Joseph R. Michael
Dr. Joseph R. Michael is a Distinguished Member of the Technical Staff at the Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, NM. He currently works in the Materials Characterization Department of the Materials Science Center where he develops and applies electron and ion microscopy techniques to the characterization of materials.
Joe has worked in many diverse areas of microscopy and microanalysis including analytical electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and focused ion beam applications. Joe has been very involved in the development and application of electron backscatter diffraction in the SEM and received an R&D 100 Award for this work. He also has worked extensively in the application of focused ion beam tools. Most recently he served as Principal Investigator for the elemental characterization of materials from the anthrax letter attacks.
Prior to 1990, Joe worked at the Homer Research Laboratories of the Bethlehem Steel Corporation where he as a senior metallurgical engineer. He employed high-resolution analytical electron microscopy and used this technique to help develop new grades of high-strength low-alloy steels. Joe is a graduate of Lehigh University where he earned his BS, MS, and Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering.
Joe has been active in various fields of microscopy and has published over 100 papers in this area and has two patents. He has also authored many book chapters and is a co-author of the leading textbook on scanning electron microscopy. Joe has received many awards during his career including the Microbeam Analysis Society Heinrich Award and Service Award, as well as the Microscopy Society of America Burton Medal. He has also received awards from ASM, the International Center for Diffraction Data, and the American Welding Society. Joe has served as President and Director of the Microbeam Analysis Society.