Alan D. Roberts is a Tun Abdul Razak Research Centre (TARRC) scientist noted for his contributions to understanding contact phenomena in elastomers, and in particular the JKR equation.

Education

Roberts completed his

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...

degree in 1968, having worked in the

Cavendish laboratory The Cavendish Laboratory is the Department of Physics at the University of Cambridge, and is part of the School of Physical Sciences. The laboratory was opened in 1874 on the New Museums Site as a laboratory for experimental physics and is named ...

at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

, under the supervision of tribologist

David Tabor David Tabor may refer to: * David Tabor (physicist) (1913–2005), British physicist * David Tabor (British Army officer) (1922–2004), British major general * David H. Tabor, United States Air Force major general * David M. Tabor (born 1955), ...

Career

His 1971 paper with Kevin Kendall and Kenneth L. Johnson forms the basis of modern theories of

contact mechanics Contact mechanics is the study of the Deformation (mechanics), deformation of solids that touch each other at one or more points. A central distinction in contact mechanics is between Stress (mechanics), stresses acting perpendicular to the cont ...

. In 1974, Roberts was recruited to the Applied Physics Group at the Malaysian Rubber Producers' Research Association (MRPRA) by Alan G. Thomas. He researched the

sliding friction Friction is the force resisting the relative motion of solid surfaces, fluid layers, and material elements sliding against each other. Types of friction include dry, fluid, lubricated, skin, and internal -- an incomplete list. The study of t ...

of rubber on wet surfaces and on ice, the effects of pH and salt concentration, and other effects. In 1983, he was promoted to Assistant Director of MRPRA, and the following year to Deputy Director.

Awards

Roberts received the 1998 Lavoisier Medal of the French Society of the Chemical Industry, and in 2014 he received the

Charles Goodyear Medal The Charles Goodyear Medal is the highest honor conferred by the American Chemical Society#Organization, American Chemical Society, Rubber Division. Established in 1941, the award is named after Charles Goodyear, the discoverer of vulcanization, ...

of the Rubber Division of the

American Chemical Society The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 155,000 members at all ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Alan D. Living people Polymer scientists and engineers British scientists Year of birth missing (living people) Tribologists