The Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3) awarded the 2016 John Hunt Medal to Arts & Sciences Distinguished Professor Alain Karma.
Alain’s insight into statistical and nonlinear physics has allowed him to solve some of the major problems of the development of solidification microstructures. He has also substantially contributed to the development of mathematical techniques for this kind of highly non-linear problems and specifically to the foundations of the today much used phase field method. Over three decades, Alain has produced many results of the highest standard, allowing the modelling and quantitative understanding of many complex metallurgical phenomena. His most important contributions to the field of solidification are on: (i) undercooled and constrained dendritic growth, (ii) eutectic growth and its limits of stability, (iii) fragmentation of dendrites and grain refinement in rapidly solidified melts, (iv) grain and spacing selection, (v) oscillatory interface instabilities (bands), (vi) thermal fluctuations, (vii) peritectic solidification (viii) late stage solidification phenomena such as coalescence, and (ix) fundamental properties of the solid-liquid interface (interface energy and its anisotropy, attachment kinetics). In recent years he has also contributed to multi scale modelling, combining atomistics with phase field methods. These are truly outstanding contributions to the fields of crystal growth, solidification processing, casting and welding; all topics of John Hunt’s research. (In parallel Alain is also highly successful in modelling of cardiac arrhythmias). The quality and relevance of Alain’s work has had, and is going to have, a significant and lasting impact on the development of the important field of solidification, crystallization and phase transformations.
