by Teh K.
The proudest moment in my career was when,
in 1987, I received the much-coveted Loktek Medallion Award “in recognition of my exceptional contribution
to the advancement of technology at Lockheed.” For this award, I also had
the honor to give a presentation at the Washington Press Club, in Washington,
D.C., at the Lockheed Technology Symposium IX on October 27, 1987, “Electrically Conducting Plastics – New Materials
from Aerospace Research.”
At that time, my team was in collaboration
with an academic group from the University of Pennsylvania, led by the late
Professor Alan G. MacDiarmid. Professor MacDiarmid won a DARPA grant to research
the electrical conductivity of plastics, called polyanilines. My team at
Lockheed explored the potential applications of these materials for aerospace
defense needs. In 2000, nearly 13 years after my Loktek Medallion Award,
Professor MacDiarmid was chosen one of the winners of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry
by Norway for his pioneering work on conducting plastics. He passed away in
2007. I am forever grateful to have this once-in-lifetime opportunity to stand
on his giant shoulders.
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| Here I am checking the electrical conductivity of a Lockheed-developed plastic. |
