David C. Van Aken is a Professor of Materials Science & Engineering at the Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla, Missouri. Dr Van Aken is a licensed Professional Engineer in the states of Missouri and Illinois. He is the author of more than 70 technical articles. He joined the UMR faculty in 1993 after having taught at the University of Michigan for seven years. David has been the recipient of 12 awards for teaching excellence, 4 Missouri S&T faculty excellence awards and one Missouri S&T Alumni Association outstanding advising award. In 2006 Dr Van Aken was designated a Dean's Teaching Scholar. David began his engineering career in 1978 at Caterpillar, Inc. as a materials engineer and then returned in 1982 to the University of Illinois for his Ph.D. graduate studies. Dr Van Aken is the recipient of the NSF Presidential Young Investigator Award and the Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award. Van Aken's research interests include the physical metallurgy of ferrous alloys, experimental and theoretical aspects of phase transformations and the mechanical behavior of structural materials.
