(L to R) Prof. Edwin Thomas, Mr. Fred Keller and Dr. Roger Poeppel received their awards at a dinner on August 29, 2008. Dr. Rick Tsai (not pictured) was also honored.
This year, the Department of Materials Science & Engineering announced the creation of a new award to be presented annually: the Cornell MS&E Distinguished Alumni Award.
A three-member faculty committee selected the award winners, based on their distinguished careers and major contributions to their fields. These honorees serve as high-profile models for aspiring MS&E students, and we are very pleased to recognize and celebrate their achievements.
A total of four MS&E alumni are being recognized in this inaugural year. The 2008 honorees are:
- Mr. Fred P. Keller, Founder, Chairman and CEO of . Mr. Keller has led innovative and groundbreaking work at Cascade. The company is a leader in engineering plastic systems and components and has received national acclaim for instituting a number of work and family initiatives.
- Dr. Roger Poeppel, head of 's program in Ceramics and Director of the Lab’s Energy Technology Division. Dr. Poeppel has made major contributions in transferring innovative science to applications involving ceramic superconductors and nuclear reactor components.
- Prof. Edwin L. Thomas, Head of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, . Prof. Thomas has had a distinguished career at MIT as an innovative teacher and internationally recognized research leader in Polymeric Materials, particularly block copolymers.
- Dr. Rick Lih-Shyng Tsai, President and CEO of the . Prior to his current role, Dr. Tsai worked at Hewlett-Packard, and he has made major contributions in advancing techniques of semiconductor processing.
These awards will be presented on August 29, 2008, in a dinner at the Statler Hotel.
