Robert Franklin Mehl (March 30, 1898 – January 29, 1976) was an American

metallurgist Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys. Metallurgy encompasses both the ...

. "Robert Mehl, Metallurgist, Carnegie‐Mellon Professor"
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The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''. January 31, 1976 National Academies Press:Biographical Memoirs V.78 (2000);ROBERT FRANKLIN MEHL
by

Cyril Stanley Smith Cyril Stanley Smith (4 October 1903 – 25 August 1992) was a British metallurgist and historian of science. He is most famous for his work on the Manhattan Project where he was responsible for the production of fissionable metals. A graduate ...

and William W. Mullins Mehl was noted for transforming of nineteenth-century

metallurgy Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys. Metallurgy encompasses both the ...

into the modern

materials science Materials science is an interdisciplinary field of researching and discovering materials. Materials engineering is an engineering field of finding uses for materials in other fields and industries. The intellectual origins of materials sci ...

. He was the founder and the head of a division of

Physical metallurgy Physical metallurgy is one of the two main branches of the scientific approach to metallurgy, which considers in a systematic way the physical properties of metals and alloys. It is basically the fundamentals and applications of the theory of ...

at the

Naval Research Laboratory The United States Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) is the corporate research laboratory for the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps. Located in Washington, DC, it was founded in 1923 and conducts basic scientific research, appl ...

and a member of the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...

. The American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers established a gold medal award in his name in 1973. Institute of Metals Lecture/Mehl Award Subcommittee
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Notable awards, distinctions and honors

* the Matthewson Medal of the Metallurgical Society of the AIME (five times between 1934 and 1947) * the Howe Medal of the ASM (1939) * the gold medals of both the ASM (1952) and the AIME (1945) * the Le Chatelier Medal of the Société Française de Metallurgie (1956) * four honorary doctorates * and election to the National Academy of Sciences in 1958

Life and career

Mehl was born in

Lancaster, Pennsylvania Lancaster ( ) is a city in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 58,039 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, eighth-most populous ci ...

. He graduated from

Franklin and Marshall College Franklin & Marshall College (F&M) is a private liberal arts college in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1787 as Franklin College and later merged with Marshall College in 1853, it is one of the oldest colleges in the United St ...

in 1919. Mehl received his Ph.D. in

physical chemistry Physical chemistry is the study of macroscopic and microscopic phenomena in chemical systems in terms of the principles, practices, and concepts of physics such as motion, energy, force, time, thermodynamics, quantum chemistry, statistical mech ...

and metallurgy from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

in 1924. Mehl is the great grandfather of Jason Mehl, a sculptor who works in metal, and Sean Mehl, the guitarist of Dead to a Dying World.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mehl, Robert Franklin American metallurgists 1898 births 1976 deaths Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Franklin & Marshall College alumni Princeton University alumni People from Lancaster, Pennsylvania Scientists from Pennsylvania