University of Utah materials science and engineering Distinguished Professor, Anil Virkar, who is also the H. Kent Bowen Endowed Chair of Materials Science and Engineering, was elected to the grade of Distinguished Lifetime Member of The American Ceramic Society.
The Distinguished Life Member grade is the Society’s most prestigious level of membership and awarded in recognition of a member’s contribution to the ceramics profession.
Virkar earned a Bachelor of Technology in metallurgical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai, India, a master’s in engineering mechanics from Louisiana State University, and a Ph.D. in materials science from Northwestern University in Illinois.
He joined the University of Utah in 1973 as a postdoctoral fellow and was appointed a research assistant professor in 1974. Two years later, he was named assistant professor, an associate professor in 1979, a professor in 1984, and a Distinguished Professor in 2007. He was named the H. Kent Bowen Endowed Chair in 2015.
Virkar served as the department chair of materials science and engineering for the U between 1998 and 2011. He has published over 250 papers and received more than 35 patents. His research is focused on solid oxide fuel cells and electrolyzers, lithium ion conductors, and electrochemical failure of solid electrolytes.
He is a Member of the National Academy of Engineering, a Fellow of National Academy of Inventors, Fellow of the Electrochemical Society, Fellow of ASM International, and has received the Utah Governor’s Medal of Science and Technology. He has been a member of the American Ceramic Society since 1969 and became a Fellow in 1992. He has received the Ross-Coffin Purdy Award, the James Mueller Award, and John Jeppson Award.