Dr. Ashok Saxena, distinguished professor and dean of engineering at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Ark., has received the Committee E08 Fracture Mechanics Medal from ASTM International. The award is presented to individuals who have exerted a profound, positive effect on the development of the scientific discipline of fracture mechanics.

A member of ASTM International since 1982, Saxena is active on Committee E08 and its subcommittees. He has been honored for his service to the committee with other awards over the years, including the ASTM Award of Merit and its accompanying title of fellow, the George R. Irwin Medal for his pioneering contributions for analyzing creep in engineering metals and two Awards of Appreciation for his work on developing ASTM test methods. 

Before joining the faculty at the University of Arkansas in 2003, Saxena was a Regents’ Professor and chair of the School of Materials Science and Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Ga., and did engineering and research work at the Research and Development Center at Westinghouse Electric in Pittsburgh, Pa., and at the National Steel Corp. in Weirton, W.Va. His career has focused mainly on education and research in the materials science and engineering field with a concentration on fracture mechanics, fatigue, creep and creep-fatigue behavior of structural materials. 

Saxena is a member of ASME International, the Minerals, Metals and Materials Society (TMS), the American Soci