Thermal Physics: Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics for Scientists and Engineers

Robert Floyd Sekerka is University Professor Emeritus, Physics and Mathematics, Carnegie Mellon University. He received his bachelor’s degree summa cum laude in physics from the University of Pittsburgh in 1960 and his AM (1961) and PhD (1965) degrees from Harvard University where he was a Woodrow Wilson Fellow. He worked as a senior engineer at Westinghouse Research Laboratories until 1969 when he joined the faculty of Carnegie Mellon in the Materials Science and Engineering Department; he was promoted to Professor in 1972 and was Department Head from 1976–82. He served as Dean of the Mellon College of Science from 1982 through 1991. Subsequently he was named University Professor of Physics and Mathematics with a courtesy appointment in Materials Science and Engineering. He retired in 2011 but continues to do scientific research and writing. He is a Fellow of the American Society for Metals, the American Physical Society, and the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science, and he has been a consultant to NIST for over forty years. Honors include the Phillip M. McKenna Award, the Frank Prize of the International Organization for Crystal Growth (President for six years) and the Bruce Chalmers Award of TMS. Please see http://sekerkaweb.phys.cmu.edu for further information and publications.