1981 Von Hippel Award Address
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I am honored to be the recipient of the Von Hippel Award. Prof. Von Hippel's long-standing, interdisciplinary approach to the science and engineering of materials exemplifies the spirit of the Materials Research Society today. The award has a special significance to me because of my research associated with a previous award recipient, David Turnbull, and two MRS presidents, John Poate and King Nung Tu. Prof. Turnbull and his group at Harvard have been a source of inspiration to my colleagues and to me over the past ten years in our investigation of epitaxial growth both in the solid phase and in the transient liquid-phase. David Turnbull has a delightful touch with his pocket slide-rule. King Tu has developed my awareness of the materials science aspects of thin-film reactions in our long association in studies of silicides. John Poate provided the impetuous for ion-beam mixing through our work on preferential sputtering of silicides and implantation in copper single crystals. My years at Caltech are linked with Marc Nicolet, my associate in many ventures, and with students and colleagues such as S. S. Lau, who provided the excitement in our studies. The Von Hippie Award is also recognition of the contributions of all these associates and colleagues. This is an exciting time to be involved in materials research, as witnessed by the attendance at this meeting of the Materials Research Society. From the viewpoint of Prof. Von Hippel, it has always been an exciting time. I draw from his book
at his 1963 summer session course at the MIT Laboratory for Insulation Research. It is a provocative book, as provocative as C. Escher's "Thinker", which appears as the first illustration in the book, and reflects Von Hippel's view that the "isolation of specialists is ending" and that they are drawn into "mutual alliance" to "create any kind of material and device". In my research the present thrust of materials science follows the same course as outlined nearly twenty years ago but with emphasis on tailoring the outer microns of material and on understanding surfaces and interfaces. This focus arises naturally because of the development of high-vacuum techniques and analytical tools such as auger electron spectroscopy, secondary-ion-mass spectrometry and Rutherford backscattering, which measure composition depth profiles. One has the tools, now, to study surfaces, interfaces and thin-film reactions. Ion implantation, ionbeam mixing, and pulsed beams lasers, electrons and ions - allow tailoring of the composition and structure of the near surface region. We are truly at the forefront of a field that will establish the technology for future devices and structures. In spite of this, we face difficult times. Funds for the basic research that is at the heart of materials science are being cut. The atmosphere is reflected in headlines ..."Cuts in U.S. Research Support Batter National Laboratories"... "Scientists Warn White House About Dangers of Cuts in Basic Research"... "Budget Cuts"... "Frank Press to American Science: 'Tell Peopl
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