UpDate - Vol. 11, No. 5, Page 9
October 3, 1991
Composites Center awards Medal of Excellence

     Roger Naslain, director of the Laboratory for Thermostructural
Composites in Bordeaux, France, was recently selected recipient of
the 1991 Medal of Excellence in Composite Materials by the
University's Center for Composite Materials.
     Naslain received the award Sept. 25 in Clayton Hall, during a
banquet held in conjunction with the Center for Composite Materials
research symposium, Application's of Composite Materials to
Industrial Products.
     The medal was established in 1984, in conjunction with the
center's 10th anniversary, to recognize outstanding leadership in
the composite field, with scholarly endeavor, invention and/or
economic enterprise over a sustained period of time.
     Naslain and his colleagues in France are best know for
designing and experimentally validating the chemical vapor
infiltration process, used to manufacture large parts from ceramic
composites for aerospace applications. Both the Societe Europeenne
de Propulsion in Bordeaux and the Du Pont Co., at its Pencader
Plant in Newark, are employing this pioneering approach.
     A professor at the University of Bordeaux since 1969, Naslain
received his master's degree in chemical and physical sciences from
the University of Rennes and his doctoral degree in chemistry from
the University of Bordeaux. He did postdoctoral work at the General
Electric R&D Center in Schenectady.
     Naslain is author or co-author of almost 150 articles,
co-author of 11 patents and editor of two books on composite
materials and a special issue of Composites Science and Technology
devoted to ceramic-matrix composites.
     He is a member of the editorial board of Composites Science
and Technology and of various international scientific committees,
and is a Knight in the orders of Legion d'Honneur and Palmes
Academiques.
     Held each fall to inform the center's industrial and army
sponsors about ongoing research programs, the symposium features
plenary lectures, research presentations, software and equipment
demonstrations, lab tours and a poster session.
     A highlight of this year's event was a special session,
Research Issues for the Future of Composites, featuring three
presentations by invited speakers from industry and government.
     More than 200 representatives from academia, industry and
government attended the 1991 symposium.
     Center Director Roy McCullough presided at the awards
ceremony, and Interim Dean of the College of Engineering Costel D.
Denson presented Naslain with the award. Former medal winner Karl
Prewo of United Technologies, who joined the group at the banquet,
said of Naslain: "I have great respect for him as both a colleague
and a competitor. Roger's work in silicon-carbide-matrix materials
is truly a breakthrough that points the way to the future."
     As part of the Composites Center symposium, Naslain delivered
the Medal of Excellence Lecture, "Ceramic-Matrix Composites Via the
Chemical Vapor Infiltration (CVI) Route for Aerospace
Applications." He described the CVI process as "well-suited for the
manufacture of large parts for the aerospace industry, mainly due
to its flexibility."