Alexandria, Va. – The 2008 Wilmer Souder Award is being presented to Dr. Miroslav Marek from the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. The International Association for Dental Research (IADR) will present the award at its 86th General Session & Exhibition in Toronto, ON, Canada on July 2, 2008. Born in Prague, Czech Republic, Dr. Marek received his M.S. from the Czech Technical University, followed by a Ph.D. in Metallurgy from the Georgia Institute of Technology, where, recently retired, Dr. Marek served as Professor and Associate Director of the School of Materials Engineering.
Dr. Marek is being recognized for a long and distinguished career in the corrosion research of medical and dental metals, with extensive publications. He has made exceptional contributions to corrosion science and standardization, including restoratives, implants, stainless steels, titanium alloys, metal-ion release from materials, and mercury release from dental amalgam. Dr. Marek was the first to show that mercury is released from dental amalgam as a dissolution process, as well as a corrosion phenomenon. He has had influence on establishing the need to elucidate the corrosion mechanisms of dental metals to promote their biocompatible use. Dr. Marek has given extensive service in advisory peer review committees for The National Institutes of Health (NIH) and has made editorial contributions to six journals, including Corrosion Science and Dental Materials.
Supported by the William T. Sweeney Memorial Fund and the IADR Dental Materials Group, this is the oldest of the 16 IADR Distinguished Scientist Awards and consists of a cash prize and a plaque. The award honors Dr. Wilmer Souder, the motivating force in establishing the Dental Section at the National Bureau of Standards (now the National Institute of Standards and Technology), and is designed to encourage interest in dental materials research. It is one of the highest honors bestowed by the IADR.
About the International Association for Dental Research
The International Association for Dental Research (IADR) is a non-profit organization with more than 10,500 individual members worldwide, dedicated to: (1) advancing research and increasing knowledge to improve oral health, (2) supporting the oral health research community, and (3) facilitating the communication and application of research findings for the improvement of oral health worldwide.
To learn more about the IADR, visit www.iadr.org .