The Materials Research Society (MRS) David Turnbull Lectureship recognizes the career of a scientist who has made outstanding contributions to understanding materials phenomena and properties through research, writing and lecturing, as exemplified by David Turnbull. This year's award will be presented to Robert O. Ritchie, University of California, Berkeley, for his"pioneering contributions to, and teaching us all how to think about, the mechanistic role of microstructure in governing fatigue and fracture in a variety of materials systems, and communicating his scientific insights to the world audience through eloquent lectures and seminal publications."