Pitt Engineer Receives Ceramics Award

PITTSBURGH, PA -

Jean Blachère, Pitt associate professor emeritus who single-handedly developed the ceramics curriculum of the University of Pittsburgh's Department of Materials Science and Engineering, will be honored as a leader in the ceramics field by the Pittsburgh section of the American Ceramic Society. Blachère will be presented with the 55th annual Albert Victor Bleininger Memorial Award Oct. 24 at the University Club, 123 University Place, Oakland.

In 1968, Blachère joined the materials science and engineering department, which previously had been the metallurgical engineering program. The lone ceramicist at that time, he taught all the ceramics courses.

Throughout his 32 years at Pitt, Blachère taught practically all aspects of ceramics and some materials science at the undergraduate and graduate levels, as well as served as graduate coordinator and acting chair of the department. Blachère retired in 2000 but continues to mentor graduate students engaged in ceramics research. Twice he has been invited to work with the materials group at the Institut National Polytechnique de Toulouse in France.

Blachère's research has evolved from refractories and building materials to glass, advanced ceramics, and films. His recent research is on the characterization of thin films and oxide scales, specifically their structure, morphology, texture, and stresses, including the measurement of growth stresses by X-ray diffraction.

Before coming to Pitt, Blachère worked at Domtar, in Canada, where he started the ceramics laboratory in the Central Research Laboratories. He is a member of the American Ceramic Society, the Ceramic Educational Council, and the National Institute of Ceramic Engineers.

The Memorial Alfred Victor Bleininger Award recognizes excellence and lifelong achievements in the field of ceramics. Alfred Victor Bleininger is best known for his pioneering work with Fiesta dinnerware's vibrant glazes, which he created when the dinnerware was introduced by Homer Laughlin Pottery in 1936. Before joining Homer Laughlin in 1920, he had worked at the U.S. Bureau of Standards in Pittsburgh, the U.S. Geological Survey, Ohio State University, and the University of Illinois. He was a founder of the American Chemical Society and a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

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