Professor Arthur Nowick Retires

Jul 01 1993

Arthur Nowick, Professor of Metallurgy and Materials Science at Columbia University in the Henry Krumb School of Mines, has retired.

Dr. Nowick is the author of more than 200 publications in a wide range of fields in materials science and solid-state physics. His 1972 book "Anelastic Relaxation in Crystalline Solids," coauthored with Brian S. Berry, is widely recognized at the definitive treatise on internal friction and anelasticity. He is author of the 1995 book "Crystal Properties via Group Theory." He is coeditor of two additional books on diffusion in solids. He was also Ph.D. advisor to nearly 30 students.

Dr. Nowick was the 1994 recipient of the David Turnbull Lectureship, bestowed by the MRS in recognition of career contributions to the fundamental understanding of the science of materials. The award cited his "pioneering work in anelastic and dielectric behavior in fast ion conductors, and in amorphous alloys," his "profound contributions to the understanding of grain boundary motion, morphological stability, the structure of surfaces and interfaces, and flow and diffusion as stochastic phenomena," and "his excellence in teaching and writing." His Turnbull Award Lecture, titled "The Golden Age of Crystal Defects," elucidated the emergence of an understanding of crystal defects and explained his seminal contributions and those of his collaborators.

Dr. Nowick also received the Achievement Award from the American Society for Metals (1963), the A. Frank Golick Lectureship from the University of Missouri, Rolla (1970), and the Gold Medal from the 9th International Conference on Internal Friction and Ultrasonic Attenuation in Solids (1989). He was a Fellow of the American Physical Society and of the Metallurgical Society of AIME. In 1987 he received the Great Teacher Award from Columbia University.

Dr. Nowick received his bachelor's degree in Physics from Brooklyn College in 1943 and his master's and Ph.D. degrees from Columbia University in 1948 and 1950. From 1949-1951 he was a postdoctoral fellow with Clarence Zener at the University of Chicago.

He began his professional career in 1951 as an Assistant, and then Associate, Professor of Metallurgy at Yale University. In 1957, he moved to head the metallurgy group at the new IBM T. J. Watson Research Center. In 1966, Dr. Nowick accepted a position at Columbia University and spent the main part of his career as a Professor of Metallurgy and Materials Science at Columbia University in the Henry Krumb School of Mines, which ultimately became part of the School of Engineering and Applied Science.

At the time of his retirement to emeritus status in 1993, he held the Henry Marion Howe Professorship.

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