Alan D. Roberts is a Tun Abdul Razak Research Centre (TARRC) scientist noted for his contributions to understanding contact phenomena in elastomers, and in particular the JKR equation.[2]

Alan D. Roberts
Alma materUniversity of Cambridge
AwardsCharles Goodyear Medal (2014)[1]
Scientific career
FieldsContact mechanics
InstitutionsTun Abdul Razak Research Centre
Doctoral advisorDavid Tabor

Education

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Roberts completed his Doctor of Philosophy degree in 1968,[3] having worked in the Cavendish laboratory at the University of Cambridge, under the supervision of tribologist David Tabor.

Career

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His 1971 paper[2] with Kevin Kendall and Kenneth L. Johnson forms the basis of modern theories of contact mechanics.[4]

In 1974, Roberts was recruited to the Applied Physics Group at the Malaysian Rubber Producers' Research Association (MRPRA) by Alan G. Thomas. He researched the sliding friction of rubber on wet surfaces and on ice, the effects of pH and salt concentration, and other effects.

In 1983, he was promoted to Assistant Director of MRPRA, and the following year to Deputy Director.

Awards

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Roberts received the 1998 Lavoisier Medal of the French Society of the Chemical Industry, and in 2014 he received the Charles Goodyear Medal of the Rubber Division of the American Chemical Society.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Alan D. Roberts: 2014 Charles Goodyear Medalist". Rubber Chemistry and Technology. 87 (3): G2–G3. 2014. doi:10.5254/rct.14.bio8703.
  2. ^ a b Johnson, K. L.; Kendall, K.; Roberts, A. D. (1971). "Surface Energy and the Contact of Elastic Solids". Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences. 324 (1558): 301. Bibcode:1971RSPSA.324..301J. doi:10.1098/rspa.1971.0141.
  3. ^ "ORAL HISTORY INTERVIEWS". rubber.org. ACS Rubber Division. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
  4. ^ Ciavarella, M.; Joe, J.; Papangelo, A.; Barber, J. R. (2019-02-28). "The role of adhesion in contact mechanics". Journal of the Royal Society Interface. 16 (151): 20180738. doi:10.1098/rsif.2018.0738. PMC 6408355. PMID 30958203.