The SUNY Board of Trustees has appointed Sanjay Sampath, a professor of materials science and engineering, to the rank of Distinguished Professor, the University’s highest faculty designation.
This year the Board appointed four SUNY faculty members to the Distinguished Professorship, one to Distinguished Service Professorship, and one to Distinguished Librarian. “In bestowing our highest faculty honor, we proudly recognize the extraordinary achievements of these faculty members and thank them for their continued commitment to excellence,” said SUNY Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher.
Sampath is an affiliate professor of mechanical engineering and director of the Center for Thermal Spray Research (CTSR), a unique interdisciplinary industry-university cooperative research center focused on thermal spray materials processing and surface engineering. The National Science Foundation named CTSR a prestigious Materials Research Science and Engineering Center.
He earned his doctorate from Stony Brook in materials science in 1989 and spent four years in industry at GTE Sylvania in advanced research, development, and processing of refractory metal compounds, intermetallics, and composites before returning to Stony Brook as a faculty member in 1993.
“Sanjay’s leadership, research, and dedication make him truly deserving of the Distinguished Professor designation,” said Stony Brook University President Samuel L. Stanley Jr., MD. “For more than 20 years he has enriched the Materials Science and Engineering Department and the entire University. Stony Brook is fortunate to have him on our faculty and looks forward to many more contributions from him in teaching, research, and discovery.”
“We are truly delighted that Sanjay joins the prestigious rank of SUNY Distinguished Professors in recognition of his sustained commitment to excellence in interdisciplinary research transcending the boundaries of materials science and engineering,” said Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Dennis N. Assanis. “He has made an unusual impact in his field, not only through his basic discoveries, but also through their translation into innovative applications.”
Sampath has directed several large multidisciplinary research efforts on a number of federal and industrially funded programs including serving as Principal Investigator of the NSF Materials Research Science and Engineering Center and on major Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and Department of Defense contracts. Under the auspices of the NSF Center, he directed an interdisciplinary group of approximately 12 faculty members toward a fundamental understanding of thermal spray processes, materials, and applications. Through a multi-million dollar DARPA contract Sampath led a group of investigators in developing disruptive new capabilities in thermal spray; namely new processing tools for direct writing of mesoscale electronics and sensors. These technologies are finding their way into novel applications.
Through his remarkable leadership, CTSR is now self-sustaining and home to the Industrial Consortium for Thermal Spray Technology, a group comprised of 35 leading U.S. and multinational companies aimed at knowledge transfer from fundamental research to application engineering. Thermal spray technology continues to grow and services a broad industrial community; coatings are ubiquitous in gas turbine engines (propulsion and energy), automotive, pulp/paper, and infrastructure maintenance. Emerging applications include coatings for orthopedic and dental implants, solid oxide fuel cells, and functional sensors for harsh environments.
Sampath’s current research interests lie in thermostructural coatings, thick film materials, and multi-functional materials. “I am gratified by this singular recognition from SUNY. These accomplishments would not be possible without the support and collaboration of numerous colleagues both within the United States and around the world,” said Sampath. “In particular, I am grateful to past and present students, without whose dedication and hard work, these achievements would not be possible.”
For more information about SUNY’s faculty award program, please click here.
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