Kenneth St. John, Ph.D., an associate professor at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, Miss., has received the Award of Merit from ASTM International Committee F04 on Medical and Surgical Materials and Devices. The Award of Merit is ASTM International’s highest organizational recognition for individual contributions to standards activities.

St. John works on several F04 subcommittees, including the U.S. Technical Advisory Group to ISO/TC 150 on Implants for Surgery (F04.93). He currently serves as chairman of Subcommittees F04.16 on Biocompatability Test Methods and F04.92 on Planning. Committee F04 has honored him with several awards, including the Patrick G. Laing Award in 1997, the Manny Horowtiz Award in 1992, and the Robert E. Fairer Award in 1987.

A member of ASTM International since 1980, St. John is also a member of Committees E08 on Fatigue and Fracture, E47 on Biological Effects and Environmental Fate, E56 on Nanotechnology and G02 on Wear and Erosion. He served a 10-year term on the ASTM Committee on Publications, for which he received an Award of Appreciation and the Award of Excellence in Symposium and Publications Management.

St. John joined the faculty at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in 1989 and was awarded tenure in 2001. He is currently an associate professor in the Department of Biomedical Materials Science, School of Dentistry; graduate program director in the School of Graduate Studies and Health Science; and an adjunct associate professor of civil engineering at the University of Mississippi. Prior to his career in academia, St. John was a research project leader at Osteonics Biomaterials Inc. and Hexcel Medical Corp., both in Livermore, Calif.

Outside ASTM International, St. John is a member of the Orthopaedic Research Society and the Society for Biomaterials. He is the author of eight book chapters and more than 40 research abstracts and has published 17 papers in reference journals.

St. John holds a B.S. in biomedical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, an M.S. in bioengineering from Clemson University, and a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from Mississippi State University.

ASTM PR Contact: Erin K. Brennan, Phone: 610-832-9602; ebrennan@astm.org

Release #9168