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Robert F. Cook is the Deputy Chief of the Ceramics Division and Leader of the Nanomechanical Properties Group at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), where he leads a research group and assists in the leadership of ceramics research overall.  His research is primarily focused on the development of measurement science, measurement standards, and measurement technology to enable and accelerate commercial applications of materials. 

Dr. Cook has been at NIST since 2005.  Prior to this he was an Associate Professor and Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Minnesota (1998 to 2004), and Research Staff Member and Senior Manager at IBM Research (1985 to 1997).   He received his B.Sc. in Physics from Monash University, and his Ph.D. in Physics from the University of New South Wales, Australia.   

His research interests center on mechanics and mechanical properties of materials, especially fracture. His research has focused on ceramic materials used in microelectronics and magnetic storage applications, such as ceramic substrates, dielectric films, and Si, using small-scale mechanical measurements based on nanoindentation and atomic force microscopy. He is the author of more than 115 peer-reviewed publications and 14 patents, has given over 120 invited presentations, and worked with many undergraduate and graduate students.

Dr. Cook has been an ACerS member since 1982.  He served on the Board of Directors from 2004-2007, was the Chair of the Basic Science Division from 2002-03 and Program Chair from 1995-1997, and Minnesota Section Advisor from 1998-2001.  He was an Associate Editor of the Journal of the American Ceramic Society from 1986-2001.  Cook was made a Fellow of ACerS in 1998, and he received the Richard M. Fulrath Award in 1999.

He was born in Melbourne, Australia, the grandson of a ceramist (kitchenware and art ware), and moved to the US in 1985. His hobbies include brass music and hiking.

Why I belong to ACerS:  

ACerS gives me the intellectual home for much of my work. The presentations I have heard at ACerS meetings over the years, the papers I have read in ACerS journals, and the researchers I have met through ACerS have formed the largest part of my professional career and development as a scientist and a now a leader of research in the materials community. ACerS continues to provide a collegial environment for interactions with materials researchers from all over the world that I look forward to renewing at every meeting.