Dr. Bhakta B. Rath, Raj N. Singh and Dr. Amit Pandey were among the ASM International award winners for 2016.

Rath, the associate director of research and head of the materials science and technology directorate at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C., was awarded with the medal for the Advancement of Research.

ASM International wrote about Rath’s award: "For leadership in promoting basic research and advanced exploratory developments in multi-disciplinary fields of materials science and engineering and promoting technological innovation for commercial sector and for national security."

The medal was established in 1943 to honor an executive in an organization, one of whose important activities is the production, fabrication or use of metals and other materials.

Over a period of years, the medal recipient will have consistently sponsored research or development, and by foresight and actions, will have helped substantially to advance the arts and sciences relating to materials science and engineering.

Born in Banki, India, Rath received a B.S. degree in physics and mathematics from Utkal University, an M.S. in metallurgical engineering from Michigan Technological University and a doctorate from the Illinois Institute of Technology.

He serves on several planning, review, selection committees and advisory boards for both the Navy and the Department of Defense, as well as for the National Research Council, the National Academy of Engineering, the National Materials Advisory Board of the National Academy of Sciences, National Science Foundation and various higher education institutions.

Rath has received a number of honors and awards, most recently an award for excellence from the Undersecretary of Defense, Honorary Membership in the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers, the Royal International Award for Excellence from the Royal Charitable Trust in India and the Michigan Tech Alumni Association Distinguished Alumni Award.

Singh, a professor at Oklahoma State University in Tulsa, Okla., received the 2016 Albert Sauveur Achievement Award "for pioneering and original scientific and technological contributions to science and technology of materials through innovative processing and in situ studies leading to commercialization for aircraft turbines and energy storage."

The award, established in 1934 in honor of a distinguished teacher, metallographer and metallurgist, recognizes pioneering materials science and engineering achievements that have stimulated organized work along similar lines to such an extent that a marked basic advance has been made in the knowledge of materials science and engineering.

Singh received his B.S. from IIT Kanpur, his M.S. from the University of Manitoba and his Sc.D. degree from MIT. He has worked at several R&D organizations including Argonne National Laboratory and the GE R&D Center, as well as the University of Cincinnati prior to joining OK State.

Additionally, Singh served as department head of materials science and engineering and the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering at UC.

Among his current research areas are processing and properties of nanostructured materials and nanotubes/nanorods, materials for fuel cells, batteries, nanomaterials for medicine, "Smart"/ferroelectric materials, structural composites and novel thin films.

According to his university bio page, he has developed novel processes for manufacturing ceramic composites and electrolytes for battery, which have been commercialized and continue to have major impacts on the future applications of materials in advanced systems.

Singh is a Fellow of the American Ceramic Society, a Fellow of the ASM International, and a Fellow of the Graduate School at UC, recipient of numerous awards and author or co-author of over 250 research articles, 25 patents and articles in several books.

Pandey, with Rolls Royce LG Fuel Cell System, is the 2016 recipient of the Emerging Professional Achievement Award.

The award, established in 2010, recognizes and honors extraordinary ASM volunteers who are less senior individuals — typically less than five years of postgraduate experience — who have made a significant impact on ASM International through devoted service and dedication to the future of the Society.

A graduate of IIT Varanasi (B.Tech), University of Arizona (M.S.) and the University of Maryland Baltimore County (Ph.D.), Pandey has served as a visiting scientist at Tohoku University, a postdoctoral Fellow at Johns Hopkins University and a research associate at Oak Ridge National Laboratory prior to becoming the development lead at the Canton, Ohio-based LG Fuel Cell Systems Inc.

Additionally, Pandey has served as a member at various organizations over the years.

He is an active member of material societies and committees related to energy conversion and storage. He has also received young professional and leaderships awards from these societies.

A total of 20 awards were handed out by ASM International to 36 people and two landmark destinations.

The awards were named by the organization's board of trustees. The awards program recognizes achievements of members of the materials science and engineering community.

Each award winner will be honored at ASM's annual awards dinner Oct. 25 in Salt Lake City, Utah, during Materials Science and Technology 2016.

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