Thomas Bieler, a professor of chemical engineering and materials science at Michigan State University, has been named a fellow of The Minerals, Metals and Materials Society, or TMS. The honor is presented to less than 1 percent of the 13,000 members. There are currently less than 100 active fellows in the society.
TMS is a network of scientists and engineers who focus their research and profession on minerals, metals and materials. Beyond academics, its members include government positions and industry.
Donald Morelli, chair of the department of chemical engineering and materials science, said the TMS fellowship is one of the highest honors a materials scientist can receive.
“It reflects the high respect Dr. Bieler enjoys with his colleagues in the scientific community,” Morelli said.
Bieler said he shares the honor with his mentors, colleagues, and students.
“Outside of MSU, sabbatical mentors Lee Semiatin and Dierk Raabe, and colleagues such as Tae-Kyu Lee have provided timely opportunities,” Bieler noted. “Within MSU, K.N. Subramanian, Marty Crimp, Carl Boehlert, and Philip Eisenlohr and our students have enabled successful research.”
Bieler's research focuses on mechanical deformation of metallic materials, texture and microtexture damage nucleation, and crystal plasticity finite element simulations of deformation in titanium alloys, solders, intermetallics and refractory metals.
In addition to his fellowship, Bieler was honored by TMS with the Distinguished Service Award and the Distinguished Scientist/Engineer Award. At MSU, he has been recognized with the Withrow Distinguished Scholar - Junior Award and a Withrow Teaching Excellence Award.
Bieler came to MSU in 1989 after receiving his doctorate in materials science at the University of California, Davis. Prior to his doctorate work, Bieler worked in the experimental mechanics Division at Sandia National Laboratories in Livermore, Calif. He earned a master’s degree in ceramic engineering from the University of Washington and a bachelor’s degree in applied mechanics at the University of California in San Diego.