Clarkson University Professors Daryush K. Aidun and Daniel T. Valentine and alumnus Alireza Bahrami recently received the McKay-Helm Award from the American Welding Society for their research paper “Interaction of Gravity Forces in Spot GTA Weld Pool.”

The award is presented for the best contribution to the advancement of knowledge relative to the welding of low alloy steels, stainless steels, or the application of surfacing weld metals as represented in articles published in the Research Supplement of the Welding Journal during the previous calendar year.

“Clarkson is the only active university in New York State that teaches and does research in welding metallurgy,” says Aidun. "The university is well known in the area of fluid flow, heat and mass transfer in weld pool of similar and dissimilar welds.”

The paper was part of Bahrami’s Ph.D. thesis.

Aidun, who was the chair of the mechanical and aeronautical engineering department for ten years, is currently a professor of materials science and engineering at Clarkson.

Valentine is the current chair of the department, in addition to serving as affiliate director of the Clarkson Space Grant Program, which is part of the New York NASA Space Grant Consortium.