Albert Sauveur (21 June 1863 – 26 January 1939) was a Belgian-born American

metallurgist Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys. Metallurgy encompasses both the sc ...

. He founded the first metallographic laboratory in a university. Sauveur was born in

Leuven Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the historic ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. He studied at the Athénée Royal in Brussels, then the School of Mines,

Liège Liège ( , , ; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is a major city and municipality of Wallonia and the capital of the Belgian province of Liège. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east of Belgium, not far from b ...

and graduated at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

in 1889. He remained in the United States thereafter, becoming a Professor of Metallurgy in 1905. After several years working in industry, where he pioneered the use of microscopes to study the internal structure of steel, Sauveur joined

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

as a Instructor in Metallurgy, becoming Professor of Metallurgy in 1905. From 1924 to 1939, he held the ''Gordon McKay Professor of Mining and Metallurgy'' title at the university. From 1939 on,

ASM International ASM International is a Dutch headquartered multinational corporation that specializes in design, manufacturing, sales and service of semiconductor wafer processing equipment for the fabrication of semiconductor devices. ASM's products are use ...

started bestowing the ''Albert Sauveur Achievement Award'', for achievements in materials science and engineering. He was a member of the US

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

, the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...

, the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

and the

Iron and Steel Institute The Iron and Steel Institute was an English association organized by the iron trade of the north of England. Its object was the discussion of practical and scientific questions connected with the manufacture of iron and steel. History The first mee ...

of Great Britain, the Iron and Steel Institute of America. He was awarded the

Elliott Cresson Medal The Elliott Cresson Medal, also known as the Elliott Cresson Gold Medal, was the highest award given by the Franklin Institute. The award was established by Elliott Cresson, life member of the Franklin Institute, with $1,000 granted in 1848. The ...

in 1913 and the

Franklin Medal The Franklin Medal was a science award presented from 1915 until 1997 by the Franklin Institute located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. It was founded in 1914 by Samuel Insull Samuel Insull (November 11, 1859 – July 16, 1938) was a Bri ...

in 1939, both from

The Franklin Institute The Franklin Institute is a science museum and the center of science education and research in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is named after the American scientist and statesman Benjamin Franklin. It houses the Benjamin Franklin National Memoria ...

and the

Bessemer Gold Medal The Bessemer Gold Medal is awarded annually by the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3) "for outstanding services to the steel industry, to the inventor or designer of any significant innovation in the process employed in the manufact ...

of the British Iron and Steel Institute in 1924. He died in Boston, Massachusetts in 1939, survived by his wife and 2 daughters.

Works

* "Microstructure of Steel" presented to the American Institute of Mining Engineers at the Engineering Congress of Chicago (1893). * "Microstructure of Steel and the Current Theories of Hardening" Transactions of The American Institute of Mining Engineers (1896) * "Metallographist" a quarterly publication (1898-1905) * "Metallography and Heat Treatment of Iron and Steel" (1912) * "Metallurgical Dialogue" copyrighted in 1935 by Albert Sauveur and published by the American Society for Metals. * "Metallurgical Reminiscences" copyrighted in 1937 by the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers. * Both works were later reproduced in "Metallurgical Reminiscences And Dialogue" copyrighted in 1981 by the American Society for Metals.(Library of Congress Catalog Card no. :81-70044 .)

References

1863 births 1939 deaths Scientists from Leuven American metallurgists Belgian emigrants to the United States Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni Harvard University faculty Bessemer Gold Medal Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Members of the American Philosophical Society {{physicist-stub