Dr. Gregory B. Mckenna Research Award

Plastics Engineering, May, 2000

Dr. Gregory B. McKenna, who since 1999 has held the John Bradford Chair of Engineering at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Tex., has won the 2000 SPE Research Award, given in memory of John C. Moricoli. Prior to his arrival at Texas Tech, Dr. McKenna was for many years a scientist at NIST--the National Institute of Standards and Technology (formerly the National Bureau of Standards).

His voluminous research includes contributions in the areas of mechanics and thermodynamics of solid and glassy polymers through the development and application of innovative analysis and measurement methods. At NIST, Dr. McKenna built an experimental program that significantly furthered the fundamental understanding of the physics and mechanics of polymer glasses. An internationally recognized expert on the linear and nonlinear behavior of polymer glasses, he has also worked on the fatigue and failure of plastics and rubbers, the thermodynamics and mechanics of rubbers, and the molecular rheology of linear and cyclic polymers. A Fellow of SPE and of the American Physical Society, Gregory McKenna is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy (B.S. in engineering mechanics), the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (S.M. in composite materials), and the University of Utah (Ph.D. in materials science and engineering).