Irwin G. Greenfield, 1980

July 18, 2005--Irwin G. Greenfield, 75, of Kennett Square, Pa., died July 16.

A long-time member of the University of Delaware engineering faculty, Dr. Greenfield was Unidel Professor Emeritus of Engineering and had held several administrative posts at UD.

"Irv Greenfield led the University's College of Engineering at a crucial time in its growth, and many of his innovations stand today as hallmarks of the college's high reputation in the nation and the world," UD President David P. Roselle said. "The entire University community is indebted to him for his leadership, his scholarship and his friendship."

He was born in Philadelphia on Nov. 30, 1929, to the late William and Sara Greenfield, and he graduated from Overbrook High School.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in metallurgy from Temple University and master’s and doctoral degrees in metallurgical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Greenfield was a metallurgist at the Naval Air Experimental Station and a senior research metallurgist at the Franklin Institute Laboratories for Research and Development in Philadelphia before joining the UD faculty in 1963, as an assistant professor, specializing in metals and crystallography. He was promoted to associate professor in 1965 and full professor in 1968.

Dr. Greenfield was named acting dean of the College of Engineering in 1973 and the next year became dean, a post he held for 10 years.

Under his leadership, the College of Engineering achieved several milestones. Three important nationally recognized research centers were established: the Materials Durability Center, the Center for Catalytic Science and Technology and the Center for Composite Materials. Spencer Laboratory and the Ocean Research Laboratory were built, and Evans Hall was renovated. Undergraduate enrollment in the college increased from 800 to 1,300 students, and graduate enrollment doubled, while research expenditures reached a new high. He also was active in encouraging the enrollment of women and minorities in engineering.

When Dr. Greenfield stepped down as dean of the College of Engineering in 1984, then-President E.A. Trabant said, "The College of Engineering has continued its tradition of excellence under Dr. Greenfield's leadership during the past decade. The University as a whole has benefited from his guidance in enhancing the quality of the College of Engineering's faculty, students, research and facilities."

At that time, he was named Unidel Professor of Engineering and assistant to the president for engineering science, in recognition of his contributions. When he retired from the University in 1992, he was given the title dean emeritus.

In the 1980s, he received an Energy Conservation Award from the state of Delaware for "selflessly devoting time, talents, resources and good offices to the furtherance of energy independence."

Dr. Greenfield’s research interests, supported by grants from the National Science Foundation, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research and others, included processing of metal matrix composites, electron microscopy, surface properties, mechanical properties, Auger electron spectroscopy, erosion, wear and diffusion coatings.

The author or coauthor of more than 50 articles in professional journals, he made presentations at many technical meetings around the world.

He served as a visiting professor at Stanford and Oxford universities, the University of Cambridge and the Eindhoven Technical University in The Netherlands. He also served as a visiting scientist at the Du Pont Co.

Dr. Greenfield was a member of the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers, the American Society for Engineering Education, the Electron Microscope Society of America, the American Society for Metals, Sigma Xi and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

He is survived by his wife, Louise Truesdale Loening; sons Richard Greenfield, and his wife, Nancy, and Steven Greenfield and his wife, Emily; daughter Hermine Brindak and her husband, Paul; brother, Milton Greenfield and his wife, Micky; and seven grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Barbara Shapiro Greenfield, and he established a scholarship fund in her memory.

Funeral services were held July 18 at Joseph Levine & Son Memorial Chapel in Philadelphia, and interment was at Montefiore Cemetery.

Contributions in Dr. Greenfield's memory may be made to Hillel at the University of Delaware, 47 West Delaware Ave., Newark, DE 19711 or to the Barbara Greenfield Scholarship Fund, in care of University of Delaware, Development Office, George Evans House, 5 West Main St., Newark, DE 19716.