UB Materials Engineer to Receive Outstanding-Research Award from American Carbon Society

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Deborah D.L. Chung, Ph.D., Niagara Mohawk Professor of Materials Research in the University at Buffalo School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, has been selected to receive the Charles E. Pettinos Award from the American Carbon Society.

The international award recognizes recent outstanding research accomplishments of an individual or group in the science and/or technology of carbon materials. It commemorates the contributions of Charles E. Pettinos to the graphite industry.

Chung is the second woman, the first American woman and the first person of Chinese descent to receive the award, which was first presented in 1969. A member of the UB faculty since 1986, Chung has been conducting research on carbon materials for 30 years.

She will receive the award and a $5,000 prize at the International Conference on Carbon, July 11-16 in Providence, R.I., where she will present an award lecture, "Functional Carbons for Modern Technologies," describing her research accomplishments. Past recipients of the triennial award include researchers in England, Germany, France, Japan, India and the U.S.

Chung's research has covered numerous aspects of the field of carbon science and technology, including carbons for structural, thermal, electromagnetic, electronic, environmental, energy and sensor applications. The research has resulted in nearly 300 international journal publications, in addition to several books.

She is director of UB's Composite Materials Research Laboratory, which conducts research on composite materials for aerospace, automotive, construction and electronic applications.

She is a resident of East Amherst.