MORRISVILLE, Pa., — March 1, 2021 — Dr. Barry Arkles, Gelest Inc. chair, founder and CEO, was elected to membership in the National Academy of Engineering (NAE). Election to the NAE is “among the highest professional distinctions accorded to an engineer.” Dr. Arkles is recognized for his “contributions to organosilicon materials and organometallic and biochemical reagents.”
Dr. Arkles contributed scientific advances and inventions with positive impacts extending beyond the professional community to the global public. His record of innovation and accomplishments in applied materials science, surface chemistry and biotechnology is demonstrated by his contributions to medical devices, such as contact lenses, and semiconductor fabrication, particularly ILD (interlayer dielectrics) and interconnect metallization.
NAE membership recognizes outstanding individuals who have contributed to “engineering research, practice, or education, including … significant contributions to the engineering literature” and to “the pioneering of new and developing fields of technology, making major advancements in traditional fields of engineering, or developing/implementing innovative approaches to engineering education.”
“Dr. Arkles’s election to NAE membership recognizes the value of the characteristic hybrid chemicals technology he and Gelest have cultivated,” said Mitsubishi Chemical Corp. (MCC) President and CEO Masayuki Waga. “We are proud of his achievement.”
“Gelest’s technology, led by Dr. Arkles, combines organic and inorganic chemistry and has great potential as an approach to various problems that could not be solved by organic or inorganic chemistry alone,” Mr. Waga added. He said he expects to grow Gelest’s technology by combining it with MCC’s specialty technology related to organic chemistry.
“Barry Arkles is a very rare combination of technical excellence, entrepreneurial acumen and research management expertise which was evident early in his career and has continued to date,” said Dr. Robert D. Miller, Academy member, IBM Emeritus at IBM Almaden Research Center and Adjunct Professor of Material Science and Engineering at Stanford University.
Posted March 1, 2021
Source: Gelest Inc.
