Dr. William G. Fahrenholtz, professor of ceramic engineering at Missouri University of Science and Technology, has been named Curators’ Professor of ceramic engineering. Fahrenholtz will be officially recognized during commencement ceremonies at S&T on Saturday, Dec. 15.

The University of Missouri Board of Curators bestows the Curators’ Professor title upon outstanding scholars with established reputations in their field of study. Fahrenholtz is known for his research on processing and characterization of ceramics. His recent research has focused on ultra-high-temperature ceramics — materials with melting temperatures above 3,000 degrees Celsius. These ceramics could be employed on hypersonic aerospace vehicles to protect them from the heat generated as they fly through the atmosphere at speeds five times the speed of sound or higher.

Fahrenholtz earned bachelor of science and master of science degrees in ceramic engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1987 and 1989, respectively. He earned a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of New Mexico in 1992.

Fahrenholtz joined the Missouri S&T faculty in 1999 as an assistant professor of ceramic engineering and a research investigator in the Graduate Center for Materials Research at Missouri S&T. In 2008, he was named professor of ceramic engineering and senior investigator in the MRC.

Fahrenholtz has authored or co-authored more than 95 publications in peer-reviewed journals and delivered or co-authored more than 200 presentations at international technical conferences. He has served as primary investigator or co-primary investigator on grants from the National Science Foundation and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, among other industries and government agencies.