Karl Gschneidner wins Acta Materialia Materials and Society Award

Karl A. Gschneidner Jr., Anson Marston Distinguished Professor of materials science and engineering at Iowa State University, has been named the winner of the 2014 Acta Materialia Materials and Society Award. The award honors scientists who have made a major positive impact on society through materials science.

Gschneidner, who is also a senior metallurgist at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory, is considered the world’s foremost authority on the science of rare earths, a group of elements that are necessary ingredients in clean-energy technologies, including electric-drive car motors, and direct-drive wind turbines; personal electronics, such as color televisions, computers, cell phones, and sound systems; and military applications.

Gschneidner started his career at Ames Laboratory and Iowa State University in 1952-1957 as a graduate student. After working at Los Alamos National Laboratory, he returned to Ames Laboratory and Iowa State University in 1963. In 1966, Gschneidner established the Rare Earth Information Center and was its director for 30 years. He’s published a series of handbooks on rare earths, with volume 44 currently in press. Gschneidner has published more than 510 scientific journal articles, 173 book chapters, conference proceedings and reports, and 204 phase diagram evaluations. He holds 15 patents (with four more pending) and has given 324 invited talks.

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