Fred Kocks elected to National Academy of Engineering

Contact: Todd Hanson, (505) 665-2085 (99-038)

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LOS ALAMOS, N.M., March 11, 1999 -- Fred Kocks, Materials Science and Technology Division Fellow at the Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory, was recently elected to membership in the National Academy of Engineering. Kocks was elected for his lifelong work in advancing the theory of materials strength, kinetics of plasticity of metals, and texture analysis.

"This is a great honor," said Kocks, "I am very pleased both for myself and the Laboratory. I believe the Laboratory, through the Center for Materials Science, has played a crucial role in fostering the research that has been honored with this award."

"Fred is the kind of researcher Los Alamos is famous for," said Los Alamos Director John Browne. "He's a dynamic force in the field of materials science and will continue to help shape its future. To everyone's benefit, he has shared his knowledge and love of science with colleagues the world over. We are proud of him and his tremendous record of accomplishment."

Kocks was born in Germany and studied at the universities of Stuttgart and Gottingen. He earned his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1959 and after six years on the Harvard faculty moved to Argonne National Laboratory. Kocks came to Los Alamos in 1983 as a founding member of the Center for Materials Science and became a Laboratory Fellow in 1986. Kocks retired from the Laboratory in 1997, but remains active as an Associate Fellow. Since 1958 his work has been supported by the DOE's Basic Energy Research Division and it's predecessors.

Kocks believes his personal success is based on three foundations. "First," said Kocks, "I had the advance trust of the people I worked for. Second, I endeavored to select work that, if successful, would have some impact on my environment. Finally, I had the good fortune to interact with many excellent colleagues, here and elsewhere, for our mutual benefit."

In addition to being elected to NAE, Kocks is a Fellow of the Minerals, Metals and Materials Society and ASM International. He has held scholarships from the Humbolt Foundation of Germany and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. He has been a visiting professorship at the Technical Universities of Munich and Aachen as well as at MacMaster and McGill Universities in Canada.

Kocks is one of 80 American engineers and eight foreign associates elected to membership in the National Academy of Engineering this year. The Academy's total U.S. membership is 1,984 members with 154 foreign associates. Kocks joins former Director Sig Hecker, Acting Deputy Laboratory Director Warren "Pete" Miller and former Laboratory Deputy Director Jim Jackson in this accomplishment.

For more information about the National Academy of Engineering visit their website at http://www.nae.edu.

More news releases from the Materials Science and Technology (MST) Division