NIST
2002-01
The
Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards
and Technology (NIST) announced today that materials scientist
John Cahn
will receive the 2002 Bower Award and Prize for Achievement
in Science from the Franklin Institute. Cahn is considered
to be among the most influential theorists in his field
over the past half century.
A winner
of the 1998
National Medal of Science, Cahn, who came to NIST in
1977, is being recognized for "his lifelong dedication
to understanding materials, his influence and inspiration
upon generations of scientists and engineers, and his seminal
contributions to the understanding of the thermodynamics
and kinetics of phase transformation."
Initially
motivated by a desire to place the millenniums-old craft
of metal-making on solid scientific footing, Cahn's theories
have sprouted productive lines of research not only in metallurgy
but also in physics, mathematics, chemistry, engineering,
economics and demography.
Early
in his career, Cahn was vexed by the failure of prevailing
theory to account for the clumping and segregating of atoms
during metals processing. With John Hilliard, a colleague
at General Electric, he developed a "simple generic
equation" to explain the phenomenon known as phase
separation.
Since
it was first published in 1961, the Cahn-Hilliard equation
has become a pillar of materials science and engineering.
It has been used to explain occurrences ranging from the
simple (such as the curdling of cream in coffee and the
formation of frost
patterns on windshields) to the complex (such as the clumping
of galaxies in the early universe and the evolution of settlement
patterns in urban areas). The equation also underpins methods
used to improve the sharpness of vague images.
"Being
the father of an equation is like being the father of children,"
Cahn said recently. "They eventually take on a life
of their own and develop in ways that could not be imagined
when they were born."
Cahn
also was a key member of the team contributing to the discovery
of "quasicrystals" in 1984 by NIST guest researcher
Dan Shechtman. The peculiar symmetrical arrangement, found
in a rapidly cooled alloy, was not allowed by long-established
laws of crystallography. Skeptics at the time argued that
the observed "five-fold symmetry" of quasicrystals
was not even allowed by nature.
The
discovery launched several whole new fields of investigation.
Practical payoffs to date include inexpensive non-scratch,
non-stick coatings for cookware and hardening agents for
medical instruments. Many other uses are expected.
Over
his 50-year career, Cahn has made many significant contributions
to the progress of materials and mathematics research. He
has published about 250 scientific papers, delivered 400
invited lectures on his work and received numerous national
and international honors and awards.
Born
in Cologne, Germany, Cahn and his family immigrated to the
United States in 1939, when he was 11, and settled in Brooklyn,
N.Y. To escape Nazi pursuit, Cahn's father fled with his
family from Germany in 1933 and lived for periods in Belgium,
Holland and Italy. He became a U.S. citizen in 1945 and,
a year later, began service in the U.S. Army.
Prior
to coming to NIST, Cahn served as a research associate at
General Electric and as a professor of materials science
at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He earned
his Ph.D. in physical chemistry in 1953 from the University
of California at Berkeley.
Endowed
by a Philadelphia chemical manufacturer, the first Bower
Award and Prize for Achievement in Science was given in
1990. The award carries a cash prize of $250,000. Cahn and
seven other leaders in science, engineering and business
will be honored by the Franklin Institute during ceremonies
to be held on Thursday, April 25, 2002, at the Benjamin
Franklin National Memorial, Philadelphia.
As
a non-regulatory agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce's
Technology Administration, NIST develops and promotes measurements,
standards, and technology to enhance productivity, facilitate
trade, and improve the quality of life.