About the Symposium

The Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign will host a special Memorial Symposium in honor of Professor Scott White, a visionary researcher in the area of composite materials who was instrumental in creating the field of self-healing materials. The Scott White Memorial Symposium will be integrated with the 2018 Annual Grantees’/Contractors’ Meeting of the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) Program on Mechanics of Multifunctional Materials & Microsystems (M4) which supported Scott’s research work for more than twenty years. To the AFOSR M4 community, Scott acted as an inspirational leader and role model. The Scott White Memorial Symposium will start with six topic introductions, twelve invited lectures and one of two keynote presentations that reflect the research areas triggered or strongly influenced by Scott’s many contributions to the field. Subsequently, there will be 48 talks about ongoing research projects in the AFOSR M4 program.

Scott was the Donald B. Willett Professor in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He was born in Kansas City, Mo., grew up in Harrisonville, Mo., and attended the Missouri Institute of Science and Technology to obtain his undergraduate education. He earned the M.S. in mechanical engineering from Washington University in St. Louis and the Ph.D. in engineering science from Pennsylvania State University. He joined the faculty of the University of Illinois in 1990. Scott established the Autonomous Materials System group at the Beckman Institute, bringing together students and faculty from a range of disciplines to develop new materials with biologically inspired functions. He was an inspiring mentor, teacher and friend for the many students and faculty he worked with. Through his own example of hard work and determination, he was able to inspire us to set the bar higher, look for the next big discovery or run that extra mile. His internationally recognized research had significant impact in both the academic community and commercial sector.

The Scott White Memorial Symposium will be August 13-14, 2018.

The AFOSR M4 Annual Meeting will be August 14-16, 2018.