ASTM International Committee E08 on Fatigue and Fracture has honored Jerry Petrak, assistant chief of the Metals, Ceramics and NDE Division, Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, at the Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, with the Edward T. Wessel Award.  Established in 2000, the award recognizes individuals who have displayed exceptional leadership in the development of standards based on fatigue and fracture technology.

Petrak, who joined ASTM International in 1973, is an active member of Committee E08, where he serves as vice chairman of long-range planning.  He received the ASTM Award of Merit and accompanying title of fellow from the committee in 2001.

A graduate of the University of Dayton, Dayton, Ohio, where he received both a B.S. in mechanical engineering and an M.S. in engineering, Petrak began his career at the University of Dayton Research Institute as an assistant research engineer in 1965.  He joined the U.S. Air Force in 1979 as a civilian engineer in the Systems Support Division of the Air Force Materials Laboratory (AFML) and moved to the Metals and Ceramics Division in 1988.  He then became branch chief of the Ceramics and Life Prediction Branch before assuming his current position in 1998. 

Petrak's career has included a concentration on fracture test techniques, and he has conducted many studies of damage tolerance properties of materials.  He has worked on durability and damage tolerance issues related to the B-1 bomber, the C-5A and C-135 cargo planes, and other systems such as the space shuttle. 

Release #7887