Robert Charles McMaster (1913 – July 6, 1986

Delaware, Ohio Delaware is a city in Delaware County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located near the center of Ohio, about north of Columbus as part of the Columbus metropolitan area. The population was 41,302 at the 2020 census. Delaware ...

), a pioneer in

nondestructive testing Nondestructive testing (NDT) is any of a wide group of analysis techniques used in science and technology industry to evaluate the properties of a material, component or system without causing damage. The terms nondestructive examination (NDE), n ...

, was Regents Professor Emeritus of Welding Engineering and Electrical Engineering at

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

(OSU). He has more than 300 publications and 19 patents. He was awarded with the ASNT Gold Medal in 1977.

Education

McMaster earned a B.S. in 1936 in electrical engineering from

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The institution was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools. In 1912, it became the Carnegie Institu ...

; an M.S. in 1938 in electrical engineering and a Ph.D. in electrical engineering and physics in 1944 from

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech) is a private research university in Pasadena, California, United States. The university is responsible for many modern scientific advancements and is among a small group of institutes ...

. His Ph.D. research focused on the effects of light on power transmission lines.

Personal life

His daughter is novelist

Lois McMaster Bujold Lois McMaster Bujold ( ; born November 2, 1949) is an American speculative fiction writer. She has won the Hugo Award for best novel four times, matching Robert A. Heinlein's record (not counting his Retro Hugos). Her novella '' The Mountains of ...

ASNT Robert C. McMaster Gold Medal

The

American Society for Nondestructive Testing The American Society for Nondestructive Testing, Inc. or ASNT is a technical society for nondestructive testing (NDT) professionals. ASNT evolved from ''The American Industrial Radium and X-ray Society'' which was founded in 1941. Its headquarters ...

has renamed its gold medal award in 1990 to honor Robert C. McMaster for his outstanding contributions to the NDT profession. The Robert C. McMaster Gold Medal Award recognizes individuals for outstanding contributions or significant advancement in any area of NDT and/or the Society.

References

1913 births 1986 deaths American electrical engineers American engineers Carnegie Mellon University alumni California Institute of Technology alumni Ohio State University faculty People from Delaware, Ohio {{US-electrical-engineer-stub