Biography

Don Morelli received his BS and PhD degrees in physics from the University of Michigan in 1981 and 1985, respectively. He joined General Motors Research Laboratories as a Senior Research Scientist in 1985 and moved to Delphi Corporation Research Labs in 1999, where he is currently a Staff Research Scientist in the nanomaterials group. Don received two GM Campbell Awards (1992 and 1997) for fundamental scientific research, the International Thermal Conductivity Conferences Fellowship Award (1993), the Delphi Scientific Excellence Award (2004), and was elected Fellow of the American Physical Society (2005). He has published over eighty scientific papers, coauthored four book chapters, and received eleven U.S. patents. His research has spanned a variety of topics, including: semimetals, conducting polymers, high temperature superconductors, wide and narrow band gap semiconductors, thermoelectric materials, and magnetics. His current interests include new semiconductors for energy conversion and high thermal conductivity materials for thermal management.

Statement

Science not only helps us understand the world around us, it also enriches enormously the human experience, and ultimately, it makes our everyday lives better. Scientists working in industrial and applied physics are particularly committed to the last of these endeavors. Having spent twenty years of my life working as a physicist in industry, I have seen first-hand the steady de-emphasis of fundamental science in industrial research laboratories. This evolution has created increased need for interaction and collaboration between industry and the academic and government research sectors. It is imperative in my view that FIAP continue to foster and strengthen these partnerships, both for traditional large-scale corporate research entities as well as for non-traditional smaller and start-up businesses. Finally, the future of FIAP, and indeed the APS itself, depends on young scientists: we must engage them, reach out to them, and help guide them along their career paths.