Plichta Named ASM International Fellow

Mark Plichta
Mark Plichta

Professor Mark Plichta, chair of materials science and engineering at Michigan Technological University, has been named a Fellow of ASM International, the Materials Information Society.

He was honored for his contributions to the field of materials science and engineering. In particular, he was recognized “for his seminal contribution to understanding the mechanisms of massive transformations and for his pioneering innovations in the education of students in materials science and engineering.”

Plichta was instrumental in developing Michigan Tech’s Enterprise Program, in which multidisciplinary teams of students tackle real-world projects and problems. His research has been in microstructural development and stability of metals and ceramics.

Initially, Plichta came to Michigan Tech in 1984 as a faculty member of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. In 1997 he was appointed associate dean for academic programs in the College of Engineering, and in 2002 he agreed to serve as department chair.

He will be recognized at the Convocation of Fellows to be held during the ASM Awards Dinner on Oct. 19 in Houston.

Michigan Technological University is a public research university founded in 1885 in Houghton, Michigan, and is home to more than 7,000 students from 55 countries around the world. Consistently ranked among the best universities in the country for return on investment, Michigan’s flagship technological university offers more than 120 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science and technology, engineering, computing, forestry, business and economics, health professions, humanities, mathematics, social sciences, and the arts. The rural campus is situated just miles from Lake Superior in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, offering year-round opportunities for outdoor adventure.