Dr. Bhakta Rath, head of the
Naval
Research Laboratory's Materials Science and Component Technology
Directorate, has been recognized with the National Materials
Advancement Award from the Federation of Materials Societies.
Dr. Rath received the award on December 5, 2001, at a reception
at the National Press Club in Washington, DC.
The National Materials Advancement
Award recognizes individuals who have demonstrated their outstanding
capabilities in advancing the effective and economic use of
materials
and the multi-disciplinary field of materials science
and engineering
generally, and who contribute to the
application of the materials
profession to national problems
and policy.
Dr.
Rath is recognized for being
a leading scientist and executive
in the materials field for
four decades. He has been a
formulator and implementer of materials
science policy in and
for the Department of Defense, the Department
of State, and in
connection with international bodies in the
U.K., Canada,
Australia, New Zealand, India, and China.
Dr. Rath received his B.S. degree in physics and mathematics
form Utkal University in Cuttack, India, his M.S. degree in
metallurgical
engineering from Michigan Technological
University and his Ph.D.
from Illinois Institute of Technology.
Following several years
as a tenured professor at Washington
State University, Dr. Rath
worked as a research scientist at
the Edgar C. Bain Laboratory
for Fundamental Research of U.S.
Steel Corporation and the McDonnell
Douglas Research
Laboratory. He joined NRL in 1976 and was selected
as an
Associate Director in 1986.
Dr. Rath has received a number
of honors and
awards, including Presidential Rank of Meritorious
Executive
Award (1999), the Distinguished Award for outstanding
contributions to basic and applied research in materials science
(1996), the George Kimball Burgess Memorial Award (1992), the
Charles S. Barrett Award from ASM International (1991), the
Leadership
Award from the Materials Society (TMS), the S.
Chandrasekhar
Award and Medal, and the Award of Merit for Group
Achievement
from the Chief of Naval Research. The American
Society for Materials
International (ASM) and The Metals,
Minerals and Materials Society
(TMS) have jointly recognized
him with the TMS/ASM Joint Distinguished
Lectureship in
Materials & Society Award and the 2001 ASM
Distinguished
Life Membership Award.
Dr. Rath is a
Fellow of the Materials Society, the Washington
Academy of
Science, the American Society for Metals, the Indian
National
Academy of Engineering, and the Academy of Metallurgical
and
Materials Engineers. He serves as a member of the advisory
boards and review boards for several government agencies and
a
number of universities, as a member of the editorial board
of
five international scientific journals, and as Executive Chair
for materials research, appointed by the Undersecretary of Defense,
on Science & Technology collaborations with TTCP countries
(U.K, Canada, Australia and New Zealand).
The Federation of Materials Societies
is
a consortium of technical and professional societies and
associations
whose constituencies include scientists, engineers
and other
professionals active in the areas of materials policy
as well
as R&D, processing, manufacturing, recovery, and
resource
availability.
The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory is the Navy's full-spectrum corporate laboratory, conducting a broadly based multidisciplinary program of scientific research and advanced technological development. The Laboratory, with a total complement of nearly 2,500 personnel, is located in southwest Washington, D.C., with other major sites at the Stennis Space Center, Miss., and Monterey, Calif. NRL has served the Navy and the nation for over 85 years and continues to meet the complex technological challenges of today's world. For more information, visit the NRL homepage or join the conversation on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.
Comment policy: We hope to receive submissions from all viewpoints, but we ask that all participants agree to the Department of Defense Social Media User Agreement. All comments are reviewed before being posted.