Sanford Sternstein, Ph.D.

Dr. Sternstein earned his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and joined the faculty in 1961, was the William Weightman Walker Professor of Polymer Engineering from 1976 to retirement (2006) and Director of the Center for Composite Materials and Structures (1987-2000). His research included swelling and elasticity in elastomers, viscoelasticity and creep in plastics, and shear yielding and crazing criteria (design tools for 30+ years). Recent studies cover creep and dynamic moduli in ceramic fibers and reinforcement mechanisms in filled polymer melts and elastomers. He served on the Executive Boards of the Society of Rheology and the High Polymers Division of the American Physical Society (Fellow since 1977) and on several NMAB Panels on composites and elastomers. He is a founder and past chair of the Gordon Conference on Composites.