MILWAUKEE, WI — ASQ will present its honorary member, distinguished service medals and 11 other society medals May 3 in Nashville, Tenn. prior to its annual World Conference on Quality and Improvement.

ASQ recognizes recipients for their innovative contributions and achievements in quality. Winners’ exemplary achievements are representative of the ideas and tools that make the world work better.

Each individual will be recognized during ASQ’s Annual Business Meeting on May 3.

Honorary ASQ Member

Honorary Members are individuals who have made enduring contributions to the profession of quality and the allied arts and sciences. Election is restricted to individuals who are so well known and so clearly pre-eminent in the profession that there should be almost no doubt of their being worthy of such recognition. Elected as an Honorary Member is:

Dr. Noriaki Kano, professor emeritus, Tokyo University of Science, Tokyo, Japan — For exceptionally meritorious and distinguished service to the global quality community through teaching, coaching, consulting and promoting the methods of Japanese total quality management; and for the invention and dissemination of the theory of attractive quality as a mental model for defining the customer-centered orientation to quality performance.

Distinguished Service Medal winners

ASQ’s Distinguished Service Medal represents the highest distinction for service from ASQ and honors the lifetime contribution of any person who has been recognized as a long-term enabler, catalyst or prime mover in the quality movement. The Distinguished Service Medals for 2015 have been awarded to:

Deborah L. Hopen, Deborah Hopen Associates Inc., Federal Way, Wash. — For exceptional leadership and service through experience-based contributions to quality principles, behavioral science and methods of implementation for the good of people, organizations and society at large; and for sustained service at the highest levels of ASQ.

Elizabeth M. Keim, Integrated Quality Resources, Niwot, Colo. — For exceptionally dedicated service as a contributor to organizations in the field of quality; for establishment and development of a service quality community within ASQ and globally; for leadership at the highest levels of ASQ; and for outstanding instruction with special emphasis on Lean Six Sigma.

David B. Luther, Luther Quality Associates, Fairfield, Conn. — For exceptional quality-driven leadership at the highest levels of industry; and for the generous sharing and implementation of exemplary practices benefiting all organizations including manufacturing, health care, government, academics and the service sector.

Jack West, Six Sigma Adventures, Glen Burnie, Md. — For long-term distinguished service to quality improvement and excellence in the defense industry; for consistent leadership in developing, implementing and improving quality with emphasis on Lean Six Sigma; and for dedicated and impactful service to the country, the quality profession and ASQ.

2015 Society Medals:

Crosby Medal presented to Adil F. Dalal, Pinnacle Process Solutions, Austin, Texas — For authoring “The Twelve Pillars of Excellence: A Lean Approach to Improving Project Results,” which focuses on leadership and organizational culture as keys to successful project leadership, with concepts and assessment tools provided to evaluate the process, organization and the leadership to achieve successful project outcomes.

Edwards Medal presented to Azman Shah Mohamed Noor, Sime Darby Berhad, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia — In recognition of an outstanding contribution to transform the quality and continuous improvement culture through performance leadership of a significant and diversified workforce; and for the largest agriculture, properties, industries, motor, and energy and utilities producer and provider through modern quality philosophy and management methods.

Feigenbaum Medal presented to Gurpreet Singh, Strategic Supply Chain & Six Sigma Consulting, Princeton, N.J. — For leadership and outstanding service and dedication to the field of quality; and for promotion and application of Lean Six Sigma, especially in the field of supply chain management.

Freund-Marquardt Medal presented to John G. Surak, Surak and Associates, Clemson, S.C. — For contributions in development, implementation and instruction in the area of food safety and quality management principles, thus making the food safety management system standards understandable to governmental organizations and the commercial food processing industry, and allowing their implementation at the national and international levels.

Grant Medal presented to Jimmy L. Smith, Caterpillar Inc., Peoria, Ill. — For significant results in an educational program for ASQ certification training spanning 30 years, involving more than 8,000 students in more than 100 companies with a first-time certification exam pass rate of 83 percent and an overall exam pass rate of 96 percent.

Hutchens Medal presented to Amory B. Lovins, Rocky Mountain Institute, Old Snowmass, Colo. — For a vision of a more sustainable world and for decades of work teaching the world how to reach it by doing things like reimagining electricity markets and reinventing fire.

Ishikawa Medal presented to Manu K. Vora, Business Excellence Inc., Naperville, Ill. — For extraordinary commitment to teams in corporate, academic, professional and philanthropic domains; for teaching, publishing and presenting human aspects of quality; for integrating quality management in the social responsibility area; and for diffusing quality into the Indian society through education.

Juran Medal presented to W. James McNerney Jr., The Boeing Co., Chicago — In chief executive positions at three of the world’s enduring industrial champions, W. James McNerney Jr. expanded the quality body of leadership practice, forcefully advocating and articulating the interdependence of quality, productivity, safety, growth, innovation and customer value. At General Electric Corp. and 3M Co., he led quality transformations based on advances in Six Sigma tools and applications, and at The Boeing Co. he led the integration, elevation and expansion of quality efforts built on a foundation of lean processes and a culture of continuous productivity improvement.

Lancaster Medal presented to Sunil Thawani, Quality Indeed Consulting Services, Dubai, United Arab Emirates — For outstanding contributions in the field of quality and excellence at local, regional and international level with a focus in the Middle East region; for his leadership at various quality organizations; and for raising the global voice of quality in the Middle East.

Shainin Medal presented to Hiroshi Osada, Faculty of Information and Communications, Bunkyo University, Chigasaki, Kanagawa, Japan — For the creation of innovative quality technologies (SMBP) for application in strategic management and the structured formation of governance level policies; for defining future pathways for organizational development and profitable growth; and for extending the application of hoshin kanri into grand strategy.

Shewhart Medal presented to Dennis K. J. Lin, Penn State University, University Park, Penn. — For outstanding leadership and innovation in the field of statistical quality improvement; for collaboration within other disciplines, business and industry, and government; and for technical contributions in data mining, experimental design, quality engineering, statistical process control and reliability.

2015 Society Awards

Brumbaugh Award presented to Tim Davis, We Predict Ltd. Swansea, UK — For co-authoring the paper, "Dimensional Analysis and Its Applications in Statistics,” published in 2014 in the Journal of Quality Technology, Vol. 46, No. 3, pp. 185–198.

Brumbaugh Award presented to Dennis K. J. Lin, Penn State University, University Park, Penn. — For co-authoring the paper, "Dimensional Analysis and Its Applications in Statistics,” published in 2014 in the Journal of Quality Technology, Vol. 46, No. 3, pp. 185–98.

Brumbaugh Award presented to Christopher J. Nachtsheim, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minn. — For co-authoring the paper, "Dimensional Analysis and Its Applications in Statistics,” published in 2014 in the Journal of Quality Technology, Vol. 46, No. 3, pp. 185–198.

Brumbaugh Award presented to Weijie Shen, Penn State University, University Park, Penn. — For co-authoring the paper, "Dimensional Analysis and Its Applications in Statistics,” published in 2014 in the Journal of Quality Technology, Vol. 46, No. 3, pp. 185–198.

Gryna Award presented to Charles Rollin Gowen III, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Ill. — For co-authoring the paper, “Linking Quality Improvement Practices to Knowledge Management Capabilities,” published in 2014 in the Quality Management Journal, Vol. 21, No. 1, pp. 42–58.

Gryna Award presented to Jung Young Lee, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Ill. — For co-authoring the paper, “Linking Quality Improvement Practices to Knowledge Management Capabilities,” published in 2014 in the Quality Management Journal, Vol. 21, No. 1, pp. 42–58.

Gryna Award presented to Kathleen L. McFadden, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Ill. — For co-authoring the paper, “Linking Quality Improvement Practices to Knowledge Management Capabilities,” published in 2014 in the Quality Management Journal, Vol. 21, No. 1, pp. 42–58.

Gryna Award presented to Barton M. Sharp, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Ill. — For co-authoring the paper, “Linking Quality Improvement Practices to Knowledge Management Capabilities,” published in 2014 in the Quality Management Journal, Vol. 21, No. 1, pp. 42–58.

For more information, visit asq.org.