Dr. Donald U. Gubser, Superintendent of the Materials Science and Technology Division at the Naval Research Laboratory, has been named a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. IEEE recognized Gubser for contributions to applied superconductivity. IEEE bestows this honor upon a person with an extraordinary record of accomplishments in any of the IEEE fields of interest.
Gubser graduated from the University of Illinois with a Ph.D. in Physics in 1969 and has been employed at NRL for his entire professional career. Gubser's scientific training and personal research has been in superconductivity, magnetism, solid state physics, and cryogenic properties of materials. He conducted sabbatical research on superconducting materials at the Swiss Federal Technical University in Zurich, Switzerland (1976 to 1977) and spent one year at the National Science Foundation in charge of the condensed matter section (1985 to 1986).
As Superintendent at NRL, Gubser sets the overall research goals, reviews research efforts to ensure quality of effort, establishes administrative and managerial goals, and serves as the spokesman for the Division with other Navy organizations. Research in the Materials Science and Technology Division encompasses metals, ceramics, composites, and magnetic, superconducting, and thermoelectric materials and includes both experimental, theoretical, and simulation modeling to predict performance and operational lifetimes of materials and devices.
In 1983 Gubser received the Naval Meritorious Civilian Service Award for his scientific leadership and research accomplishments; in 1992 he received the Senior Executive Service Meritorious Service Award for excellence in science management; in 2004 he was selected as the IEEE Council on Superconductivity's Distinguished Lecturer of the Year; and in 2010 he received the TMS Leadership Award.
Gubser is a Fellow in the American Physical Society (APS) and a Fellow in the American Society for Materials (ASM) International and now a Fellow in the IEEE. He is past chairperson of the Division of Condensed Matter Physics of the APS, past chairperson of the International Cryogenic Materials Conference Board, and past president of the Applied Superconductivity Conference board. Gubser is active professionally, having served as a scientific reviewer for many government programs, and has served on university and industrial external advisory committees and on national scientific study panels. He has taught at both the George Washington University and The Catholic University in Washington. D.C.