WARRENDALE, PA—The Materials Research Society (MRS) has named Long-Qing Chen of The Pennsylvania State University the recipient of its Materials Theory Award for his "pioneering work in the development of the phase-field method and its applications in the computational modeling of mesoscale structures and their dynamics in inhomogeneous materials."
The Materials Theory Award, endowed by Toh-Ming Lu and Gwo-Ching Wang, recognizes exceptional advances made in materials theory to the fundamental understanding of the structure and behavior of materials. The award will be presented at the 2014 MRS Fall Meeting Awards Ceremony in Boston on Wednesday, December 3, and Chen will deliver his award talk, Understanding and Manipulating Mesoscale Ferroic Domain Patterns, on December 4.
With a multidisciplinary background in such fields as the phase transformation in metal and ceramic materials; the thermodynamics, kinetics, micromechanics, electro- and magnetostatics of materials; and applied mathematics, as well as an extended experience in computational modeling, Chen is able to address novel effects appearing in interdisciplinary areas where the most exciting advancements are expected.
Chen is a pioneer in the area of computational modeling of the evolution of structurally inhomogeneous materials, where his group at The Pennsylvania State University developed corresponding phase-field models for the past 20 years. His work enabled the prediction of materials microstructures during processing, synthesis, or in service.
Chen received his B.S. degree in materials science and engineering from Zhejiang University, China. He continued his studies in materials science and engineering, receiving a M.S. degree from the State University of New York at Stony Brook and his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. After postdoctoral studies at Rutgers University, Chen joined the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at The Pennsylvania State University where he has established a distinguished career: he was appointed assistant professor in 1992; associate professor in 1998; and professor of materials science and engineering in 2002. In 2013, he was appointed distinguished professor in materials science and engineering. Chen is a Fellow of the Materials Research Society, American Physical Society and American Society for Metals. He has received numerous awards for his accomplishments, including the Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award; National Science Foundation Special Research Creativity Award; the Penn State Faculty Scholar Medal in Engineering; the prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship; the ASM Materials Science Research Silver Medal; and The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society Electronic, Magnetic, & Photonic Materials Division Distinguished Scientist/Engineer Award.
About the Materials Research Society
MRS is an organization of over 13,000 materials researchers from academia, industry and government worldwide, and a recognized leader in promoting the advancement of interdisciplinary materials research and technology to improve the quality of life. MRS members are students and professionals hailing from physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics and engineering—the full spectrum of materials research. Headquartered in Warrendale, Pennsylvania (USA), MRS membership now spans 90 countries, with approximately 45 percent of members residing outside the United States.
MRS serves and engages members across generations to advance their careers and promote materials research and innovation. The Society produces high-quality meetings and publications, assuring that members of all career stages can present and publish their most important and timely work to an international and interdisciplinary audience. MRS continues to expand its professional development portfolio, as well as promote diversity and inclusion in the scientific workforce, with career services for researchers worldwide. The Society advocates for the importance of scientific research and innovation to policymakers and the community. And the MRS Awards program honors those whose work has already had a major impact in the field, as well as those whose work shows great promise for future leadership.
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