MatSEs Robertson appointed as an NSF Division Director

Ian M. Robertson, a Donald B. Willett Professor of Engineering in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, has been appointed as Division Director for Materials Research in the Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS) Directorate of the National Science Foundation (NSF), effective January 3, 2011.

“This appointment recognizes Ian’s leadership, significant research, and educational contributions to the field,” stated Ilesanmi Adesida, dean of the College of Engineering. “The Department of Materials Science and Engineering has been the top-ranked materials science program in the nation for many years and Ian has been a key participant in achieving that distinction. I know Ian will be a great asset for NSF.”

The mission of the Division of Materials Research (DMR) is to make new discoveries about the behavior of matter and materials; to create new materials and new knowledge about materials phenomena; to address fundamental materials questions that often transcend traditional scientific and engineering disciplines and may lead to new technologies; to prepare the next generation of materials researchers; to develop and support the instruments and facilities that are crucial to advance the field; and to share the excitement and significance of materials science with the public at large.

Robertson joined the Department of Materials Science and Engineering (MatSE; previously the Metallurgy and Mining Engineering Department) in 1982 as a post-doctoral fellow, becoming an assistant professor in 1984. He was promoted to associate professor in 1989, professor in 1995, and was honored as a Donald B. Willett Professor in 2005. He has held several leadership and management positions at Illinois: associate department head, assistant dean in the College of Engineering, director of the Office of Continuing Engineering Education, and head of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. 
 
His research focuses on the use of the electron microscope as an experimental laboratory in which dynamic experiments can be conducted to reveal the atomistic processes responsible for the macroscopic response of a material. He has applied this technique to enhance our understanding of the reaction pathways and kinetics that occur during deformation in inert and aggressive gaseous environments in both unirradiated and irradiated metals. His current efforts emphasize combining time-resolved electron microscopy with electron tomography to obtain an understanding in four dimensions of the microstructural evolution of materials exposed to harsh environments.”

In 1984, Robertson received the Department of Energy prize for Outstanding Scientific Accomplishment in Metallurgy and Ceramics, and in 2009 he was elected a Fellow of ASM for “pioneering studies using time-resolved transmission electron microscopy to study metal deformation processes in aggressive environments, as well as production and annihilation of defects.” He served as a principal editor for the Journal of Materials Research (1995-2010) and as a key reader for Metallurgical Transactions (1994-2010). Robertson is currently a member of the editorial board of Microscopy Today and editor-in-chief of the review journal Current Opinion in Solid State and Materials Science.

Robertson received his doctoral degree in 1982 from the University of Oxford, while his bachelor’s degree is in applied physics from Strathclyde University, Glasgow, Scotland.

The NSF Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences is comprised of the Divisions of Astronomical Sciences, Chemistry, Materials Research, Mathematical Sciences, Physics and the Office of Multidisciplinary Activities. The MPS divisions support both disciplinary and interdisciplinary activities and partner with each other and with other NSF Directorates.
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Contact: Ian M. Robertson, Willett Professor of Engineering, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, 217/333-6776.

Writer: Rick Kubetz, Office of Engineering Communications, 217/244-7716.