The Karl Schwartzwalder-Professional Achievement in Ceramic Engineering (PACE) Award is presented by The American Ceramic Society’s Education and Professional Development Council (ACerS/EPDC). It honors the past president of the National Institute of Ceramic Engineers (NICE); currently, the newly formed Education and Professional Development Council (EPDC) and Distinguished Life Member of ACerS. This Award is a commemorative glass piece with the words “Schwartzwalder-PACE Award” accompanied by a certificate containing a citation of achievement on which the Award is based. The presentation is be made during the Annual Meeting of the Society.
The award recognizes an outstanding young ceramic/glass engineer whose achievements have been significant to the profession and to the general welfare of all people.
Nomination Process
Nominations are open to all branches of the ceramic industry. An individual or group may nominate one or more candidates who shall be members of ACerS for a minimum of three years at the time of nomination. Nominations shall be considered for five years. It is possible to update the nomination during this period. A nominee must be younger than 40 years of age at the time of the award presentation.
Nominees will be judged on answers to the two primary questions:
- What outstanding contribution has the nominee made to the nominee’s work or profession?
- What outstanding contribution has the nominee made to the public welfare?
The contributions referred to in the first question may be of an engineering, managerial, economic, or scientific nature.
The contribution referred to in the second question may be of a general nature relating to community and/or public service.
As a condition for consideration, the nominee shall sign the nomination form attesting that the facts contained therein are true and can be used for publication.
Nomination package:
- Nomination letter (maximum length two pages) that includes:
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- Nominee’s name, position, and affiliation
- Clear articulation of the nominee’s contributions to ceramic/glass engineering
- Nominator’s name, position, and affiliation
- Answers to questions 1 and 2 (maximum length two pages total)
- A maximum of 3 support letters as separate attachments (maximum length one page each)
Contact
Erica Zimmerman
ezimmerman@ceramics.org
Phone: 614-794-5821
Award Winners
Scott Cooper
The beauty of ceramic and glass art captivated Dr. Scott Cooper’s imagination before he graduated high school. While he was an undergraduate in materials science at the University of Arizona, his projects continually led back to glass. Scott majored in German in parallel to his technical studies and in 2006 was selected to conduct an internship in Germany, where he worked as a lab technician at the specialty glass company Schott AG. Larry Hench convinced him to pursue a graduate degree at the University of Florida studying bioactive glasses – which is exactly what he did! Scott was awarded an NSF Graduate Fellowship to research sol-gel bioactive glass for drug delivery and graduated with a PhD in 2011. After graduation, he began as a scientist at O-I, the world’s largest manufacturer of glass containers. His work at O-I focused on novel approaches to melting and manufacturing glass, for which he earned 13 US patents. In 2017, he began leading the Global Glass & Materials Science team at O-I – with responsibility for laboratories, glass properties, melting R&D, and manufacturing worldwide. Scott has been a board member of the Glass Manufacturing Industry Council since 2019 and has served two terms as president.
Today, Scott is Technical Director of the US office for Celsian, whose mission is to “be a partner in future-proof glass”. As a vocal advocate for the glass industry’s transformation to a sustainable future, Scott believes that a vibrant glass industry is vital to a well-functioning society. When Scott and his wife are not raising two boys, he enjoys traveling and collaborating with glass artists.