Kempton H. Roll PM Lifetime Achievement Award
The Kempton H. Roll PM Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes individuals with outstanding accomplishments and achievements who have devoted their careers and a lifetime of involvement to the field of powder metallurgy and related technologies.
2020 Kempton H. Roll PM Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient
Dr. Randall M. German, FAPMI
Dr. German has distinguished himself through his research and teaching of the net-shape fabrication of engineering materials via sintering techniques as used in PM, cemented carbides, and ceramics. He has promoted the growth of PM technology throughout his 50-year career.
After completing his bachelor’s degree in material science and engineering at San Jose State University, German began his PM industry career at Battelle Lab, Columbus, Ohio, prior to joining Sandia National Lab (SNL). He obtained his master’s degree in metallurgical engineering from The Ohio State University and his PhD in engineering at the University of California – Davis before taking a director of research position at Mott Corporation, Farmington, Connecticut.
German’s nearly 40-year academic career began in 1980 at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), where he earned the Hunt Chair while teaching and conducting research. In 1991, he accepted a position at The Pennsylvania State University where he became the Brush Chair Professor in Materials and the director of the Center for Innovative Sintered Products (CISP) and retired as an emeritus professor. In 2005, German became the inaugural director for the Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems (CAVS) at Mississippi State University prior to joining San Diego State University in 2008 as the Associate Dean for Engineering Research until 2013.
German has published 20 books and has 25 patents. In his career, he has supervised over a hundred graduate and post-doctoral students, resulting in more than 1,000 articles, and has been involved in a dozen start-up companies. He has shared his expertise at powder injection molding tutorials since 1990, and co-chaired over 30 conferences. German received the MPIF Distinguished Service to Powder Metallurgy Award in 1993, and was one of the first APMI members to be awarded the prestigious APMI International Fellow Award in 1998.
This will only be the fourth time the award has been given since its inception.
The award was named to honor the lifetime contributions of Kempton H. Roll, whose vision led to the establishment of the Metal Powder Industries Federation as its founding Executive Director, and whose achievements had a significant impact fostering the growth of the powder metallurgy industry and technology.