[Image above] 2019 Distinguished Life Members: Winnie Wong-Ng, Minoru Tomozawa, and Dawn Bonnell.


WESTERVILLE, Ohio, June 17, 2019—The American Ceramic Society (ACerS) will award three members the honor of the organization’s 2019 Distinguished Life Members: Winnie Wong-Ng, Minoru Tomozawa, and Dawn Bonnell. The Distinguished Life Member Award is the highest honor accorded to members of the scientific and technical organization and recognizes eminent contribution to the ceramic and glass profession.

The awards will be presented at the Society’s Annual Honor and Awards banquet, September 30, 2019, in Portland, Ore., during the ACerS Annual Meeting held at the Materials Science and Technology Conference.

“Congratulations to the 2019 class of Distinguished Life Members,” ACerS president Sylvia Johnson says. “Every year the Society honors outstanding members who have devoted their professional lives to advancing ceramic and glass science and have made significant contributions to their profession.”

“This year’s Distinguished Life Members showcase the best of what our members can achieve in their careers,” she adds. “Thank you for your hard work and dedication to the Society and your profession.”

Plan to attend ACerS Annual Meeting and the Honor and Awards Banquet at MS&T19, September 30, in Portland, Ore., to watch all award recipients receive their awards.

The 2019 Distinguished Life Members are:

Winnie Wong-Ng

Winnie Wong-Ng is senior research chemist in the Materials Measurement Science Division at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Gaithersburg, Maryland. She has a Ph.D. in inorganic chemistry from Louisiana State University, and she worked for the International Centre for Diffraction Data before joining NIST.

Wong-Ng currently works on projects pertinent to measurements, standards, and data for energy conversion materials, as well as on projects related to CO2 mitigation. She has been an ACerS member for over 30 years and is an ACerS Fellow. Wong-Ng has served as trustee and chair of ACerS Electronics Division, and she is an associate editor for the Journal of the American Ceramic Society. She also belongs to ACerS Basic Science Division.

Minoru Tomozawa

Minoru Tomozawa is professor of materials science and engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York. He has a Ph.D. in metallurgy and materials science from the University of Pennsylvania. Tomozawa began working at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute as a post-doctoral research associate in 1969, and has now been a professor for almost 40 years.

Tomozawa’s primary research area is glass science, and his current research on glass and water interaction has led to a new method of making stronger glass fibers. He has been an ACerS member for about 50 years and is an ACerS Fellow. Tomozawa has served as a Division editor and Division chair for ACerS Glass and Optical Materials Division, and has received the Division’s George W. Morey Award.

Dawn Bonnell

Dawn Bonnell is Henry Robinson Towne Professor Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. She received her B.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Michigan, and was a Fulbright scholar at IBM Thomas Watson Research Center before joining the faculty at UPenn.

Bonnell’s research focuses on the behavior of atoms at surfaces and interfaces, and her group produced the first atomic resolution SPM images on oxide surfaces. She has been an ACerS member for over 35 years and is an ACerS Fellow. Bonnell has served as Basic Science Division program chair, Division chair, associate editor of the Journal of the American Ceramic Society, and vice president of program, meetings, and expositions, in addition to serving on the ACerS Executive Committee and Sosman Award Committee.


Media contact

Eileen De Guire

  • The American Ceramic Society
  • 614-794-5828
  • edeguire@ceramics.org

Author

Lisa McDonald