The American Ceramic Society (ACerS) today announced the names of the organization’s 20 members elevated to Fellow status for 2011, and Dr. Kimberly (Kim) E. Kurtis, professor in the School of Civil and
Environmental Engineering, is among those being honored
Elevation to “Fellow” is a peer recognition—each nomination is signed by at least seven ACerS members, and the new class is selected by the Society’s Panel of Fellows. Fellows are selected for their outstanding contributions to the ceramic arts or sciences, either through broad and productive scholarship in ceramic science and technology, by conspicuous achievement in ceramic industry or by outstanding service to the Society.
Dr. Kurtis joined the Structures, Mechanics, and Materials group in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Georgia Tech in January 1999. Her research and teaching interests are in construction materials, with a strong emphasis on microstructure and durability of cement-based materials. Dr. Kurtis attended Tulane University on a full-tuition Dean's Honor Scholarship, and earned her B.S.E. in Civil Engineering summa cum laude with additional departmental honors in 1994. She first recognized her interest in cement and concrete during her Junior Year Abroad studies at University of Dundee, Scotland, which is home to a strong research and teaching program in that area. Awarded the Henry Hilp Fellowship, she earned her M.S. degree in 1995 at the University of California, Berkeley. She continued her graduate studies at Berkeley, under a National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Fellowship, and earned her Ph.D. in Civil Engineering, with an emphasis in materials and minors in engineering management and mechanical engineering, in December 1998. During her final year of graduate work, she became involved in rigid pavement research and was employed as a Graduate Research Assistant by the Institute for Transportation Studies in Richmond, California.
All of this year's honorees will be formally inducted at the Society’s Annual Awards and Honors Banquet on Oct. 17, 2011, in Columbus Ohio. The new Fellows, who represent an international cross-section of leaders in academia, research labs, industry and government, include:
- Neil M. Alford, head, Department of Materials and deputy principal (research), Faculty of Engineering, Imperial College London.
- Amit Bandyopadhyay, professor, School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering at Washington State University (Pullman, Wash).
- Joseph J. Biernacki, professor of chemical engineering, Tennessee Technological University (Cookeville, Tenn.).
- Jon Binner, professor and dean, School of Aeronautical, Automotive, Chemical and Materials Engineering at Loughborough University (Leicestershire, United Kingdom).
- Aldo R. Boccaccini, professor and head, Institute of Biomaterials, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg (Nuremberg, Germany).
- Randall M. German, associate dean of engineering, San Diego State University.
- Takashi Goto, professor, Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University (Sendai, Japan).
- Yuichi Ikuhara, professor and director, Nanotechnology Center, Institute of Engineering Innovation at the University of Tokyo.
- Akira Kohyama, professor, Graduate School of Materials Engineering, Muroran Institute of Technology (Hokkaid?, Japan); director general of the Organization of Advanced Sustainability Initiative for Energy System/Materials.
- Kimberly E. Kurtis, professor, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta, Ga.).
- Oh-Hun Kwon, director of ceramic technology, Northboro R&D Center of Saint-Gobain (Northboro, Mass.).
- Meilin Liu, professor and codirector, Center for Innovative Fuel Cell and Battery Technologies, Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta, Ga.).
- Toshio Ogawa, professor, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering and head of the Graduate School, Shizuoka Institute of Science and Technology (Shizuoka, Japan).
- Eugene A. Olevsky, professor and director, Powder Technology Lab, San Diego State University.
- Xiaoqing Pan, professor and director, Electron Microbeam Analysis Lab, University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, Mich.); chief scientist, Chinese Academy of Sciences’ International Innovative Team on Multifunctional Oxide Materials and Applications.
- Susan B. Sinnott, professor, University of Florida (Gainesville, Fla.).
- Dane R. Spearing, deputy group leader, Nuclear Materials Science Group, Los Alamos National Lab (Los Alamos, N.M.).
- Susanne Stemmer, professor, University of California, Santa Barbara.
- Inna Talmy, staff scientist (retired), Naval Surface Warfare Center.
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Andrew A. Wereszczak, staff scientist, Oak Ridge National Lab (Oak Ridge, Tenn.).
Detailed biographical information on each of these award winners is available at: www.ceramics.org/awards.
About ACerS
Founded in 1898, The American Ceramics Society is the professional membership organization for international ceramics and materials scientists, engineers, researchers, manufacturers, plant personnel, educators and students. Drawing members from 60 countries, ACerS serves the informational, educational, and professional needs of its 6,000 members and provides them with access to periodicals and books, meetings and expositions, and technical information. ACerS also maintain an extensive materials-science website (www.ceramics.org) that provides online access to its journals, publications, science and career forums and specialized technical knowledge centers.