Diana J. Knight Bendz is an American polymer scientist and

environmental A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scale f ...

and

industrial engineer Industrial engineering is an engineering profession that is concerned with the optimization of complex processes, systems, or organizations by developing, improving and implementing integrated systems of people, money, knowledge, information and ...

who has promoted environmentally-conscious manufacturing processes in her work at IBM, and promoted the participation of women and girls in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Education and career

Bendz earned a bachelor's degree in 1968, jointly from the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY ESF) and from Syracuse University. She was the first woman to graduate from the SUNY ESF program in

polymer chemistry Polymer chemistry is a sub-discipline of chemistry that focuses on the structures of chemicals, chemical synthesis, and chemical and physical properties of polymers and macromolecules. The principles and methods used within polymer chemistry are a ...

. She came to work for IBM as an electronics packaging engineer, and continued there for 39 years, finishing her career as senior location executive for IBM's research facility in

Endicott, New York Endicott is a village in Broome County, New York, United States. The population was 13,392 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Binghamton Metropolitan Statistical Area. The village is named after Henry B. Endicott, a founding member of the End ...

. As director of environmentally conscious products for IBM, she led the incorporation of recycled materials into IBM personal computers; she also worked on a program to recycle old computers, led an IBM taskforce on environmental leadership, and pushed IBM to donate land to environmental organizations and to participate in

eco-industrial park An eco-industrial park (EIP) is an industrial park in which businesses cooperate with each other and with the local community in an attempt to reduce waste and pollution, efficiently share resources (such as information, materials, water, energy, ...

s. She also founded the

IEEE The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is a 501(c)(3) professional association for electronic engineering and electrical engineering (and associated disciplines) with its corporate office in New York City and its operat ...

Technical Committee on Electronics and the Environment, the IEEE International Symposium on Electronics and the Environment, and the Electronics Recycling Summit. While still at IBM, Bendz worked with Joan L. Mitchell and others in an IBM program aimed at promoting engineering to middle school girls. After retiring, she founded and ran Girls Balance the Equation, a nonprofit organization with similar goals.

Recognition

In 1984, the

gave Bendz their Centennial Key-to-the-Future Award. She is also a recipient of the IEEE Third Millenium Medal, and of the Environmental Progress Individual Award of the Environmental Issues Council of the

Electronic Industries Association The Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA; until 1997 Electronic Industries Association) was an American standards and trade organization composed as an alliance of trade associations for electronics manufacturers in the United States. They develo ...

. Bendz was named a Fellow of the IEEE in 1997, "for leadership and contributions to electronics manufacturing and to environmental impact and policy". In 2015, SUNY ESF gave her their Graduates of Distinction Lifetime Achievement Award.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bendz, Diana Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Polymer scientists and engineers Environmental engineers American industrial engineers American women engineers State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry alumni Syracuse University alumni Fellow Members of the IEEE 21st-century American women