MetSoc Distinguished Materials Scientist Award

MetSoc Distinguished Materials Scientist Award

The award recognizes highly significant contributions in the field of materials engineering. The Materials Science and Engineering Section of The Metallurgy & Materials Society of CIM administers the award.

THE CALL FOR NOMINATIONS FOR 2026 IS OPEN. The deadline is February 10, 2026.

2025 Recipient

Yu Zou

Associate Professor in the Department of Materials Science & Engineering (MSE) at the University of Toronto (U of T)

Dr. Yu Zou is an Associate Professor in the Department of Materials Science & Engineering (MSE) at the University of Toronto (U of T). He is also the Canada Research Chair and co-director of the Toronto Integrated Platform for Emerging Materials under Extreme Conditions (TIME). Before he joined U of T in 2018, he worked as a Postdoctoral Fellow (with A. John Hart) in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at MIT. He received his Ph.D., Master’s, and bachelor’s degrees in Materials Science and Engineering from ETH Zurich (with Ralph Spolenak), McGill University (with Jerzy Szpunar and Stephen Yue), and Beihang University, respectively. His group uses novel experimental tools to explore mechanical behaviour and additive manufacturing of materials under extreme conditions, particularly for metallic materials. His research themes can be summarized as 4Ms – metals, mechanics, manufacturing, and machine learning, covering many length and time scales. Of particular interest is to advance the fields of vital importance to society, including aerospace, biomedical, electronic, environmental, and energy sectors. His group has been collaborating with the National Research Council Canada (NRC), Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) and many industrial partners in Canada.

Up to date, Dr. Zou has garnered several awards in the materials community, including the 2025 TMS Frontiers of Materials Award, the 2022 TMS Early Career Faculty Fellow Award, and the 2020 JMR Early Career Scholars Prize. His papers are published in leading international journals, including Nature Materials, Nature Communications, Acta Materialia, Scripta Materialia, Advanced Materials, Materials Today, and Additive Manufacturing.

2024 – Javad Gholipour2023 – Warren Poole2022 – P. Patnaik
2021 – M. Brochu2020 – D. Li2019 – Frank Cheng
2018 – Xinjin Cao2017 – P. Wanjara2016 – D. Chen
2015 – A. Alfantazi2014 – R. Ravindran2013 – A. McLean
2012 – Michel Rigaud2011 – Arthur Pelton2010 – No Award
2009 – Gary R. Purdy2008 – F. Ajersch2007 – M. Militzer
2006 – H. Mostaghaci2005 – H. King2004 – D. Wilkinson
2003 – S. Yue2002 – M. Chaturvedi2001 – G. Palumbo
2000 – U. Erb1999 – I.V. Samarasekera1998 – R.A.L. Drew
1997 – M. Sahoo1996 – S.R. MacEwen1995 – B. Hawbolt
1994 – J.I. Dickson1993 – J.E. Gruzleski1992 – I. Ritchie
1991 – W.R. Tyson1990 – D.J. Lloyd1989 – W. Wallace
1988 – G.C. Weatherly1987 – L.R. Morris1986 – J.D. Boyd
1985 – A. Mitchell1984 – J.A. Schey1983 – D.B. McCutcheon
1982 – J.J. Jonas1981 – E.G. Behal1980 – E.C.W. Perryman
1979 – J.D. Embury  

 

The award nomination program is closed for 2025.

 

  1. Fill in the contribution box – a summary of why this person is being nominated (see item 3) with any information that is not included in the CV.
  2. Fill in the citation – in 15 words, what this person is being recognized for.
  3. Nominator uploads either a concise CV of the nominee or in the case of a process, a recent paper, relevant to the process being nominated, to the website. Nominators should consider approaching nominees themselves to request the CV. In the case of a process, the recent paper is likely already available. The CV should contain the following information:
  • Major contributions relevant to the award
  • A record of at least five relevant patents and papers authored by the nominee plus a count of other patents and papers.
  • A service history related to CIM/MetSoc if applicable
  • A record of the years of membership in CIM.
  • A listing of volunteer activities if applicable
  • A listing of awards previously received
  • A listing of academic achievements
Start Nomination

General Policies

  • A nominator can put forward only one candidate up for nomination in each award category.
  • No member of MetSoc Executive Board shall be nominated while in office. The nomination will be held until the term on the executive board is expired.
  • Each award shall be made from time to time as circumstances warrant with no more than one award recipient per year.
  • The nominators are responsible for verifying that all conditions of the award have been satisfied and all procedures were properly followed in making the nomination.
  • All nominations will stand for three years.
  • The adjudication of the award shall be made by the MetSoc Awards Committee.
  • The award shall be presented at the Awards Banquet of the Conference of Metallurgists.
  • Posthumous awards will be allowed only if the candidate has already been shortlisted.
  • Self-nominations are not permitted.