Charles D. Graham
Charles D. Graham, Professor Emeritus in Materials Science and Engineering, passed away on March 18, 2024, at the age of 94.
Graham received a bachelor’s in Metallurgical Engineering with distinction from Cornell University in 1952. He then went on to earn a Ph.D. in Physical and Theoretical Metallurgy as a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Birmingham in England in 1954. Following his doctoral studies, he worked as a research metallurgist at the New York–based General Electric Research and Development Center, where he was named a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellow in 1961.
After his time in industry, Graham first came to Penn as a visiting professor in 1969 and then joined the faculty in 1970 as a professor in the then-named Department of Metallurgy and Materials Science (now Materials Science and Engineering) in Penn Engineering. He served as Chair of the Department from 1979 until 1984. Graham earned emeritus status in 1997.
Graham’s research was in magnetic materials and measurements, domain structure, amorphous alloys and permanent magnets. He was a senior member of the IEEE Magnetics Society and a member of ASM International, formerly known as the American Society for Metals, and the Metallurgical Society. He also served as Chair of the IEEE-APS Annual Conference on Magnetism and Magnetic Materials. Graham was a visiting scholar–researcher at several institutions, including Cardiff University, the University of Bath and the University of Birmingham. He authored more than 120 papers and book chapters and held several patents. During his time at Penn, he was active in the Faculty Senate and served as Chair of the Almanac’s Advisory Board. Later in his career, he served as a Senior Design instructor in Materials Science and Engineering and prioritized STEM-focused programs for visiting high school students.
Solomon R. Pollack
Solomon R. Pollack, Professor Emeritus in Bioengineering, passed away on August 4, 2024, at the age of 90.
Pollack was a Penn alumnus, having earned his bachelor’s, master’s and Ph.D. degrees in Physics from the University in 1955, 1957 and 1961, respectively. His 60 years on the faculty at Penn began in 1964, when he joined the faculty as an assistant professor in the then-named Department of Metallurgy and Materials Science (now Materials Science and Engineering). He later joined the Department of Bioengineering as a professor in 1977, and was a member of the faculty until 2003, when he earned emeritus status. During his time at Penn, Pollack also held secondary appointments in Orthopaedic Surgery and in the School of Nursing.
Pollack’s expertise was in the bioelectrical properties of bone and connective tissue, the electrical stimulation of bone growth and fracture healing, and transport phenomena in bones. He was a trailblazer who drove scientific discoveries to applications and commercialization. Pollack was also an outstanding teacher and mentor and was awarded Penn’s Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching in 1968 and Penn Engineering’s S. Reid Warren, Jr. Award in 1992. He was an exceptional mentor to his graduate students, many of whom have led distinguished careers at peer institutions. His long history of leadership and service at Penn Engineering included serving as Chair of Bioengineering from 1977 to 1982, and then again from 1990 to 1991, and as Associate Dean of Graduate Education and Research from 1981 to 1986.
The Solomon R. Pollack Professorship was established by Pollack’s daughter Andrea Pollack and son-in-law Adam Usdan in honor and recognition of his groundbreaking and transformational contributions to the Department of Bioengineering in the School of Engineering and Applied Science.