Reza Abbaschian received his Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley in 1971. Prior to joining UC Riverside in 2005 as Dean of Engineering and Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering, he was Chairman of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Florida. He has also held the positions of Chairman and Professor at the Pahlavi University in Shiraz, Iran, Visiting Associate Professor at the University of Illinois and Visiting Scientist at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr. Abbaschian has more than 230 scientific publications, four patents and eight books. He is a Fellow and the President of ASM International, the largest materials society in the world.