career in minerals, metals or materials.

A long-time supporter of creating welcoming and unbiased environments, Locke encourages everyone to listen with open minds, believe others' truths and welcome difference to help eliminate implicit bias. Through application, she sees her equation enabling every person to reach their potential unhindered by the mental load caused by bias.

In addition to her technical career with research and teaching in materials science, Professor Locke is trained in life coaching, was involved with culture change workshops while working for Alcoa, Inc., and was the co-president of the Alcoa Technical Center's local chapter of Alcoa's LGBTQA employee resource group. Locke's participation and activism earned her the title of Pittsburgh Area Dignity and Respect Champion in April 2013.

While at Ohio State, Locke is devoted to creating more equitable learning environments. She applies usable techniques learned from her personal experience and from participating in social justice activities at Ohio State and beyond. Locke consistently attends diversity workshops on campus and is involved in the College of Engineering's Racial and Social Justice Community of Practice. She has earned the College of Engineering's Inclusive Excellence Certificate. She is a member of the Women in Engineering ProActive Network (WEPAN) and is the current chair of TMS's Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Committee.

“I hope this award can help another have the strength to not settle for what is expected or recommended by others based on any facet of their identity, but to push onward towards their own personal goal, even when they don’t know if it is achievable for a person like them," Locke said. "One might find, like me, that they can come out the other side achieving what seemed impossibly difficult and still smiling."

This award is made possible by the generosity of Jeffery Wadsworth and Geraldine McCulley Wadsworth to the TMS Foundation.

from Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering website