Assistant Professor of Chemistry William S. Myers in 1901 conceived the idea of establishing a course in clay working and ceramics similar to that offered by Ohio State University. Prof. Myers, with the approval of the trustees, proposed a bill to the NJ legislature to provide the facilities for such a course. His intensive campaign of letters and influence of personal friends and leaders of the ceramic industry resulted in the passage of an act on 17 March 1902 that required the “trustees of the State Agriculture College of NJ” to establish a school of ceramics and provided $12,000 to equip a laboratory and $2,500 for annual operating expenses. This was the first expenditure of funds by the State in behalf of Rutgers College and was one of the initial steps toward becoming Rutgers, The State University. The annual operating budget was increased an additional $2,500 on 14 March 1907. The Department of Clay-Working and Ceramics (first located within the Agriculture College), later to become the Department of Ceramics (reporting directly to the Dean of Rutgers College), was the third such institution of its kind to be established in the country. For twenty years a 1600 sq ft two-story brick building that formerly served as a stable housed the newly formed Department of Ceramics. Later an additional 1600 sq ft was added. The first floor had a machinery room, store room, and a drying & kiln room. The second floor had a class room, library/museum, and the director’s office/laboratory. A complete description of the building and the equipment can be found in the 1904/05 Rutgers College Catalog, pages 148-9. This building along with another addition and some renovation now houses the offices of the University College, which is the continuing education arm of Rutgers. It is located west of College Avenue across from Old Queens Campus in the interior of the block (behind the Zeta Psi House).

In 1914 the Department of Ceramics invited key men in the industry to attend a Clayworkers Institute on 25 June, the outcome of which was the founding of the New Jersey Clayworkers Association. Prof. Parmelee was elected the secretary/treasury. In June of 1932 the name was changed to the Ceramic Association of New Jersey to embrace the much wider field of ceramics than the name clayworkers indicated. The Association played an important role in helping to solve many of the Department’s problems. A fine example was the campaign launched in 1919 for a new much needed building. By 1919 it was realized that the building and facilities of the Department of Ceramics were entirely inadequate to handle the increased student body and the research programs underway. Thomas Brown, then Senator of Middlesex County, sponsored the project for a new ceramics building. Representatives of practically every ceramic concern in the state lent their aid to the measure. Bill No. 17 appropriating $100,000 for the erection of a building and equipment was made a law on 23 March 1920; and on Commencement Day, 13 June 1922, the completed building was dedicated. The same law appropriated at least $12,000 annually for operational expenses. An additional $30,000 in money, materials, and services was donated by some 80 State manufacturers to complete the project. The stable of 1902 was a direct contrast to the modern 29 room structure. The 45 by 102 ft. building was constructed entirely of ceramic products representing every line of ceramic manufacture in the state of New Jersey. Located on George Street of the College Avenue Campus (formerly the Neilson Campus), this building is still in use by the University and is now home to the School of Social Work.

The Department of Ceramics joined the College of Engineering by action of the Board of Trustees in October 1945 and was designated as the School of Ceramics. Although joining the College of Engineering in 1945, the Department was not fully integrated until 1948. The School physically joined the College of Engineering in 1963, when the College moved to Busch Campus (formerly University Heights; formerly River Road Campus), with the School of Ceramics occupying the A-wing. Although the Department still occupies a large portion of the A-wing in the School of Engineering building, the office of the Chair moved into the new Center for Ceramics Research building when it opened in 1988.

Although Prof. Myers, then head of the Chemistry Department, organized the new Department of Ceramics, the first Director was Mr. Cullen W. Parmelee, an Instructor in Chemistry, who held that position until 1916 when he was succeeded by George H. Brown. Edward P. McNamara, a member of the staff, served as Acting Director after the death of George Brown in 1943. He resigned in 1944 to accept a position in industry. During the interim years (WW II) without a director the efforts of Emma Nawrot (now Emma Nawrot Stett) were vital in keeping the Department alive. Dr. John Koenig became Director in 1945 and was succeeded after his retirement in 1969 by Dr. Malcolm G. McLaren who served until 1994. Dr. Dale Niesz, performed the duties of chairman from 1994 until 2000, when Dr. Steven Danforth, the current Chairman, took over the duties.

The faculty submitted a request to the University to have the Department of Ceramics name changed to Department of Ceramic & Materials Engineering. This change was approved and became effective 1 July 1997. The faculty submitted a request to the University to have the Department name changed to Department of Materials Science & Engineering. This change was approved and became effective 1 July 2005.

In the beginning, two courses of study were arranged. In the four-year course, the student received training in related sciences with special emphasis on general and analytical chemistry. During the latter two years he specialized in ceramics. General and economic geology, raw materials, bodies, glazes, drying and firing were the topics studied. A two-year short course was offered for the practical man who had experience in clay-working and also recognized the value of scientific training.

First revision of the curriculum was in 1908. More time was devoted to technical subjects and new subjects were introduced (steam & electrical engineering & surveying).

In 1945 new technology and engineering curricula were established. Since joining the College of Engineering the 1st year was common to all engineering students. In the 3rd year, students chose either the technology or engineering curriculum. The technology sequence included courses in whitewares, glass, enamels, refractories, structural clay products, and plant visits. Electives allowed students to prepare for management & administration or sales & service positions. The engineering sequence included courses in mechanics, electrical engineering, industrial engineering, thermodynamics, engineering design, and electives. Two degrees were offered – BS in Ceramic Engineering or BS in Ceramics.

In the Fall of 1977 a 3rd option of Technical Management was added to the General (or Engineering) & Science options.

In 1981, ’83, and ’86 of minor revisions were made, adding some new course and eliminating a few old ones. Not until 1991 was a complete revision attemped. The three options were dropped; the old courses of Raw Materials (204) Unit Operations (307/8) and Organic Additives (405) were incorporated into a new 3 semester sequence of Processing courses (204,305, 306); the old Measurements course was incorporated into several courses but predominantly a new Mechanical Properties course; the labs that were attached to various lecture courses were dropped in favor of a new 3-semester laboratory sequence (now each lab is 2 credits and includes a 55 min lecture); Dynamics, Mineralogy (replaced by Crystal Chemistry) and Elements of EE were dropped; Microscopy and Refractories are now electives for everyone. Engineering Economics was dropped.

In 1999 we added an External Advisory committee; 15 members from industry, national labs and academia and includes both alumni and non-alumni; also added a 12 member student advisory committee. These committees were an outcome of the ABET 2000 criteria for accreditation.

In 1999 we added an optional co-op program.

In 2005 the curriculum was completely revised to accommodate the new Materials Science & Engineering program. Three new courses were added one each on ceramic, metals, and polymers. Compositions was dropped. Glass Engr was moved to an elective. All the other courses were updated to include all materials. Everything was renumbered since MSE is code number 635. The Class of ’08 was the first to graduate with the MSE degree.

David Raymond Edgar, Daniel Herbert Applegate, Jr., and Howard W. Bloomfield were the first three graduates in 1903. Since then there have been over 1000 degrees granted; BS, MS, and PhD. During the 1902-1945 period the classes were very small. In fact there were ten years in which there were no graduates and seven years in which there was only one. The year 1988 saw the most BS graduates - 65. The year 1990 saw the most PhD and MS graduates – 52.

• In 1920 the scope of the Department was enlarged by the creation of the NJ Ceramic Research Station within the framework of the existing Department. By this act of the State Legislature the functions of the Department and Research Station were defined; (1) resident instruction in the technical aspects of ceramics, (2) research on the mineral raw materials and their processing into ceramic products, and (3) extension activities including publication of bulletins. Dr. Richard McCormick, the University’s official historian, described the creation of the NJ Ceramics Research Station as “extremely significant toward establishing Rutgers as the State College”.
• Soon after the end of WWII a group of leading ceramic scientists, military leaders, and leading ceramic educators, lead by Professors N. Snyder and E.J. Smoke, met and identified the principal problems in ceramic high-frequency insulation. They outlined a research and development program that was sponsored by the US Army Signal Corps. The contract was awarded to the School of Ceramics and started Mar 1946. It was funded continuously until Dec 1969. The output of this research was presented at several symposia on electronic ceramics held each year for many years. These symposia were the basis for the formation of the Electronics Division of the American Ceramic Society in 1958 with John Koenig as the first Division Chairman, and were discontinued when the Division was formed. This effort resulted in 33 graduate degrees, several patents, and many presentations and publications.
• The International Conference on Ceramic Foodware Safety convened by Rutgers University Ceramics Department and funded by the International Lead Zinc Research Organization (ILZRO) was held in Geneva, Switzerland on 12-14 November 1974 in participation with the World Health Organization. The conference was held to review the testing methods and to interpret results, standards, legislation and enforcement procedures for all ceramic foodware used for the preparation, storing, and serving of foods or beverages. The main objective was to review the state-of-art in heavy metal release mechanisms and to suggest international procedures relating to ceramic foodware safety. The Department had a long history of ILZRO supported research related to heavy metal release from ceramic foodware. This conference was of such significance that the President of Rutgers Dr. Edward Bloustein attended and presented some opening remarks.
• The Department served as a subcontractor for the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission in support of a project at Princeton University on nuclear fusion in the late 1970s. The Department made large (48 inches in diameter) alumina rings that were placed into the nuclear fusion machine. Because of the specifications (25,000 psi strength, vacuum tight, metallizable into a steel jacket, close tolerance, and polished to a fine finish) for the rings no industrial company would offer to make them. It took the group led by Professor Smoke 18 months to produce their first ring. It was only through the development of a unique method of using pie-shaped pieces of refractory riding on single-crystal ruby ball bearings that the firing of the rings was successful without cracking due to shrinkage. A special high-pressure mold also had to be developed for the casting process.
• The Howatt Laboratory, funded through the Howatt Foundation, was founded on 15 November 1980. The Foundation was established by a donation from the estate of Glen N. Howatt (Class of ’39) to support research in electronic ceramics. The holder of 24 patents, Glen Howatt pioneered the work in ceramics that precipitated the growth of the sub-miniature ceramic capacitor industry and developed materials and processes for manufacturing cadmium batteries. The Howatt Foundation currently supports the research of one PhD candidate.
• The National Science Foundation formulated the concept of bringing industry, government, and academia together to perform research on a much larger scale than what was the norm under individual contracts. A survey of the ceramic industry by NSF produced the recommendation that any future center, as envisioned by NSF, be located at Rutgers. This was predominantly due to the very long and successful relationship that the Rutgers Ceramics Department had with the ceramic industry.
  
  The Department was awarded an NSF planning grant in July 1981. The faculty studied the idea of cooperative research among university, industrial, and government organizations, planned the operation of the envisioned center, and held meetings with representatives from industry who were likely to become members. A prospectus was prepared and distributed within ceramic industry and a proposal was submitted to NSF. The proposal was approved by NSF to start the center 1 July 1982. The Center for Ceramic Research (CCR) was officially established in Aug 1982 with a five-year grant of $710,000 as “seed money” from the NSF and $30,000 a year contributions from each member company. CCR was the first advanced technology center established at Rutgers. Dr. John B. Wachtman of the NBS became the first director in Jan 1983. Dr. Niesz took over the responsibilities of Director in 1994. The first Industrial Advisory Committee meeting held 9-10 Dec 1982 was attended by eight industrial companies (Carborundum, Celanese, Corning, Dresser Industries, GTE, IBM, J&J, Western Electric) and Sandia Laboratories where research theme areas were presented by the faculty. Seven companies indicated their intent to join effective 1 Jan 1983 for period of 3 years. CCR was awarded $1M in State funds in Jan 1984 by the Governor’s Commission on Science & Technology to purchase the newest state-of-the-art instruments, inaugurating a research partnership among State and Federal governments, industry and the University. That same year the Commission designated the CCR as an Advanced Technology Center. The following year an additional $1M grant was given to CCR for equipment purchases. In Nov 1984 the voters of the State approved a referendum providing $90M for the development of high technology industries. $9M of that money was granted to CCR for construction of a new building. Ground was broken on 10 Mar 1987 on Busch Campus for the construction of a $10M CCR, a 55,000 sq ft building, which houses 40 research labs and 21 offices for faculty, staff, and graduate students. The $10M came from the State ($9M), the Rutgers Fund for Distinction and the US Dept. of Education ($0.5M each). The groundbreaking ceremony was conducted by Dr. M.G. McLaren, Dr. J. B. Wachtman, director of the CCR, and Dr. Edward Bloustein, president of Rutgers Univ. with the aid of a ceramic shovel especially fabricated by Coors Porcelain Co. for the occasion. Others attending the ceremony were Dr. Niesz (pres-elect ACerS), John Moore (dep. Dir. NSF), John Garnier (Chair of CCR Industrial Advisory Committee), William Baker (Vice Chair NJ Commission on Sci & Tech), and Edward Cohen (Exec. Dir. Commission on Sci & Tech). The dedication ceremony and ribbon cutting was held in October 1988 to officially open the new building.
  
  In Feb 1998, by approval of the Board of Governors, the name of the Center was changed to The Malcolm G. McLaren Center for Ceramic Research.
  
  On 15 September 1999 the CCR joined with the former Microengineered Materials Center at the University of New Mexico as result of an NSF proposal to form multiuniversity programs. The name of the new cooperative program is The Ceramic & Composite Materials Center (CCMC). Penn State joined the program in ??/??/??.
• Because of the success of the CCR, several industrial and government organizations suggested that a similar center was needed in the optical fiber field. Professor Richard Lehman assembled a proposal for “A Center for Fiber Optic Materials Research” that was distributed in the spring of 1984 to industrial companies involved in optical waveguide development and production. Fiber Optic Materials Research Program was initiated with $7M in funds from the NJ Commission of Science and Technology for construction of a building. The first meeting, held in April 1986, was attended by 14 companies. A $1.65M grant from Johnson & Johnson in April 1986 for biomedical research in optical fibers helped get things started. Dr. George Sigel, Jr., of the Office of Naval Research, became the program director in September1985. Dr. Sigel signed up 9 major corporations at $50,000/year and 6 small businesses at $20,000/year. The new 25,000 sq ft $7M Fiber Optics Research building was dedicated on 24 Oct 1989 and occupied in 1990. The FOMRP cooperative research program was discontinued in 1996, however, much exciting research is still being done under an individual contract basis.

• The NJ State legislature passed, with one dissenting vote, the bill (17Mar 1902, Chapter 17 and Chapter 253, Section 41 of the Laws of 1902) entitled “An Act to Provide for the Establishment of a Course in Practical and Scientific Instruction in the Art of Clay Working and Ceramics in the State Agricultural College”.
• Charles A. Bloomfield of Metuchen worked hard and persistently for three years to the end that New Jersey should have a ceramic school. His work with the legislature was invaluable and he readily could be considered the father of the school.
• Perhaps the true founder of ceramic education was Dr. George H. Cook a vice-president of Rutgers College, who wrote a report, along with Dr. J.C. Smock (also of Rutgers) on the clays of New Jersey in 1878.
• A first attempt to establish a school of ceramics at Rutgers was defeated in the State legislature in 1901.
• “…the Department of Ceramics originated and developed in the ideal way, considering the history of Rutgers and the position of state higher education in this state. It originated from the industry, itself; it came from the desire of men in the clay-working industry to have the cooperation of higher education, and it was not a promotion on the part of the institution or a desire to extend itself in any way that might seem feasible or possible.” Dr. John Martin Thomas, president of Rutgers University, Feb 1926
• Prior to 1890 perfect grades were automatically conferred on the top student in each course, regardless of his numerical grade for the course.
• The Rutgers Scientific School (established on 4 April 1864), which included the Colleges of Agriculture and Engineering and the Department of Ceramics, was designated as the State University of New Jersey in 1917.
• The first graduate student was Ralph Heidingsfeld, who received a Master of Science degree in Ceramics in June 1914.
• Edward Orton, Jr. – first director of department of ceramics at Ohio State Univ 1895; one of the founding fathers of the Am Cer Soc; 1930-31 president of ACS; received honorary Doctor of Science degree from Rutgers on 13 June 1922.
• In 1925 the University adopted a grading system using 1 as the highest grade.
• Norman M. Tallan graduated in 1954 with a four-year academic average of 1.000 (perfect A) and became only the fourth such person since 1890 to do so. He was the first in the School of Ceramics to achieve this distinction. The next to receive a four-year perfect academic average of 4.00 was Andrew Gmitter Class of 2005.
• Tuition in 1902 was $75 per year. Tuition in 2005 was $6,793 per year (plus $1,771 in fees & $8,107 for R&B).
• Graduate student stipend in 1936 was $750 per year. Graduate student stipend in 2002 is $18,000 per year.
• The Tile Council of America Research Center was established Mar 1953 within the School of Ceramics to investigate problems common to the industry. Dr. J. Vincent Fitzgerald was the first director of the TCA Research Center.
• • 147 credits required for graduation in 1936.
  • 156 credits required for graduation in 1952
  • 135 credits required for graduation in 1994.

• During WW II the Department obtained the first spectrograph installed at Rutgers. In 1972 the Department purchased the first Scanning Electron Microscope installed at Rutgers. When the CCR was established it was the first center of its type at Rutgers.
• Cullen Parmelee the first faculty member of the then Dept of Clayworkers and Ceramics was actually an Instructor in Chemistry receiving his BSc degree from Rutgers in 1896. Cullen was promoted to Associate Professor of Applied Chemistry in 1905. Not until 1908 was there a Professor of Ceramics when Cullen was promoted to that position. Prof. Parmelee was the only Dept faculty member until 1911 when two Assistants in Ceramics were appointed – Ralph Heidingsfeld and George H. Baldwin, both who received BSc degrees from Rutgers. We had to wait until 1913 to obtain a faculty member that had received his degree from outside Rutgers – George A. Williams, BSc Alfred was appointed as an Assistant in Ceramics in 1913.

• The Department of Clay-Working and Ceramics – 1902 - 1920 The Rutgers Scientific School (precursor of the College of Engineering), The New Jersey State College
• Department of Ceramics - 1921 – 1945 The Rutgers Scientific School
• School of Ceramics – Oct 1945 –1964 College of Engineering
• Department of Ceramics - 1964 – Jul 1997 College of Engineering
• Department of Ceramic & Materials Engineering - Jul 1997 – Jul 2005 School of Engineering
• Department of Materials Science & Engineering – (Jul 2005 - present) School of Engineering

• Two degrees were offered starting in 1949. They were a B. Sc. in Ceramics and a B. Sc. in Ceramic Engineering.
• Research expenditures were $350,000 for the ‘76-’77 year and about $7,000,000 for the ‘88-’89 year.
• Faculty members that served as president of the American Ceramic Society
  • 1914 – C.W. Parmelee
  • 1937 – R.B. Sosman
  • 1962 – J.H. Koenig
  • 1978 – J.B. Wachtman
  • 1979 – M.G. McLaren
  • 1985 – E. Ruh
  • 1987 – D.E. Niesz
• The School of Ceramics was the first place where the original work was performed on the development of ceramic covers for radar equipment (radomes) and missile nosecones. A ceramic body was developed that was 99% dense and had the required refractoriness, high temperature strength and thermal shock resistance along with excellent electromagnetic properties required.
• Women were first admitted to the College of Engineering in 1971. Prior to that women who took ceramics actually received a degree from The New Jersey College for Women (now Douglas College). Four women in the early 1940s took all the ceramic courses but received BS degrees from NJC. They were Genevieve Ducca (’40), Elaine Hammel Stein (’42), Marjorie Major (‘4?), and Marjorie Paul (’45). Marjorie M. Goss (’45). Harriet R. Wisely was the first female PhD in 1952.
• In May 1989 the Department was awarded its first Kresge Challenge grant for $650,000 to be used towards the purchase of equipment for the CCR (SEM) and the FOMRP (fiber drawing tower). The Kresge foundation award is considered one of the nation’s most prestigious leadership gifts supporting capital needs.
• Graduates that became faculty at Universities:
  • Ralph Heidingsfeld, BS ’10 Assistant in Ceramics – RU
  • George Howard Baldwin, BS ’10 Assistant in Ceramics – RU
  • Clifford C. Clarke, MS ’21 Instructor in Ceramics – RU
  • George Carl Betz, BS ’24 Instructor in Ceramics – RU
  • Malcolm B. Catlin, BS ’24 Instructor in Ceramics - RU
  • Wilbur R. Wyckoff, BS ’25 Instructor in Ceramics - RU
  • Robert Hayne Thomas, PhD Rutgers
  • Alexis G. Pincus, BS ’32, MS ’34 Visiting Prof. & then part time Prof - RU, retired; deceased
  • William Bauer, BS ’42, PhD ‘50 Prof of Ceramics – RU; retired
  • Ernest Kastenbien, BS Prof of Ceramics - RU, retired May 1982
  • Edward J. Smoke, BSc & MS Prof of Ceramics - RU; retired 1985
  • Edwin Ruh PhD ’54 Res Prof of Ceramics – RU; retired
  • Malcolm G. McLaren BS’50, MS ’51, PhD‘62 Prof of Ceramics & Dept Chair – RU; deceased 13 Apr 1996
  • Frederick F. Lange BS ‘61 Prof Materials - Univ Calif – Santa Barbara
  • Gerald W. Phelps, PhD ‘63 Visiting Prof. & then part time Prof - RU, retired; deceased
  • Jay R. Smyth, BS ’61, MS ’63 Prof of Cer Engr, Iowa State University
  • George E. Lorey PhD ’66 Prof of Cer Engr, Dean of Extension Division – UMR
  • Douglas M. Mattox PhD ’66 Prof of Cer Engr, UMR
  • William W. Coffeen PhD ’70 Prof of Ceramics – Clemson Univ,
  • Walter R. Ott PhD’70 Prof of Ceramics – RU; Dean New York School of Ceramics, Provost – Alfred University; retired
  • Stephen H. Garafalini BS ’71 Prof of Ceramics - RU
  • Lawrence Smizer PhD ’72 Univ Washington
  • Thomas M. Hare BS ‘66, PhD ’72 Lecturer & Res Assoc - NC State Univ
  • Richard L. Lehman PhD ‘76 Prof of Ceramics - RU
  • Richard E. Riman BS ‘80 Prof of Ceramics - RU
  • Young Ho Han PhD ’82 Sung Kyun Kwan Univ
  • Richard A. Haber BS ’81, PhD ‘83 Prof of Ceramics – RU
  • Otto C. Wilson PhD ‘95 Prof of Materials Engr – Univ Maryland
  • John Ballota BS ’93,PhD ‘97 Prof of Mat. Sci.& Engr, Clemson Univ.
  • Bonnie Gersten PhD , Assistant Prof Queens College, NY
  • Cecilia Paredes MS ’98, PhD ’00 Prof Mech Engr – Espol Polytechnica Guayquil, Ecuador
  • Hasan Gocmez MS ’99, PhD 01 Prof of Mat. Sci., Tech. Inst. Of Turkey, Istanbul
• National Medal of Technology Recipients
  • Irwin Lachman ’52: 2003 recipient, presented by President Bush on 14 Mar 05. Key member of Corning team that invented ceramic catalytic converter.
  • Peter C. Schultz, BS ’64, PhD ’67: 2000 recipient. While at Corning along with Robert Maurer and Donald Keck designed and produced the first optical fiber with losses low enough for wide use in telecommunications.
• National Inventors Hall of Fame
  • Peter C. Schultz, BS ’64, PhD ’67: while at Corning along with Robert Maurer and Donald Keck designed and produced the first optical fiber with losses low enough for wide use in telecommunications. Inducted in 1993.
• WINNERS OF STUDENT SPEAKING CONTEST
  • 1947 – Lucien V. Bruno – 2nd place National Contest
  • 1948 – Evon P. Wells
  • 1949 – Richard Winchell – 2nd place National Contest
  • 1950 – Malcolm G. McLaren – Winner of National Contest
  • 1951 – Duncan C. Morrison
  • 1952 – Benjamin P. Colosky – Winner of National Contest
  • 1953 -
  • 1954 – H. Maurice Landemare – 4th place National Contest
  • 1955 – Alexander F. Liten – 4th place National Contest
  • 1956 – Thomas R. Clevenger – 3rd place National Contest
  • 1957 – No Entry
  • 1958 – Jack Hanoka
  • 1959 – No Entry
  • 1960 – John F. Mooney
  • 1961 – Richard L. Pope
  • 1962 – Howard C. McGowan
  • 1963 – Howard C. McGowan
  • 1964 – Joseph R. Sahid – Winner of National Contest
  • 1965 – Richard G. LaBar
  • 1966 – Charles W. Deneka
  • 1967 –
  • 1968 – Carlino Panzera
  • 1969 – Christian A. Young
  • 1970 – Ronald Kurzeja
  • 1971 – Stephen H. Garofalini – Winner of National Contest
  • 1972 – George McKiken
  • 1973 – Larry Kotacska
  • 1974 – Gerald DiGiampaolo
  • 1975 – Wilfred Martinez
  • 1976 – Thomas R. Holmes
  • 1977 – Asif Iqbal
  • 1978 –
  • 1979 – Gustav Hughes
  • 1980 – Richard Riman
  • 1981 – Frank Kuchinski
  • 1982 – Thomas C. Oakes
  • 1983 – Theodore R. Grossman
  • 1984 – Gregory E. Hannon
  • 1985 – Donald Monroe
  • 1986 – Kimberly E. O’Rourke
  • 1987 – Margaret H. Smith
  • 1988 – Stacy Clark
  • 1989 – Joseph Saltarelli
  • 1990 – Edmund Webb – Winner of National Contest
  • 1991 – Mora C. Melican
  • 1992 – Matthew Seaford
  • 1993 – John Ballato
  • 1994 – Brian T. Bland
  • 1995 – Michael Dabrowski
  • 1996 – David Bowser
  • 1997 – Wendy Katstra - Winner of National Contest
  • 1998 – Thansee Mustafa
  • 1999 – Rhea M. Jaico – 2nd place
  • 2000 – Timothy McCarthy
  • 2001 – Neal Vachhani – Winner of National Contest
  • 2002 – Navin Venugopal
  • 2003 – Russell J. Caspe
  • 2004 – Mark Dwoskin
  • 2005 – Andrew Portune
• BOOKS WRITTEN BY FACULTY
  • C.W. Parmelee, Ceramic Glazes, Cahners Books, Boston, 612 pp, 3rd ed 1973.
  • R.B. Sosman, The Properties of Silica, Chemical Catalog Co., Inc., NY, 856 pp, 1927.
  • R.B. Sosman, The Phases of Silica, Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, 388 pp, 1965.
  • C.J. Phillips, Glass, The Miracle Maker, Pitman Pub. Corp., NY, 429 pp, 1948.
  • C.J. Phillips, Glass: Its Industrial Applications, Reinhold Pub. Corp., NY, 252 pp, 1960.
  • John B. Wachtman, Characterization of Materials, Butterworth, NY, 1992.
  • John B. Wachtman, Mechanical Properties of Ceramics, Cambridge Univ. Press, 1997.
  • R.A. McCauley, Corrosion of Ceramics, Marcel-Dekker, NY, 304 pp, 1995.
  • R.A. McCauley, Corrosion of Ceramics, Chinese translation by Gao Nan, Metallurgical Industry Press, Beijing, China, 2003.
  • R.A. McCauley, Corrosion of Ceramic and Composite Materials, Marcel-Dekker, NY, Second Edition, 405 pp, 2004.
  • D.J. Shanefield, Organic Additives and Ceramic Processing, Kluwer Academic Pub, Boston, 311 pp, 1995.
  • D.J. Shanefield, Organic Additives and Ceramic Processing, Kluwer Academic Pub, Boston, Second Edition, 335 pp., 1996.
  • D.J. Shanefield, Industrial Electronics for Engineers, Chemists, and Technicians, William Andrew Publishing, NY, 316 pp, 2001.
  • J. A. Harrington, Infrared Fibers and Their Applications, SPIE, 312 pp., 2004.