0719ctt - DLMs faber, gauckler, messing_lo res

2013 Distinguished Life Members. Credit: ACerS.

 

The American Ceramic Society is pleased to announce the selection of its three newest Distinguished Life Members. Katherine T. Faber, Ludwig J. Gauckler, and Gary L. Messing are the 2013 recipients of the Distinguished Life Member Award, the highest honor accorded members of the scientific and technical organization. The award is given in recognition of an individual’s eminent contributions to the ceramic and glass profession.

“Each year, the Society presents the title ‘Distinguished Life Member’ to our prominent members who have made great advances in ceramic science and technology, made significant contributions to the benefit of the Society, and who have helped mentor and inspire our younger leaders,” says ACerS president Richard Brow. “While this award recognizes career achievement, it is fair to say that Katherine Faber, Ludwig Gauckler, and Gary Messing remain active members of our profession. I look forward to seeing what they do in the future, even as we celebrate what they have done so far.”

The trio will be inducted as Distinguished Life Members at the Society’s Annual Awards and Honors Banquet on Oct. 28, 2013, in Montréal, Québec, Canada.

Katherine T. Faber

Faber intended to become a chemist, but a visit to Alfred University during her high school college search convinced her to study ceramic engineering instead. Now, Faber is herself a university professor—the Walter P. Murphy Professor of Materials Science and Engineering in the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science at Northwestern University.

Her diverse research interests include polymer-derived multifunctional ceramics; silicon carbide-based cellular ceramics synthesized from natural scaffolds, such as pyrolized wood; and thermal and environmental barrier coatings for engines and gas turbines. Recently, Faber extended her research to include cultural heritage science, and she codirects the Northwestern University–Art Institute of Chicago Center for Scientific Studies in the Arts.

Faber joined ACerS in 1975, was made Fellow in 1992, and served as president 2006–2007. She presided over the 4th International Congress on Ceramics in 2012. She has authored more than 150 papers, three book chapters, and edited one book.

Ludwig J. Gauckler

Gauckler is professor for nonmetallic inorganic materials in the Department of Materials at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), Zurich, Switzerland, where he has been on the faculty since 1988.

His work focuses on colloidal processing of ceramics for medical implants, dental restorations, and engineering ceramics. Also, he studies the thermodynamics and processing–property relations of high-temperature superconductors and mixed ionic–electronic conductors. New porous ceramics, capsules, and polymer–ceramic composites are among his recent inventions.

Gauckler founded Cerion Ltd. and cofounded DeCavis Ltd., both spin-off companies of ETH-Zurich, and served on the boards of several ceramic companies. A Fellow of ACerS since 1998, he received the Society’s Richard and Patricia Spriggs Phase Equilibria Award in 2008 and delivered the Orton Lecture at the ACerS Annual Meeting in 2009. He has coauthored more than 300 peer-reviewed articles and more than 60 book chapters, and holds 15 patents.

Gary L. Messing

Messing is Distinguished Professor of Ceramic Science and Engineering and head of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Pennsylvania State University, where he has also served as director of the Materials Research Laboratory and cofounding director of the NSF I/UCRC Center on Particulate Materials.

An ACerS member since 1972, Messing was president 2002–2003. He has served as chair of the Society’s Basic Science Division, member of the Board of Directors, coeditor of the Journal of the American Ceramic Society, and helped found several awards. He is a Fellow of ACerS and recipient of several significant Society and Division awards.

He also is past president of the International Ceramic Federation, vice president of the World Academy of Ceramics, member at large of the Industrial Science and Technology Section of AAAS, and editor-in-chief of the Journal of Materials Research.

Messing has published more than 300 papers on developing ceramic materials for optical, piezoelectric, and structural applications.

Congratulations to these extraordinary luminaries of ceramic science and engineering!

Author

Eileen De Guire