UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A pair of Penn State materials experts have been selected to present lectures at the American Ceramic Society’s (ACerS) Annual Meeting with Materials Science & Technology to be held virtually Nov. 2-6.
James Adair, professor of materials science and engineering, biomedical engineering and pharmacology, will present ACers Frontiers of Science & Society – Rustum Roy Lecture. John Hellmann, professor of materials science and engineering and senior associate dean, will present the ACerS/EPDC: Arthur L. Friedberg Ceramic Engineering Tutorial and Lecture.
Adair’s lecture, “Early Retrospectives from the Time of COVID,” looks back at the medical, policy decisions, media coverage, research, and various responses across the world during the height of the pandemic in the first quarter of 2020.
This lecture honors the late Penn State Professor Rustum Roy and recognizes his contributions to science and technology and their interrelationship to society at large. The lecture, which is open to the public, is given each year by an internationally or nationally recognized individual in the area of science, industry or government.
“I am tremendously pleased and humbled to give this talk as Rustum was the first person I worked for at Penn State,” Adair said. “He was a giant in materials science at Penn State and one of the boldest, most extraordinary scientists I have ever known.”
Adair’s research and teaching interests most recently include biological-nanoscale composite particulates for nanomedical applications, based on colloid and interfacial chemistry, and material chemistry. He is a Fellow of ACerS and the World Academy of Ceramics.
At Penn State, Adair was one of six Faculty Scholar Medal awardees in 2017 and named Inventor of the Year in 2018.
Hellmann’s lecture is titled “Ceramic and Glass Science Enabled Energy Technologies.”
The focus will be research related to manufacturing high performance materials used in the energy field from inexpensive waste materials sourced near the site of their application. This research realm has the potential to cut costs while lessening waste bound for landfills.
This ACerS/Education and Professional Development Council (EPDC) lecture honors the memory of Arthur L. Friedberg for his teaching, research and numerous contributions to the ceramic engineering profession.
“I am truly honored, and indeed humbled, to be recognized for this award,” Hellmann said. “Dr. Friedberg was an outstanding educator, scientist, mentor and friend to scores of my colleagues in the ceramic science and engineering community. His impact on our discipline was enormous. His persona, energy and productivity was an outstanding influence among my former professors, classmates, and collaborators, many of whom have been recognized in his honor as well. I’d like to express my sincere thanks to my colleagues and friends in the materials community for this honor.”
Hellman is a Fellow of ACerS and was a member of the board, president of the Ceramic Educational Council, president of the National Institute of Ceramic Engineers, associate editor of the Journal of the American Ceramic Society, and was recently named a Distinguished Mentor by the society for his role in advising and nurturing students and young professionals in the field of materials science and engineering.
Other Penn State honors include:
- Jon-Paul Maria, professor of materials science and engineering, will be inducted as a Fellow of ACerS.
- Katelyn Kirchner, a doctoral student in materials science and engineering at Penn State, will be presented the Alfred R. Cooper Scholars Award from the American Ceramic Society for her computational work investigating the properties of glass structures.
- Long-Qing Chen, Hamer Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, professor of engineering science and mechanics and professor of mathematics at Penn State, earned the Ross Coffin Purdy Award, which recognizes those who made the most valuable contributions to ceramic technical literature.
- Shashank Priya, professor of materials science, associate vice president for research and director of strategic initiatives in the Office of the Vice President for Research, earned a Richard M. Fulrath award. The award promotes technical and personal friendships between professional Japanese and American ceramic engineers and scientists and encourage a greater understanding among the diverse cultures surrounding the Pacific Rim.