University of Delaware Center for Composite Materials – The First Two Decades

by R. Byron Pipes

R. Byron Pipes

Having closely observed the creation and evolution of the Center for Composite Materials at the University of Delaware from its origin in 1974 until his departure in 1993, the writer has chosen to focus the following on the first twenty years of evolution of this extraordinary enterprise. The first twenty years of CCM’s history set the stage for what was to come during the following thirty years both in the development of its unique characteristics and the leadership that would sustain those characteristics while leading CCM to new heights of success.

The Center for Composite Materials (CCM) began as a shared goal of its four faculty founders to make it the “Mecca” for composite materials research and education in the world and indeed, this goal was accomplished in its first two decades (1974-1994). The choice of the word “Mecca” was never meant as a theological term from which it originates, but in many ways it was chosen to indicate shared aspirations for an emerging technology that would likely change the world for the better and in that sense, it was meant to be a respectful use. It was coincidental that three of the founders had encountered this emerging technology in industrial settings while the fourth founder brought rigorous materials science to the group. That industrial perspective guided the CCM from its very beginning and, as will be discussed later, gave it the unique character that propelled its success in the competition among American universities.

Jack Vinson

The four founders were an unusual group of scholars who came from academic backgrounds that were quite dissimilar, yet extraordinarily complementary. The first founder voiced the goal of preeminence in composites and attracted the other three founders to it. The University of Delaware leadership supported the idea for the creation of a center of excellence devoted to composite materials and structures by adding a new faculty member who became the fourth founder. Considering the current practice for investing significant amounts of their own resources in establishing centers of excellence by universities, it is notable that CCM was begun with little investment by the university, save that single faculty position. However, the Unidel Foundation had made an earlier commitment to the establishment of a modern servo-hydraulic material test laboratory in response to the proposal of the incumbent dean of the college of engineering and that laboratory served as the first platform from which the CMM would emerge.

The expertise of the four founders ranged from physical chemistry to structural mechanics and their academic appointments were in the departments of chemical engineering and mechanical and aerospace engineering, but three of the four also held academic appointments in the interdisciplinary graduate program in materials science. Thus, CCM was an interdisciplinary research center from the very beginning because its roots were in what today are three departments of the college of engineering. However, for the first ten years, the CCM director reported to the chairman of the department of mechanical engineering. The early sponsored programs in composites led by the founders were single investigator programs with the National Science Foundation, Department of Defense and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

The second director of CCM served for eight years before becoming dean of the college. During his tenure, the CCM responsibility was moved from chairman of mechanical engineering to the dean of the college. This change came about because it was found that an interdisciplinary research center reporting to a single discipline brought about conflicts of interest that could have retarded the growth of the fledgling center.

The competitive environment for academic leadership of the field of composite materials began to develop in the early 1970’s. The competition was initiated by the establishment of a composites research center at the University of Washington – St. Louis under the leadership of Stephen Tsai. When Tsai moved to the Air Force Materials Laboratory as Chief Scientist, the academic center he had established languished and then was adopted by the National Science Foundation (NSF). At the time, the NSF was a single-investigator dominated organization and the adoption of a mission- oriented research center was all too soon abandoned.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) recognized the importance of composites to the field of aeronautics and established a center of excellence at Virginia Polytechnic and State University in 1974, the same year as the founding of CCM. Funding for the new Virginia Tech center was reported to be in the range of $1M/year. The NASA Langley Research Center of Hampton, VA assumed responsibility for the new center and provided funding for research and internships for students in the program. Thus, an unusual competitive environment existed with the impending decline of the Washington University – St. Louis program and the emergence of a substantial program at Virginia Tech. Of course, the multiple programs in composites throughout the academic community had begun to develop and these programs would also participate in the competition for preeminence. What was unclear to CCM was how it could establish a funding base in this competitive environment wherein conventional funding remained largely dominated by single- investigator programs, while interdisciplinary research demanded multi-investigator support.

It was in this context that the industrial experience of the founders of CCM guided the evolution of the new center. This choice was more driven by the absence of industry participation in competitive university programs than by the wisdom of CCM founders, but as history would prove, the choice was shown to be the correct strategy for success. However, like any transformation, the enormous task could only be achieved by taking the first small steps toward the goal. This took the form of a small advertisement in the Chemical Engineering News magazine stating that CCM welcomed opportunities to work with industry. After several visits by interested companies seeking to understand the new emerging composites technology, one small company, the Rogers Corporation of Rogers, CN, made a commitment to establish a sponsored program with CCM. Rogers supplied the automotive industry with brake pistons manufactured of asbestos-reinforced phenolics. The understanding needed to replace asbestos with glass fibers was the subject of the Rogers program and it would go on for a decade and lead to the successful development of multiple new product innovations by what is now a specialty engineered materials company headquartered in Chandler, Arizona.

In 1978, the success of the Rogers program led to the establishment of an industrial consortium entitled, “The Application of Composite Materials to Industrial Products.” The success of the Rogers program introduced CCM to the automotive industry giants of Ford and General Motors. Both organizations recognized the potential for weight savings in future products and they introduced CCM to members of their supply chains. So it was that the small Rogers program led to the development of a consortium in which the original equipment manufacturers brought the industry together in support of the research and development required to establish composites technology for the automotive industry. By 1984, the consortium had grown to forty industrial sponsors worldwide and annual funding exceeded $1.6M ($4.825M 2024 dollars).

It is important to point out that the concept of the industrial consortium was not new in 1978, although there were few notable examples in existence at the time. The university leadership had decided by then that programs that supported industry to form consortia would be supported by the university by foregoing indirect costs. Thus, the total funding provided by consortia members would go to the support of faculty and student researchers and facilities. This commitment by the university expanded the purchasing power of these funds by almost one-third and thereby accelerated the progress that could be made in production of research and graduates. In terms of spendable budget, the $1.6M/yr. consortium funding provided the equivalent of a $2.1/yr. federal award ($6.33M 2024 dollars).

Another important aspect of the development of the CCM was that of the roles played by both faculty affiliates and members of the staff. Always envisioned as an organization that brought faculty and students of multiple disciplines together for the pursuit of research and education, many functions of CCM were conducted by its staff. Several of the affiliate faculty served in positions of associate directors with responsibility for guiding the research in specified areas of research. Each faculty member received support for one or more graduate students and summer support.

CCM Faculty & Staff 1978

Both professional and administrative staff were developed by CCM to conduct programs necessary for the enterprise to function. Renewal of consortium membership by industrial sponsors required the annual delivery of products of the center that justified continued investment. These included two industry symposia per year, multiple research reports delivered and updates to the Delaware Composites Design Guide, a compendium of evolving technology. When asked for the greatest need to promote composites technology within General Motors, the answer was for a design guide like that available for conventional metallic materials and focused on composites. CCM produced a seven- volume set over the following seven years with contributions from noted external experts including Dr. James Whitney (retired) of the Air Force Research Laboratory, Professor Keith Kedward (deceased), Professor Perer Beaumont of Imperial College, Professor Michael Bader (retired) University of Surrey, Dr. Alan Isham (retired) of Owens Corning, Professor Thomas Hahn of UCLA and Dr. Carl Zweben of General Electric. Professor Jack Gillespie and Leif Carlsson of Florida Atlantic University were Review Editors. A retired DuPont executive, Henry Cadot, served in the role of monthly newsletter author and consortium fee collector. The role of Deputy Director was conducted by William Dick, who later joined the University of Illinois – Urbana Champaign as Assistant Dean for Large Programs and abetted numerous research programs of scale there.

Early in the life of CCM, numbers of international scholars were attracted to the center to help deliver the programs of education and research. These scholars often co-advised graduate students and participated in the two annual symposia as speakers. Several contributed to the Delaware Composites Design Guide. For these services, the international scholars received both remuneration and recognition. These individuals included Professor Klaus Friedrich (deceased) of Kaiserslautern, Professor and Rector (retired) Marcel Crochet of the Catholic University of Louvain, Professor Pat Mallon of University of Ireland – Galway and Vice Chancellor (deceased) Anthony Kelley of the University of Surrey. All these individuals shared stories of the successes of CCM with their colleagues in Europe and served to introduce CCM to the industries and universities of Europe. The first United States – Japan Conference on Composite Materials (1981) was planned at CCM by visitors from Japan. Professor Tsuyoshi Hayashi, NAE (deceased) of the University of Tokyo hosted the American delegation in Japan. Several members of the delegation were CCM faculty.

During the 1980’s, the interest in composite materials research and education grew substantially in Europe and Japan. CCM’s reputation had grown rapidly in these two regions of the world through the interactions described previously. In 1988, a celebration of the 350th anniversary Sweden’s first arrival to North America at Newcastle, DE, brought a Swedish delegation to the region and to CCM. Professor Jan Backlund (retired) of the Royal Institute of Technology and Dr. Leif Carlsson of Chalmers University, then affiliated with CCM.

First awarding of the Medal of Excellence in Composite Materials

The mid-1980’s was a period of growth and reassessment for CCM as the tenth anniversary approached. Plans were made for a Decennial Celebration and the CCM Medal of Excellence was inaugurated with four preeminent scholars in composites, deemed to represent global excellence in composites, chosen to have their likenesses appear on the medal. These individuals included Professor Tsuyoshi Hayashi, NAE (deceased) of the University of Tokyo, Vice Chancellor Anthony Kelley, NAE (deceased) of the University of Surrey, Professor Zvi Hashin, NAE (deceased) of Tel Aviv University, and Dr. Stephen Tsai, NAE of Stanford University. The medals were presented to the four scholars by the University of Delaware Board of Trustees Chair, Mr. Bruce Braden, at a formal dinner in celebration of CCM’s tenth anniversary in 1984. The CCM Medal of Excellence has been awarded to pioneers and innovators that have made significant contributions in the field of composite materials through leadership, scholarly endeavor, invention and/or economic enterprise over a sustained period of years. The medal celebrates excellence in visionary impact, novel theories, discovery of patented processes, and/or exceptional publications. Thirty-eight global scholars have received the CCM Medal of Excellence since 1984. All four of the CCM founders, Tsu-Wei Chou, Roy McCullough, R. Byron Pipes and Jack R. Vinson have received the CCM Medal of Excellence and their bio sketches may be found in the Medal of Excellence gallery.

This period also brought about a self-study to determine the technological barriers to the more widespread adoption of composites technology and the study called for a change in direction in CCM’s programs of research and education to embrace manufacturing science and engineering. At the same time the National Academy of Engineering undertook a study of engineering education in the United States, led by George M Low, former NASA executive and president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. The committee recommended that single investigator research programs be complemented by “convergent research, education, and technology translation at U.S. universities that will lead to strong societal impacts.” The National Science Foundation responded to the study by announcing the creation of the Engineering Research Centers (ERC) program under the leadership of NSF Director, Erich Bloch (formerly IBM) and Assistant Director for Engineering, Professor Nam Suh (MIT). The first six recipients of ERC awards included the University of Delaware’s CCM with the center title, National Center for Composites Manufacturing Science and Engineering and an initial three-year award of $6M ($18.1M 2024 dollars). The NSF ERC was organized around five thrust areas: Mechanics and Design Science, Manufacturing and Processing Science, Computation Software and Information Transfer, Materials Design and Materials Durability. The principal investigators for the proposal were Professors R. Byron Pipes, PI, with co-PIs: Roy L. McCullough, Tsu-Wei Chou, Selcuk Guceri, Arthur Metzner and Jerold Schultz.

NSF Director Eric Bloch (left) and Byron Pipes (right)

The Engineering Research Center award to CCM came in large part because CCM’s industrial consortium program had already put into practice many of the elements described in the ERC program call for proposals. While several of the other five recipients of ERC awards in the initial award year were just beginning the transformation to large integrated programs, the CCM was already well on its way. Furthermore, the NSF award in dollar value was a relatively small addition to the comprehensive program already in place at CCM. Another major development was the award of an Army Science Center of Excellence to CCM with the recognition that the U.S. Army composites research programs moving from Watertown, MA to Aberdeen, MD, just a short distance from the Delaware campus. As will be discussed later, this fortuitous move by the U.S. Army gave CCM the advantage of proximity in developing a long-term relationship with a major funding source for composites research and education.

Perhaps the greatest surprise to the CCM community after receiving award of the ERC in composites manufacturing was the lack of enthusiasm of the participating faculty in redirecting their research to manufacturing. However, the university responded by providing a new faculty position available in mechanical engineering with meeting this need as its primary goal and Professor Suresh Advani was chosen at the strong recommendation of his advisor, Professor Chuck Tucker of the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana. Another member of the technical staff, later to become CCM’s longest serving director, John W. Gillespie, Jr., joined with Professors Advani and Pipes to become the “tip of the spear” in driving composites manufacturing research at CCM in 1985.

The leadership of CCM in the position of Director has been held by multiple talented individuals. The inaugural director, Jack Vinson held the position, while also serving as chairman of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. R. Byron Pipes took the position upon Vinson’s sabbatical year in 1978 and held the position until he assumed the role of Dean of the College in 1985. Dick Wilkins, previously of General Dynamics Fort Worth (now Lockheed-Martin), took the position in 1986. Professor Roy L. McCullough served as acting director and then director until 1994. Professor Richard Wool of the University of Illinois – Champaign Urbana served during 1995-96. Next, the directorship was shared with Dr. Karl Steiner as Executive Director (who also served as Interim Director in 1994) and Professor Jack W. Gillespie, Jr. as Technical Director. Gillespie assumed the sole directorship in 2000, when Steiner transitioned to help launch the Delaware Biotechnology Institute.

Dr. Steiner also worked with Professor Advani to establish a major new program with the Office of Naval Research: The Advanced Materials Intelligent Processing Center, with a focus on automated liquid molding processes for multi-functional composites. This ONR-funded program at CCM remained active for more than a decade. Steiner also was instrumental in attracting the German Fraunhofer Society to establish one of its first US research labs – focused on lightweight metal foams – to Delaware.

John W. Gillespie, Jr.

While all those who have served as CCM Director have made contributions to its growth, there have only been two long-term directors of CCM over the past fifty years. Professor John W. Gillespie, Jr. was the longest serving of the two and his impact upon CCM has been both seminal and sustaining. The current eminence of CCM reflects CCM’s strong foundation in the integration of engineering sciences, the attraction of sustained research funding and the organizational structure developed earlier and during his period of leadership. Professor Gillespie was a part of CCM from its beginning. After completing his bachelor’s degree in 1976, he entered the graduate program and completed the Master of Science degree in 1978 and PhD in 1985. He joined the CCM engineering staff while pursuing his doctoral degree in 1981. Thus, he is the only person to have worked continuously within the CCM organization for a forty-seven-year period (1976- 2023).

Roy L. McCullough

Having described the evolution of the leadership of CCM, it seems appropriate to point out the exceptional role played by Roy L. McCullough over the life of the CCM. As one of the original founders, Roy brought his rich experiences at Boeing and Los Alamos National Laboratory to this new venture. It was Roy that saw the opportunity that the Rogers Corporation offered in developing a successful pathway to assist in transformation of an empirical technology to one based in science and in so doing, established a pattern for the delivery of composites knowledge to industry. Roy carefully mentored his graduate students to a “polished” state that provided them with individual recipes for success. One of his first students, Chuen-Tai Daniel Wu, successfully developed micromechanical models of the form of the classic Mori-Tanaka work to describe crystalline polymers. Another of his students, Professor James Seferis, has contributed to multiple polymer physics simulation models now adopted by investigators working with semi-crystalline polymers. Furthermore, it was the quiet way that Roy supported all the directors, including this author, to encourage them to fairness and integrity in times of difficult decision making that set him apart. Until his untimely death in 2001, he literally pored himself into the CCM enterprise.

Another major force in the development and evolution of CCM was Professor Tsu-Wei Chou, Pierre du Pont Chair of Engineering. While McCullough provided leadership in decision making and industry relationships, Professor Chou established the eminence of the CCM in scholarship. His continuous production of seminal, archival publications and the establishment of the Elsevier journal, Composites Science and Technology as the dominant journal in the field of composites established CCM as a global leader in composites scholarship. Furthermore, Chou’s early and continuous commitment to the study of nanocomposites has likely established him as the father of this important subject, where the nano scale is continuously connected to the micro and macro scales.

With the most recent director taking on CCM leadership in 2024, the latter topic of organizational structure has been discussed as a potential need for change. Indeed, the original organizational form of CCM was a faculty-driven, staff-support structure. All multi-disciplinary, university centers of excellence also require staff to conduct functions that the transient character of students and faculty prevent. However, it is also true that the character of organizations that provide financial support to the center also influenced its organizational structure.

As mentioned above, the move of the U.S. Army research in composites to Aberdeen, MD provided CCM with an opportunity to build a lasting relationship with this organization and, indeed, that is just what happened during the second and third decades of CCM’s history. However, this relationship brought with it an accelerated time frame for research results and applied research topics relevant to U.S. Army needs in armor and lightweighting. Thus, the CCM moved toward a staff-oriented structure with smaller numbers of affiliated faculty than before. Furthermore, the earlier commitment of research in composites manufacturing may also have been responsible for this organizational change since the subject of manufacturing has only recently emerged as a desirable research direction for faculty in engineering. This is not to say that CCM cannot succeed as a faculty driven organization, as it did in earlier times, but the nature of successful future faculty participants should be different from those who came before them. Furthermore, defense related research tends to narrow the population of faculty and students who are allowed to participate, given the limited population of citizens and permanent residents in the group. Thus, a return to a faculty-driven, staff- support structure will require the development of a diverse array of support organizations that represent industry and those federal agencies where composites technology is essential to meet societal needs.

The first twenty years set both the foundation and pathway to success for CCM and this pathway has been sustained during the three decades that have followed. The human talent that CCM developed over this period fed the growing composites industry with graduates who possessed the knowledge needed to grow this strategic global technology. While the count of graduates and visitor trainees over the first fifty years was not well documented, the number is measured in the multiples of thousands. One of those graduates, the longest serving director, completed all his graduate and professional education while a part of CCM. Thus, CCM also developed its longest serving leadership from among its own graduates. Finally, CCM has worked to meet the technological and personnel needs of the composites industry over the past fifty years and it has done so with remarkable success.