8:48 a.m., Oct. 9, 2009----John W. Gillespie Jr., director of the University of Delaware Center for Composite Materials (CCM), has received the 2009 Outstanding Research Award from the American Society for Composites (ASC).

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The award was conferred at the First Joint Canadian and American Technical Conference, which was held at UD from Sept. 14-16 in conjunction with CCM's 35th anniversary celebration.

The award is given to individuals who “have made contributions to the science and technology of composite materials by way of analytical modeling, numerical modeling, design methodologies, and/or experimental work that have led to a greater understanding of the behavior of composite materials.”

The society's most prestigious prize, the Outstanding Research Award has been given to 22 pioneers in the field since it was initiated in 1988. Past award winners include three of CCM's founders, Byron Pipes (1993), Tsu-Wei Chou (1998), and Jack Vinson (2007). Pipes, a member of the National Academy of Engineering, received the award while serving as president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

“It is truly a testament to the composites effort at the University of Delaware that four faculty affiliated with CCM have been selected to receive this award over the past two decades,” said Michael Chajes, dean of the UD College of Engineering. “Jack is very deserving of this award for his extensive research accomplishments, and it is fitting that he was the recipient this year, with CCM celebrating a major milestone in its history.”

Gillespie is the Donald C. Phillips Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, with a joint appointment in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. He earned his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering at UD in 1985 and was selected as a recipient of the department's Distinguished Career Award this past spring. His research interests include composites processing, mechanics, and design; experimental methods; and interphase and adhesion science.

Gillespie has served CCM in several roles since 1981, achieving the position of director in 1996. He has authored or co-authored more than 600 publications in composites science and technology, including 11 books and book chapters, 15 patents, and more than 190 refereed journal papers, 300 proceedings papers, and 100 technical reports.

Gillespie has served as a member of the National Research Council Board on Manufacturing and Engineering Design and as chair of the National Materials Advisory Board Committee on High-Performance Structural Fibers for Advanced Polymer-Matrix Composites. He has been editor of the Journal of Thermoplastic Composite Materials since 1993, and he serves on numerous editorial boards.

Gillespie's contributions have been recognized through a number of previous honors and awards. He was co-recipient of the U.S. Army's Paul A. Siple Memorial Award for his research on processing of multifunctional armor materials (1998), and he was the first academic recipient of the prestigious Jud Hall Composites Manufacturing Award from the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (2000).

His research team was selected in 2004 by the American Composites Manufacturing Association for the Best of Show Award, which recognizes superior projects in manufacturing, design, process innovation, and use of composite materials. Gillespie has also received numerous best paper and best presentation awards over the years.

In addition to the previous UD recipients, the ASC Outstanding Research Award has been conferred on leading composites scientists and engineers from the Army and Air Force research laboratories, NASA, and such academic institutions as Virginia Tech, Stanford, Purdue, and Northwestern.

Article by Diane Kukich

Photo by Dawn Fiore