Faculty News

Prof. Diran Apelian

Prof. Apelian is the new TMS President for 2008

Congratulations! Diran became the new TMS President at the Ernest Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, LA in March 2008. The Diran Apelian is Howmet Professor of Engineering and director of the Metal Processing Institute (MPI) at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, where he has worked for more than 15 years. Professor Apelian's research interests and expertise are in materials processing, and specifically, solidification and net-shape manufacturing. He is credited for pioneering work in various areas of solidification processing: molten metal processing and filtration of metals; aluminum foundry engineering; plasma deposition; and spray casting/forming. Professor Apelian has more than 400 publications to his credit and four books, which he has co-edited. He has served on, and chaired, several national materials advisory boards for the National Research Council. Professor Apelian has been an active member of TMS for more than 30 years. more information and News Release

Prof. Richard D. Sisson, Jr.

WPI Professor Richard Sisson Elected President of ASM Heat Treating Society

Richard D. Sisson Jr., George F. Fuller Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) and director of the university's Manufacturing and Materials Engineering programs, has been elected president of the ASM Heat Treating Society (HTS), an affiliate society of ASM International, The Materials Information Society. The meeting took place in Detroit, MI on September 18, 2007. For more information regarding event, please read: News Release

Prof. Richard D. Sisson, Jr.

The Chairman's Exemplary Faculty Prize was presented for the first time during WPI's 2007 Commencement (May 19, 2007). The prize was established this year through the personal philanthropy of Donald K. Peterson '71, current chair of the WPI Board of Trustees. It recognizes faculty members who, as true exemplars of the university's highest aspirations and most important qualities, excel in all relevant areas of faculty performance. Two prizes were awarded this year to John A. McNeill, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering; and Richard D. Sisson Jr., professor of mechanical engineering. more information

News Release - ASM International Fellow Honored as Exemplary Faculty Member

Prof. Diran Apelian

Being selected to present the Charles Edgar Hoyt Memorial Lecture at the annual Metal Casting Congress of the American Foundry Society (AFS) is one the casting industry's highest honors. The 2007 lecture was presented in Houston, Texas, on May 18 by Diran Apelian, Howmet Professor of Mechanical Engineering at WPI and director of WPI's Metal Processing Institute. more details

Prof. Diran Apelian

The 2007 J. Herbert Holloman Award in Materials and Society was given to Diran Apelian in recognition of his contributions to interactions between materials technology and societal interests, and/or contributions to materials technology that have had a major impact on society. The award will be given at the TMS Annual Meeting. more details regarding event

Diran Apelian has also been selected the winner of the Brimacombe Prize for 2006. The Prize, which is given in Keith Brimacombe's memory and is intended to recognize the following accomplishments.
"The Prize will be awarded for a single or sustained contribution to materials process engineering deemed outstanding. The work should demonstrate a high degree of creativity, imagination, and engineering/scientific depth. Evidence of significant scientific or industrial impact will be an important measure of eligibility for the award. In addition the recipient must demonstrate characteristics which are well known of Keith Brimacombe, namely that of a world ambassador, and an innovator and a visionary for a better global society."

Prof. Apelian received these two prestigious awards at the TMS Meeting in Orlando, FL in February of 2007.

Director of WPI's Metal Processing Institute Ponders the Next 50 Years in Materials
Prof. Apelian will present the paper "Looking Beyond the Last 50 Years: The Future of Materials Science and Engineering" at the TMS Annual Meeting and Exhibition in Orlando, Fla.

Prof. Makhlouf Makhlouf

Makhlouf M. Makhlouf, professor of mechanical engineering and director of WPI's Advanced Casting Research Center received the 2006 Hall/Heroult Scientific Merit Award from the aluminum Division of the American Foundry Society Division Council. This annual award is given in recognition of scientific service that enhances the position of the aluminum foundry industry through contributions of original research, development of processes or materials, or providing significant engineering advances.

Prof. Richard D. Sisson, Jr.

Prof. Richard Sisson, Jr. was inducted into the Academy of Engineering Excellence at Virginia Tech College of Engineering, Blacksburg, VA, on April 27, 2006. Virginia Tech's College of Engineering and the members of the Committee of 100 Advisory Board established an Academy of Engineering Excellence in 1999.

Membership in the 2006 Academy is reserved in general for individuals holding an engineering degree from Viginia Tech's College of Engineering who have made sustained and meritiorius engineering and/or leadership contributions during their careers. Initiates have reached the pinnacle of their professional achievements and will normally have been alumni for 40 or more years. The College of Engineering and the Advisory Board anticipate inducting no more than ten individuals as members of the Academy of Engineering Excellence annually. This selection is made from some 40,000 living alumni of the College of Engineering

more details regarding event
News Release

Prof. Diran Apelian

Prof. Diran Apelian, Director of Metal Processing Institute, receives two of the highest honors from TMS at its society's Annual Meeting which was held in San Antonio, Texas on March 12-16, 2006. Read WPI news release

Prof. Richard D. Sisson, Jr.

Prof. Richard Sisson, Jr. has been elected Vice President of the ASM International Heat Treating Society for a two year term effective September 1, 2005. The appointment will be announced in the ASM News and Heat Treating Progress as well as during the September MS& T '05' Conference to be held in Pittsburgh, PA, Sept. 25-28, 2005.

Prof. Satya Shivkumar

Satya S. Shivkumar has been promoted to professor of mechanical engineering. He became a member of the WPI faculty in 1990. Shivkumar’s research is in the area of electro-spinning of polymers and the use of polymers for biomedical applications, which extends to the development of foams based on algae and the processing and testing of biodegradable polymers. These latter polymers are used extensively in drug delivery devices and tissue engineering scaffolds. He holds a B.S. in metallurgical engineering from Regional Engineering College in India, an M.S. in mechanical engineering from the Indian Institute of Science, and an M.S. and Ph.D. in materials engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology.

Prof. Diran Apelian

Professor Diran Apelian is the recipient of the 2005 LMD Light technical Service Award. It was given at the TMS 2005 134th Annual Meeting and Exhibition in San Francisco, CA, February 13-17, 2005. Please view this website for more information.

Research Assistant Professor Md. Maniruzzaman

Prof. Maniruzzaman received the Sigma Xi Award for 2004.

Prof. Ronald Biederman

Prof. Biederman was feted at a retirement party held in the WPI Campus Center on January 17, 2004. The party was attended by former MS and Phd Materials Science Graduate Students, friends, family and ME faculty members.

We wish him all the best on his retirement from WPI.

To download pictures of celebration, please click this link.

Prof. Biederman with 32 of his MS and Phd Graduate Students who returned to WPI to help him celebrate his retirement.

Prof. Richard D. Sisson, Jr.

Richard Sisson, Jr., Stephan J. Mashl and Matthew M. Diem of Bodycote Hot Isostatic Pressing, are featured on the cover of the June/July 2003 issue of Heat Treating Progress magazine, Volume 3: Number 4.

Sisson, Mashl and Diem coauthored the Article A COMBINATION HIP+HEAT TREAT PROCESS, pp 52-55.

Prof. Diran Apelian

Diran Apelian was featured on the cover of the Forcast 2003 issue of the Heat Treating Progress magazine, Volume 3: Number 1, January/February 2003.

He also was the author of FORCAST 2003 Heat Treating Industry R&D Needs: A CHTE Perspective, pp 30-32.

Prof. Richard D. Sisson, Jr.

Prof. Sisson was recently nominated for a three-year term to serve on the Board of Trustees for ASM International. Nominees were elected to the board at the ASM Annual Meeting on Monday October 7, 2002 during the ASM Annual Event in Columbus, Ohio.

Information concerning the ASM International Trustee Award is featured on the WPI News Release page.

Prof. Chrysanthe Demetry

Dr. Chrysanthe Demetry has been selected by ASM International as The 2000 Recipient of the Bradley Stoughton Award for Young Teachers. She is cited "for exceptional pedagogy as applied to materials education and the ability to motivate students and generate interest in materials science." For more information, read this press release.

She is also the Recipient of the 2002 Board of Trustees' Award for Outstanding Teaching this year. Please read this press release for additional information.

Prof. Makhlouf Makhlouf

The article, written by J.M. Olson and M.M. Makhlouf, was published in the Journal of Materials Science, Volume 36: Number 12, pp 3027-3033, and featured on the 15 June 2001 cover.

You may review this article, Grain growth at the free surface of WC-Co materials.

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Last modified: Mar 28, 2008, 11:44 EDT