The Belfort-Montbéliard University of Technology (UTBM) community is celebrating a major scientific honor. Hanlin Liao, a professor at UTBM and researcher at the ICB-LERMPS laboratory, has just been inducted into the highly prestigious Thermal Spray Society Hall of Fame.
Awarded to only 78 experts worldwide since its inception, this distinction honors individuals who have made an exceptional contribution to science, technology, education, and the advancement of thermal imaging.
To date, only five French figures have been included in this very exclusive circle: Pierre Fauchais, Lech Pawlowski, Christian Coddet, Armelle Vardelle and Michel Jeandin.
Founded in 1993 by the Thermal Spray Society, a division of ASM International, this Hall of Fame represents one of the highest honors in the field of materials science. The award was presented to Hanlin Liao at theInternational Thermal Spray Conference, a major event for the international scientific community.
Hanlin Liao arrived at UTBM in 1991 to work on his dissertation, which he defended in 1994, and has been a university professor since 2004.
His scientific contributions are considerable:
He is currently ranked among the top 2% of the world’s most influential researchers in materials science (Stanford ranking) and is one of the 50 most-cited French researchers in this field.
Thermal spraying encompasses a range of processes used to modify and improve the surface properties of materials. It is used in particular for:
These technologies are essential in critical sectors such as aerospace, gas turbines, and the medical field.
Invented in the early 20th century by the Swiss engineer Max Ulrich Schoop, thermal spraying is now a market estimated at 20 billion euros annually.
At the intersection of process engineering, materials science, robotics, physics, and chemistry, this field has been developed at UTBM since 1986 at the Sevenans campus, fully illustrating the impact and excellence of the research conducted at the institution.
Congratulations to Hanlin Liao on this major international recognition.
