Expertise: Material Forming Process Technology, Precision Hot Forging, Die Wear and Die Life Improvements, Induction Surface Hardening.

Dick Douglas established the consulting company, JRD Associates, to provide technical support to the forging industry in the areas of near-net and precision hot forging.

Prior to this Dick was with Eaton Corporation where he was the Manager of Advanced Process Development and led a corporate development team in support of Eaton's worldwide forging operations. In this capacity, he developed and implemented CAE approaches for designing the process and tooling for forging, developed the technology for automating the engineering and process design for forging, and was responsible for making important improvements in forging die life for the production of engine valves, gears and other automotive and truck components.

Dick has also worked in the Dana Corporation forging facility as maintenance superintendent, was the forging engineer in the Westinghouse airfoil forging operation, and conducted forging and extrusion research on a variety of metals and alloys at Battelle Memorial Institute.

Dick has been the Chairman of the Forging Committee of ASM International; the conference Chairman for the North American Forging Technology Conference in 1989, 1990 and 1992; the Vice-Chairman of the Executive Board of the Ohio Forging Network; and the Chairman of the Technical Committee of the Forging Industry Association.

Dick has a Bachelor of Science degree from Michigan Technological University and a Master of Science Degree from The Ohio State University, both in Metallurgical Engineering.