Materials Research Society names Messing JMR editor-in-chief

Gary L. Messing

University Park, Pa. -- The Materials Research Society (MRS) has named Gary L. Messing, Distinguished Professor of Ceramic Sciences and Engineering and head of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Penn State, as editor-in-chief of the Journal of Materials Research (JMR).

The 2009 MRS President, Shefford P. Baker, speaking on behalf of the Search Committee and Board of Directors, stated, “In Gary Messing we have found the ideal editor-in-chief to take JMR to new levels of excellence and build upon the foundation built by Gordon Pike, who in the past eight years has made monumental advances in improving the quality and technical scope of JMR. Dr. Messing brings with him years of experience editing respected journals, and we look forward to watching JMR continue to grow and develop under his leadership.” 

Messing brings a strong record of editorial accomplishment and leadership experience to his new role at MRS. He has published over 250 papers and co-edited 13 books on various aspects of ceramic processing. He has co-organized the International Ceramic Processing Science Conference with Professor Shin-ichi Hirano of Nagoya University since 1986. He was co-editor of the Journal of the American Ceramic Society from 1993-1998, editor-in-chief of Ceramics International and principal editor of Materials Letters from 2003-2009.

He served as director of the Materials Research Laboratory at Penn State, and was founding director of the NSF Industry/University Cooperative Research Center on Particulate Materials at Penn State. Messing received his B.S. degree in ceramic engineering at the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University in 1973 and his Ph.D. in materials science and engineering at the University of Florida in 1977.

Messing has received numerous awards for his research and leadership in the field of ceramics including the Richard M. Fulrath Pacific Award and he gave the Robert M. Sosman Memorial Lecture of the American Ceramic Society (ACerS). He was elected Fellow of the American Ceramic Society in 1990, served on its Board of Directors for many years and was later elected president. In 1999 he was elected to the World Academy of Ceramics. In 2003 he was recognized as one of the most “Highly Cited Researchers” in materials and was honored with the International Award of the European Ceramic Society for his international collaborations. In 2005 he received the Outstanding Educator Award of the Ceramic Education Council of ACerS. He served as chairman of the University Materials Council in 2005-2006 and was elected president-elect of the International Ceramics Federation in 2008.

JMR is an archival front-runner in international materials research, as evidenced by its 1.916 Impact Factor in Materials Science, Interdisciplinary. Published monthly (over 3500 technical pages annually), JMR contains archival papers, rapid communications and reviews. It is comprehensive in nature, and over the past 23 years has addressed more than 150 different topics on materials synthesis and processing, microstructure, and properties.  MRS is an international organization almost 16,000 materials researchers from academia, industry, and government and a recognized leader in promoting the advancement of interdisciplinary materials research to improve the quality of life. In addition to JMR, MRS publishes MRS Bulletin and the MRS Online Proceedings Library, and organizes high quality scientific meetings to facilitate interactions among a wide range of experts from the cutting edge of the global materials community. More information about the Materials Research Society can be found on its Web site at http://www.mrs.org.