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J O S E P H A . PA S K
1913–2003
Elected in 1975
“For contributions to the technical literature and to the development of
modern science and technology of non-metallic materials.”
BY DOUGLAS W. FUERSTENAU
J OSEPH ADAM PASK, emeritus professor of ceramic
engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, died
peacefully in his sleep on June 14, 2003, at the Brentwood
residence of a home health care nurse. He had been moved
there from his home in Berkeley a week earlier after his wife of
65 years, Margaret, suffered a heart attack.
Pask was born February 14, 1913, in Chicago to Adam and
Catherine Poskoczem. After changing his name to Pask at the
suggestion of a high school teacher, he entered the University of
Illinois, where he received a B.S. degree in ceramic engineering
in 1934. He obtained a master’s degree in 1935 from the
University of Washington and completed a Ph.D. in ceramic
engineering at the University of Illinois in 1941. From 1941 to
1943 he served as an assistant professor in ceramic engineering
at the University of Washington, where he broadened his
research experience through a concurrent appointment as
associate engineer in the Northwest Experiment Station of the
U.S. Bureau of Mines. There he furthered his interest in clays
and their properties as a ceramic raw material. Subsequently,
he obtained valuable industrial experience and a reputation
for research achievement as a research ceramist and research
section engineer in the Lamp Division of Westinghouse
Electric Corporation, in Bloomfield, New Jersey, which led
221
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222 MEMORIAL TRIBUTES
to a lifelong interest in glass-metal seals. In 1948 he accepted
an appointment as associate professor of ceramic engineering
at the University of California at Berkeley, with the daunting
assignment of initiating a graduate program in the field of
ceramic engineering, a task he carried out with distinction.
By 1954, Pask had developed an impressive teaching and
research program and had been promoted to professor. He
was then authorized to recruit two junior faculty members.
Within a few years the program, under his leadership, had
grown to have an enrollment of more than 20 graduate
students and postdoctoral researchers, and an upper-division
major in ceramic engineering was instituted. The ceramics
programs, which continued under Pask’s benevolent and
effective leadership until the time of his retirement in 1980,
were remarkably successful. More than 40 graduate students
and postgraduate researchers from the program rose to
tenured positions at major universities throughout the world.
Pask directed the research of 39 master’s and 31 Ph.D. students.
With only 3 faculty members, ceramic science and engineering
at Berkeley attained a level of professional regard comparable
to that of elite graduate programs that were staffed by more
than 20 faculty.
During his years at Berkeley, Joe Pask was considered one of
the leading professionals in the United States, and worldwide,
in ceramic science and engineering, with a definite orientation
toward ceramic processing. Over the years he was a strong
proponent of the need for ceramic processing research in
order to produce more reliable ceramic products. He helped
organize and served on numerous National Research Council
committees and panels on ceramic processing, particularly
emphasizing the need for research directed at producing more
reliable ceramic bodies. Early on, with several of his graduate
students, he made significant contributions to clay mineralogy
and the behavior of clay suspensions with regard to ceramics.
He had a long-term interest in phenomena involved in
producing glass-metal bonds, which started from his years
in research at Westinghouse. He is well known for his many
studies on mullite ceramics (a dense alumina-silica compound
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J O S E P H A . PA S K 223
used in engines, turbines, and energy conversion systems) and
was one of the world’s leading experts on this material. With
many of his graduate students, he investigated interfacial
phenomena involved in ceramic processing systems. Over his
career he made more than 200 contributions to archival journals
and conference proceedings and authored or edited 8 books
in the field, including the important Ceramic Microstructures
Conference series proceedings, which served as a benchmark of
progress in ceramics and identified new frontiers for research.
The Ceramic Microstructure Conferences were held in Berkeley
at the University of California. The various proceedings were
published by a number of different publishers.
Pask served his department (first known as the Department
of Mineral Technology, followed by a name change to the
Department of Materials Science and Engineering in 1969) one
year as vice chairman, followed by three years as chairman
from 1958 to 1961. It is noteworthy that he filled that often
vexing role with unruffled good humor while simultaneously
maintaining his momentum in research and serving as
associate dean of engineering in charge of the graduate office,
a responsibility he discharged from 1969 until his nominal
retirement in 1980. After that date he continued to arrive at
his office every normal workday, in term and out, to pursue
research and provide advice solicited by students and a stream
of visiting professionals. He was well into his 80s before his
defective knees forced him to abandon his routine of walking
his downhill mile in the morning, to be picked up by his wife
in the evening.
In addition to election to the National Academy of Engineering,
Joe Pask was an honorary member of the Ceramic Society of
Japan, a charter member of the International Academy of
Ceramics, and a fellow of the American Association for the
Advancement of Science. The awards that he probably treasured
most were the Berkeley Citation awarded at his retirement
and the Distinguished Life Membership and the Jeppson
Award of the American Ceramic Society. The Distinguished
Life Membership is the highest honor of the American
Ceramic Society and recognizes lifelong achievement and
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224 MEMORIAL TRIBUTES
contributions to the society. The Jeppson Award recognizes
distinguished scientific, technical, or engineering achievements
in ceramics. In addition to the American Ceramic Society, he
was exceptionally active in other professional societies and on
National Research Council committees and panels related to
ceramic materials. He was not only a member of the ceramic
society of several different foreign countries but also a member
of the American Mineralogical Society, the Clay Minerals
Society, and the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical,
and Petroleum Engineers, among others.
The first stop for Japanese junior and senior scientists en
route to an American Ceramic Society meeting was, for many
years, Berkeley, where Joe and his wife Margaret welcomed
them into their home. There the fog always seemed to lift in
time to provide a spectacular view of the bay, San Francisco,
and the Golden Gate Bridge. In this way, the Pasks played
a significant role in fostering early collaboration between
Japanese and American ceramic researchers. Joe and Margaret
were devoted members and seemingly tireless servants of the
Berkeley campus and the society.
Margaret Pask died in February 2005. She and Joe are
survived by their son Tom, daughter Kathryn Pask Hruby,
three grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.
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