Newest Norton Professor

Chrysanthe D. Terwilliger, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, has been appointed WPI's Norton Professor of Mechanical Engineering. The three-year professorship, which includes a stipend, was established by Norton Company in 1989 to honor a junior faculty member who has shown distinction and potential to be a leader in his or her field. It provides research support in areas of interest to the professor and to the company and encourages a close relationship between the honoree and Norton's research staff. Terwilliger succeeds David C. Zenger, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, who has held the professorship since 1992.

Terwilliger's research and teaching interests focus on structure-property relationships in ceramics and metals. For the past several years she has been studying the effects of nanometer-sized grains on material and properties. In June 1995, she was awarded $200,372 over four years from the National Science Foundation's Early Career Development (CAREER) Program for the project "Synthesis and Electrical Characterization of Ultrafine-Grained Ceramics."

"The Norton Professorship provides significant benefits to WPI, the chair holder, and the company," says Ronald C. Baird, the Institute's director of corporate relations and interim vice president for university relations. "The prestige of named chairs enhances the Institute's ability to recruit highly qualified faculty members and the professorships give sponsoring corporations links with researchers investigating topics of interest and better access to outstanding graduates."

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