View source for Sheldon M. Wiederhorn

{{Short description|American materials scientist (1933–2021)}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name              =
| image             = Sheldon Wiederhorn.jpg
| image_size        =
| birth_date        = {{birth date|1933|05|04}}
| birth_place       =
| death_date        = {{death date and age|2021|06|03|1933|05|04}}
| citizenship       = [[United States]]
| nationality       =
| fields            = [[Ceramics]]
| workplaces        = [[National Institute of Standards and Technology]]
| alma_mater        = [[Columbia University]]<br>[[University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign]]
| doctoral_advisor  =
| known_for         =
| awards            = [[Samuel Wesley Stratton Award]] (1977)
| website           =
| children          =
}}
'''Sheldon M. Wiederhorn''' (May 4, 1933 – June 3, 2021) was an American materials scientist affiliated with the [[National Institute of Standards and Technology]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Remembering Shelley Wiederhorn |url=https://ceramics.org/memoriam/shelley-wiederhorn |access-date=2022-06-21 |website=The American Ceramic Society |language=en-US}}</ref>
== Biography ==
Wiederhorn was born on May 4, 1933,<ref>{{Cite web |title=World Academy of Ceramics – 2015 Roster |url=http://www.waceramics.org/Roster2015.pdf |access-date=June 20, 2022}}</ref> in [[The Bronx]], the son of immigrants. He received his B.S. in chemical engineering from [[Columbia University]] in 1956 and was a member of the men's swim team.<ref name=":0" /> He  then received his M.S. and Ph.D. from the [[University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign]].<ref name=":0" />
Wiederhorn's first job after university was at [[E.I. Du Pont de Nemours & Co.]], where he did research on the mechanical behavior of ceramic materials.<ref name=":0" /> He then joined the [[National Bureau of Standards]] to lead   research on the mechanical behavior of glasses and ceramic materials and stayed at the institute for the rest of his working and emeritus career.<ref name=":0" /> He was known for his research applying fracture mechanics to ceramic materials and experiments he designed to characterize subcritical crack growth in glasses and how water influences crack propagation.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Sheldon M. Wiederhorn |url=https://ceramics.org/award-winners/38763-2 |access-date=2022-06-21 |website=The American Ceramic Society |language=en-US}}</ref>
For his research, Wiederhorn received a [[Samuel Wesley Stratton Award]] in 1977 by the [[National Bureau of Standards]]. He was also elected a member of [[The American Ceramic Society]] (ACerS) in 1970 and was made a Distinguished Life Member in 1998.<ref name=":1" /> He was editor of the ''[[Journal of the American Ceramic Society]]'' for 15 years and served on the board of directors of [[ACerS]] from 2005 to 2008.<ref name=":0" />
Wiederhorn was elected to the [[National Academy of Engineering]] in 1991 for "outstanding advancements in the development and application of test methods and basic understanding of the mechanical properties of ceramics."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dr. Sheldon M. Wiederhorn |url=https://nae.edu/28354/Dr-Sheldon-M-Wiederhorn |access-date=2022-06-21 |website=NAE Website}}</ref>
Wiederhorn died on June 3, 2021, at age 88.<ref name=":1" />
== References ==
<references />
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wiederhorn, Sheldon M.}}
[[Category:1933 births]]
[[Category:2021 deaths]]
[[Category:Scientists from New York City]]
[[Category:Columbia School of Engineering and Applied Science alumni]]
[[Category:DuPont people]]
[[Category:University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumni]]
[[Category:Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering]]
[[Category:Fellows of the American Ceramic Society]]
[[Category:American materials scientists]]
[[Category:National Institute of Standards and Technology people]]