Mines professor emeritus wins IIW Yoshiaki Arata Award

Stephen Liu, professor emeritus of metallurgical and materials engineering at Colorado School of Mines, has been honored with the 2020 Yoshiaki Arata Award from the International Institute of Welding (IIW).

The Arata Award is given in honor of “outstanding achievements in fundamental research in welding science and technology and its allied areas, and which have been recognized as a great contribution to the progress of welding engineering and related fields.”

Liu, who was awarded emeritus status at Mines in 2019, was a member of the Metallurgical and Materials Engineering Department for 31 years, serving as director of the Mines Center for Welding, Joining and Coatings Research and holding the American Bureau of Shipping Endowed Chair, among numerous other duties.

Frequently recognized for his contributions to welding and material sciences, Liu is a fellow of the IIW (2018), Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (2018), American Welding Society (1996), American Society of Mechanical Engineers (2000) and ASM International (2001).

Founded in 1948, the IIW is dedicated to bringing together industry, research and education to the advancement of welding and joining for a safer and sustainable world. Today, its members include welding associations from 55 countries worldwide.

Arata, the namesake of the IIW award, served as the organization’s first chairman from 1981 to 1986 and played an important role in the establishment of modern welding engineering, plasma engineering and high-temperature technology based on basic physics and materials sciences.