Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers (AIME) in 1971. He received the Hume-Rothery Award from TMS in 1974 and the Albert Sauveur Award from ASM in 1976. In 1979, he received the Heyn Memorial Award from the German Metallurgical Society and an honorary degree from Montanuniversitaet Leoben.

In 1978–1979, Paul worked in Munich and Berlin, after receiving a Humboldt Senior Scientist Award. In 1991, he received an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Science from the University of Illinois, a rare honor, particularly for a faculty member. During Paul’s professional career he served on numerous committees for the Institute of Metals Division of AIME, The American Society for Metals and the American Society for Testing Materials. During his career, he published more than 170 technical papers in scientific journals.

As a young academic, Paul often visited the laboratory of Cyril Stanley Smith, director of the Institute for the Study of Metals at the University of Chicago. On one of these visits, he met Lillian who was working in the laboratory. The couple later married and had two sons, Paul John Beck and Philip Odon Beck. Paul is survived by both sons and five grandchildren.