Alan Ardell Receives Dickson Emeritus Professorship Award

Alan Ardell, a UCLA professor emeritus of materials science and engineering, is one of four retired UCLA professors who have been selected to receive the 2023-2024 Edward A. Dickson Emeritus Professorship Award, which includes a prize of $5,000. 

Funded from a gift endowment established by the late Edward A. Dickson, a longtime regent of the University of California, the award honors outstanding research, scholarly work, teaching and service performed by an emeritus or emerita professor since retirement.

Ardell is widely recognized as a world leader in the field of microstructural evolution in alloys, known especially for his ability to bridge theory and experiment. Since his retirement from the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering in 2006, Ardell has continued to be productive both in terms of service and research. He became the program director for metals and metallic nanostructures at the National Science Foundation Division of Materials Research, and has also served on numerous committees and review panels for the NSF, the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy and more. 

A prolific researcher, Ardell has continued to publish actively, with 23 papers featured in top peer-reviewed journals. One of his theories was proven in NASA microgravity experiments on the International Space Station. In recognition of his contributions, the Minerals, Metals & Materials Society presented Ardell with the Oleg D. Sherby Award in 2024. 

Other recipients of the Dickson Emeritus Professorship Award are Thomas Coates, a distinguished research professor of medicine; Robert Ettenger, a distinguished research professor in pediatrics; and Teofilo Ruiz, a distinguished research professor of history and Spanish and Portuguese.