The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has elected Bhakta Rath to the rank of Fellow, honoring him for his “outstanding contributions in materials science and engineering and for leadership in advancing research and technology to support national security.”
Rath, who graduated from Michigan Tech in 1958 with a master’s in metallurgical and materials engineering, is the associate director of research and the head of the Materials Science and Component Technology Directorate of the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, DC.
He was speaker at the 2007 Midyear Commencement, when he was awarded an honorary doctorate in engineering.
The AAAS honor will be bestowed at a ceremony at the organization’s annual meeting in Vancouver, BC, Canada, later this month.
The mission of the AAAS is to “advance science and serve society” through initiatives in science policy, international programs and science education.
A native of India, Rath has also been elected to the National Academy of Engineering and is a fellow of the Minerals and Materials Society, the Materials Research Society of India, and the Institute of Materials of the United Kingdom.