About Carl Koch

Delivering the inaugural Carl and Carolyn Distinguished Koch Lecture on November 4, 2022, in Engineering Building 1, Carl Koch presented the talk “From Metallurgical Engineering to Materials Science and Engineering: Lifelong Learning in a Changing Profession.” Koch’s talk described how materials science and engineering disciplines have evolved. He discussed the influence of materials on civilizations and shared his career as an example of the need for lifelong learning as an engineer.

Professor Koch received his Ph.D. in metallurgy from the Case Institute of Technology (now Case Western Reserve University) in 1964, and later a post-doctoral NSF Fellowship at Birmingham University, UK, until 1965. He joined Oak Ridge National Laboratory as a staff scientist in 1965. He was the group leader of the superconducting materials and later, the alloying behavior and design group before he joined the NC State University Department of Materials Science and Engineering as a professor in 1983. Named Kobe Steel Distinguished Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, he has made significant contributions to the understanding of mechanical alloying for preparing amorphous and nanostructured alloys. His research studies high-entropy alloys, and he has published over 360 papers and edited seven books. He has achieved the rank of Fellow in five professional societies, including the Minerals, Metals and Materials Society (membership limited to 100 living Fellows), Materials Research Society, American Physical Society, ASM International, and American Association for the Advancement of Science. He was elected to the US National Academy of Engineering in 2013.

5th Annual Koch Lecture:
Oct. 23, 2026

Past Presenters