Dr. Rajiv S. Mishra, Curators’ Professor of materials science and engineering at Missouri S&T, has been named a fellow of ASM International, an international professional society for materials information.

The ASM Fellow designation was awarded to Mishra for his contributions in the field of materials science engineering, specifically for his “significant contributions to high temperature deformation of metallic materials and friction stir processing.”

He will receive the honor at the Convocation of Fellows to be held during the ASM Awards Dinner on Tuesday, Oct. 27, in Pittsburg, Pa. The dinner is a part of the Materials Science and Technology 2009 Conference and Exhibition to be held Oct. 25-29.

The friction stir processing developed by Mishra uses high temperatures so metals have a consistency similar to chewing gum. It enhances the formability of metallic materials and improves the properties of high performance cast components in critical regions that are under stress. When these metals are brought to room temperature, they return to a very strong metallic state. The manufacturing of these unitized structures helps lower part count and reduce costs in aerospace and automotive systems.

Mishra is Missouri S&T’s site director for the National Science Foundation’s Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Friction Stir Processing. He is also a research investigator at the university’s Intelligent Systems Center and Energy Research and Development Center, and the leader of friction stir processing at S&T’s Center for Aerospace Manufacturing.

He has won numerous Faculty Excellence Awards at Missouri S&T and is responsible for more than 180 publications and four patents.

Mishra earned his Ph.D. in metallurgy at the University of Sheffield (United Kingdom) in 1988. He earned a master’s degree in metallurgical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology in 1985 and a bachelor’s degree in metallurgical engineering from the University of Rajasthan (India) in 1982.