Alan Neville Gent
Alan Neville Gent (11 November 1927 – 20 September 2012) was an English scientist who contributed to understanding adhesion physics, and fracture of rubbery, crystalline and glassy polymers.[2][3]
Alan Neville Gent | |
|---|---|
| Born | 11 November 1927 United Kingdom |
| Died | 20 September 2012 (aged 84) United States |
| Nationality | British-American |
| Alma mater | University of London |
| Known for | Adhesion, Rubber |
| Awards | Bingham Medal (1975) Charles Goodyear Medal (1990) Colwyn medal [1] (1977) Whitby Award (1987) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Polymer Science |
| Institutions | BRPRA, University of Akron |
Contributions to Rubber Science
- Discoverer of the Fletcher-Gent effect
- Originator of the Gent hyperelastic model
- Investigated the O-ring failure in the space shuttle Challenger disaster.
- Editor/author of the textbook Engineering with Rubber[4]
- Studied the conditions that cause cavitation in rubber under the action of hydrostatic tensile loading [5]
Life
He was born in Leicester, England. He earned degrees in physics and math at the University of London, finally receiving a doctorate there in 1955 on the mechanics of deformation and fracture of rubber and plastics.
At age 17, he worked as a research assistant at the John Bull Rubber Co. He served in the British Army from 1947-49. He then became a research physicist and later a principal physicist at the British Rubber Producer's Research Association.
Gent joined the faculty of the University of Akron in 1961, spending nearly a half century at the school.
Gent had been assistant director of the Institute of Polymer Science, dean of graduate studies and research, as well as a researcher and professor.
Gent received the Charles Goodyear Medal from the ACS Rubber Division in 1990, and also the George S. Whitby teaching award. Among a number of other honors he received was the Colwyn Medal of the Plastics and Rubber Institute in 1978. He received the 1975 Bingham Medal.
He died 20 September 2012 at the age of 85.
External links
- photograph of Prof. Gent
- 1979 Interview with Alan Gent
- Prof. Gent starred in this University of Akron production of The Adventures of Mr. Tompkins
References
- "Colwyn Medal award winners". iom3. IOM3. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
- Directory of Graduate Research 1963 p2 "ALAN NEVILLE GENT, Professor (b. 1927). B.Sc, 1946, Ph.D., 1955, Univ. of London. Polymer Physics. Mechanics of rubber spring systems; viscoelastic behavior of polymers; stress relaxation; failure processes; crystallization. A. N. Gent ..."
- "Dr. Alan Neville Gent Obituary: View Alan Gent's Obituary by Akron Beacon Journal". Legacy.com. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
- Gent, Alan (2012). Engineering with Rubber. Hanser. ISBN 978-1-56990-508-1.
- Gent, Alan N. (1990). "Cavitation in Rubber: A Cautionary Tale". Rubber Chemistry and Technology. 63 (3): 49–53. doi:10.5254/1.3538266.
- (2012) REMEMBERING PROF. ALAN NEVILLE GENT. Rubber Chemistry and Technology: December 2012, Vol. 85, No. 4, pp. 669–670.
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