Morris Cohen: From Metallurgy to Materials
Morris Cohen, Institute Professor Emeritus, passed away May 27, 2005, at his home in Swampscott, Mass. Born in Chelsea, Mass., Morris’ long association with MIT began as a freshman in the fall of 1929. He earned the S.B. in Metallurgy in 1933 and the Sc.D. in Metallurgy in 1936 and was appointed an Instructor in the Department of Metallurgy that year. He became full professor in 1946, was named Ford Professor of Metallurgy in 1962, and was recognized across MIT by promotion to Institute Professor in 1975.
Morris’ doctoral thesis on “Aging Phenomena in Silver-Copper Alloys” was carried out under the noted metal physicist, Prof. John T. Norton. His early work focused on improving the strength and toughness of metals and was soon connected to the war effort. During World War II, as Associate Director of the Manhattan Project at MIT, Morris helped develop processes to convert uranium powder into solid pieces of uranium metal. These castings were used for the famous “pile” built in Chicago. Cohen’s work on forging and rolling of this newly investigated metal contributed to the programs at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, the Oak Ridge facilities in Tennessee, and the Hanford site in Washington. During the war, Morris also helped develop non-magnetic steel that could be used as armor plate on the bridge of ships and in locations near compasses in other military transport craft. Related to his war work was an investigation to understand the dimensional stability of metals after manufacture, as a function of storage time and temperature, of significant importance to the interchangeability and close tolerances required of ordnance equipment.
After the war, Morris worked with his students to understand how heat treatment hardens and toughens tool and structural steels. He focused on investigating the fundamentals of the Martensitic transformation in steel and how this phase transformation improves steel’s mechanical properties. Self diffusion and interdiffusion studies led to studies of microstructural changes during tempering of iron alloys. From the 1950s to the 1970s, this work created a much more basic knowledge of how to strengthen steel and made practical today’s ultra-high-strength steels. Morris' many contributions to the mechanisms and kinetics of the Martensite transformation, tempering phenomena, strengthening mechanisms, age hardening of alloys, strain induced transformations, and rapid solidification of alloys were major milestones in the emerging field of materials science.
Cohen served as ASM President and was awarded ASM's Howe Medal in 1945 and 1949. In addition to his leadership in metals research, Morris acted as a major leader in the new field of materials science and engineering, serving as the co-chair of the National Academy COSMAT Study (Committee on the Survey of Materials Science and Engineering), “Materials and Man’s Needs.” This report, known as the “Cohen Report,” influenced national policy on materials education and research.
Morris’ extensive national service included advisory roles to the National Academy of Sciences, National Science Foundation, NASA, and the National Academy of Engineering. He published some 300 research papers and supervised more than 150 graduate and postdoctoral students. In recognition of his fundamental work on metals and their industrial applications, Morris received the National Medal of Science from President Carter in 1977 and, in 1987, Morris won the Kyoto Prize in Advanced Technology.
Morris’ scientific vision and dedication to the field of materials science and engineering, along with his warm and gracious nature, will be deeply missed. He is survived by his son Joel, many grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and a large extended family.
In November 2005, over 150 friends, students, colleagues, and members of the Cohen family gathered to celebrate the life and contributions of this remarkable man. Prof. Ned Thomas hosted the event, which included Joel Cohen’s reminiscences of family life in and around MIT. Rabbi Jonas Goldberg of Temple Sinai in Marblehead spoke of Prof. Cohen’s deep commitment to his religious community. Other tributes were provided by Prof. Mert Flemings, Andrew Kulin, and Greg Olson (through a letter read by his daughter Elise). It was especially touching that Marge Meyer, Prof. Cohen’s assistant for more than four decades, flew in from Florida that morning and spoke of the dedication he felt to his students, so many of whom were in attendance.