9/2/2010
Scott R. White, the Donald Biggar Willett Professor of Engineering in the Department of Aerospace Engineering, has been named a Fellow of the American Society of Composites (ASC).
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Scott R. White, the Donald Biggar Willett Professor of Engineering in the Department of Aerospace Engineering, has been named a Fellow of the American Society of Composites (ASC).
An internationally recognized materials engineer, White has played a leading role in the development of self-healing materials and multifunctional materials systems. His contributions in this nascent field have sparked world-wide interest in self-healing and other autonomic functionality from industry, academia, and government. When realized, the promise of these materials will enable fundamental and revolutionary advancements across a broad spectrum of industries from aerospace to microelectronics.
White also has made important contributions to three-dimensional microvascular materials systems, their functionality, fabrication, and analysis. Inspired by the circulatory networks found in biological systems, microvascular networks in engineered materials are used to supply nutrients, repair and healing, cooling, sensory feedback and other functionalities.
Popular Science acknowledged his research on self-healing materials as one of the "Top Ten Scientific Innovations for 2001." Scientific American recognized White’s work in microvascular systems with the SciAm 50 prize in 2007. The Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose, California, honored White and his team as a finalist for the 2001 Tech Award recognizing outstanding contributions in technology.
He also received the 2008 Innovation Discovery Award from the U of I Vice Chancellor for Research, the U of I Academy for Entrepreneurial Leadership, and the Champaign County Economic Development Corporation. White was a finalist for the University of Padua’s 2009 international Bepi Columbo Prize.
White holds 23 patents and applications in the materials field and is a founding partner in two start-up companies seeking to transition university technologies to industry. Joining the faculty of the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology in 2000, White leads the Autonomic Materials Group, bringing together students and faculty from a broad cross-section of scientific and engineering disciplines. At Illinois, he also holds appointments in the Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering and the Department of Materials Science and Engineering.
After earning a PhD in engineering mechanics from The Pennsylvania State University, White joined the Department of Aerospace Engineering in 1990. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Missouri-Rolla in 1985 and a master’s degree from Washington University, St. Louis, in 1987, both in mechanical engineering,
The ASC awards fellowship status to distinguished members who have made genuinely outstanding contributions to the composites community through research, practice, education, and service.
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Contact: Scott White, Department of Aerospace Engineering, 217/333-1077.
Writer: Susan Mumm, editor, Department of Aerospace Engineering, 217/244-5382.
If you have any questions about the College of Engineering, or other story ideas, contact Rick Kubetz, editor, Engineering Communications Office, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 217/244-7716.