Rustum Roy

Referred to as a legend of materials science at the time of his death, Rustum Roy (July 3, 1924 – August 26, 2010) was a scientist with doctoral training in the area of ceramics, making seminal contributions in theoretical and experimental understandings in those fields. He founded the Materials Science Laboratory at Pennsylvania State University and progressed through the ranks of the faculty, becoming emeritus professor, with affiliations to three departments.

Later in life he held visiting professorships in materials science at Arizona State University, and in medicine at the University of Arizona.

Roy described himself as a science policy analyst, was an advocate of interdisciplinary education, and had strong and published interests in the areas of alternative medicine and the proper relationship between science and religion.

Early life and education

Roy was born in Ranchi, Bihar Province, India.[1]In 1942 he received BS in Physical Chemistry from Patna University and in 1944 his MS from the same university. He earned a Ph.D. in ceramics, from Pennsylvania State University, in 1948.

Career

Positions held

Roy held the following faculty and other professional positions throughout his career:

Career highlights

Rustum Roy was a materials scientist referred to as "[o]ne of the legends of materials science" at the time of his death.[2] He trained in and doing research in ceramics and related areas, and made seminal contributions in theoretical and experimental understandings in those fields.

He founded the Materials Science Laboratory at Pennsylvania State University and progressed in a long career at that institution through the ranks of the faculty, becoming emeritus professor, with affiliations to three departments, including materials science and geochemistry.

Later in life he held visiting professorships in materials science at Arizona State University, and in medicine at the University of Arizona.

Roy was elected as a member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering in 1973,[3] and to various other international academies over the remainder of his career, with particular recognition coming from ceramists and materials scientists in Japan (see below).

Publications

Representative research

Roy authored hundreds of technical papers.

Edited volumes

Other authored/co-authored books

Other works

Other interests

Public policy

Roy described himself as a science policy analyst, and as a "citizen scientist." He served as a Visiting Fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies (1980–1985), and Senior Policy Fellow at the Brookings Institution (1982–1983).

Roy was an advocate of interdisciplinary education.

Health

Later in life Roy held a visiting professorship in medicine at the University of Arizona, and while there, worked with Andrew Weil's program in integrative medicine. Hence, he had strong and published interests in the area of alternative medicine, and in homeopathy in particular. Publishing originally in a journal for which he was editor-in-chief, he wrote in great technical detail about the theory of water structure, and its potential to the alternative medical specialty, homeopathy.[5] which he defended in a letter to The Guardian.[6]

Religion

Roy had strong and published interests in the proper relationship between science and religion. He was on the Planning and Strategy Committee of the National Council of Churches from 1964–70.

Awards and honours

Roy was honoured with the following awards and affiliations throughout his career:

Personal life

Roy became an American citizen in 1961.

Roy was married to Della Martin Roy, and had three children: Neill R. Roy, Jeremy R. Roy, and Ronnen A. Roy.[2]

Roy died on August 26, 2010 at the age of 86.[7] He was survived by his wife and children.[2]

References

  1. Somiya & Ikuma
  2. 1 2 3 Wray, P. (2010). "Rustum Roy, 1924-2010". ceramics.org (online, September 14). Retrieved 21 November 2015.
  3. 1 2 NAE (2015). "Members Directory: Prof. Rustum Roy". Washington, DC, USA: National Academy of Engineering. Retrieved 21 November 2015. Election citation: Contributions to the development of the modern science and technology of non-metallic materials. Primary Section: Materials Engineering.
  4. Roy, Rustum (2009). "Observations and Studies of the Healing Efficacy of the Life Vessel". lifevesselarizona.com (Scottsdale, AZ, USA: Life Vessel Arizona Advanced Wellness Center). Retrieved 21 November 2015.
  5. Roy, R, Tiller, WA Bell, I & Hoover, MR (2009). "The Structure of Liquid Water: Novel Insights from Materials Research, Potential Relevance to Homeopathy" (PDF). Indian Journal of Research in Homoeopathy 3 (2, April-June): 36ff. Retrieved 21 November 2015. This article was originally published in the journal Materials Research Innovations 9[(4):577-608, ISSN] 1433-075X. Reprint with the consent of the author and the publisher.'
  6. Roy, Rustum (2007). "'Homeophobia' must not be tolerated". The Guardian (online, December 19). Retrieved 2008-02-24.
  7. Anon. (2010). "Influential Materials Scientist Rustum Roy Dies". Penn State News (online, August 27). Retrieved 21 November 2015.

Further reading

External links

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