News & Events

12-13-16

William L. Johnson, Ruben F. and Donna Mettler Professor of Engineering and Applied Science, has been named fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI). His research includes early pioneering work with metallic materials such as bulk metallic glasses, non-crystalline metals with an amorphous atomic structure and unusual engineering properties. Election as an NAI fellow is an honor bestowed upon academic innovators and inventors who have "demonstrated a prolific spirit of innovation in creating or facilitating outstanding inventions and innovations that have made a tangible impact on quality of life, economic development, and the welfare of society." [Caltech story] [NAI release]

Tags: APhMS honors William Johnson

12-23-13

Douglas Hofmann, Visiting Associate in Applied Physics and Materials Science and the Johnson research group, and Principle Investigator of the Metallurgy Facility at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, is a recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE).  This is the highest honor bestowed by the United States Government on science and engineering professionals in the early stages of their independent research careers. [White House Release]

Tags: APhMS honors PECASE William Johnson Douglas Hofmann JPL

05-12-11

William L. Johnson, Ruben F. and Donna Mettler Professor of Engineering and Applied Science, and his team of researchers have developed a new technique that allows them to make metallic-glass parts utilizing the same inexpensive processes used to produce plastic parts. "We've taken the economics of plastic manufacturing and applied it to a metal with superior engineering properties,” Professor Johnson says. "We end up with inexpensive, high-performance, precision net-shape parts made in the same way plastic parts are made—but made of a metal that's 20 times stronger and stiffer than plastic.” [Caltech Press Release]

Tags: APhMS research highlights William Johnson Metallic Glass

12-19-08

Visiting scientist Douglas Hofmann (MS '06) and and colleagues, including William Johnson, Ruben F. and Donna Mettler Professor of Engineering and Applied Science, have created structural metallic-glass composites, based in titanium, that are lighter and less expensive than any the group had previously created, while still maintaining their toughness and ductility--the ability to be deformed without breaking. They are among the toughest engineering materials that currently exist. [Caltech Press Release]

Tags: APhMS research highlights William Johnson Douglas Hofmann