Honorary degree citation - Jeff W. Edington
By: Hugh J. McQueen, June 1992
Mr. Chancellor, I have the honour to present to you Jeff W. Edington who has highly distinguished himself in fundamental research, authorship and academic administration on one hand, and on the other, in the direction of industrial research and the deployment of technology on a multinational scale.
Ingénieur, scientifique, auteur et homme d'affaires, Jeff Edington est un décideur clé dans l'un des secteurs économiques les plus importants du Canada. De 1987 à 1989, il a dirigé le laboratoire de Kingston de la Société Alcan et a été vice-président, recherche et développement, d'Alcan International. Depuis 1989, il joue un rôle prépondérant dans l'industrie de la métallurgie au Québec à titre de président d'Alcan International Limitée et de vice-président, recherche et technologie, d'Alcan Aluminium Limitée. Par ses fonctions à la direction de l'un des principaux employeurs de la province, il a largement contribué au développement économique du pays.
Throughout a scientific career that spanned a quarter century, Jeff Edington has been concerned primarily with research into high technology materials covering structural and aircraft aluminum and transition metal alloys, as well as electronic materials for thin film solar cells. Dr. Edington was director of the Banbury Laboratories of Alcan International from 1982 to 1987, during a period of great change in the strategic direction, in the detailed program and in the staffing of the laboratory. On his way to Canada, Dr. Edington participated in the Program for Management Development at Harvard Business School. Jeff and his wife, Jacqueline, have a son and daughter attending university. Physical fitness is of great importance; he maintains it though weight training and jogging.
Born and raised in Northumberland, Jeff Edington went to the University of Birmingham to earn his B.Sc. in 1960 and his Ph.D. in 1963. A significant start of his research career was made in the Metal Science Group of Battelle Memorial Institute in Columbus, Ohio. From 1967 to 1975, he was Assistant Director of Research in the Department of Metallurgy and Materials Science at the University of Cambridge, England. Subsequent to this, he became a Professor in the Mechanical, Aerospace and Materials Engineering Department of the University of Delaware where he was Chairman of the Materials and Metallurgy Division and Director of the Materials Durability Laboratory. He has authored five monographs and more than 150 papers on subjects ranging from superplasticity and stress corrosion to engineering ceramics and high-resolution microanalysis. For contributions to original research in physical metallurgy and materials science, Dr. Edington received a D.Sc. from the University of Birmingham in 1975. He is a fellow of the Institution of Metallurgists and the Institute of Materials in Britain.
Mr. Chancellor, it is a privilege to present to you, on behalf of the Senate and by the authority of the Board of Governors, Jeff W. Edington, so that you may confer on him the degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa.
