An Explorer of Life

Teaching, pushing through to new discoveries, traveling the globe, and advocating for every individual’s rights-whatever his pursuit, passion reigns for Keith Bowman, professor of materials engineering. And it’s infectious.

As he gobbles up life, ever exploring new ideas, interests, and places, he makes apostles of students, peers, and international collaborators. No wonder the recognitions, renown, and respect keep rolling in-the latest being the 2007 College of Engineering Mentoring Excellence Award.

In the classroom, he transforms abstract to interesting with Silly Putty, a Slinky, or pillow foam. “My goal is to make it worthwhile for the student to be there, and for me, too,” Bowman says. “I definitely engage students a lot in class.”

As a pioneering researcher in areas such as property anisotropy in ceramics and texture and microstructure effects on properties, “I look to do things where people haven’t worked.” Currently, that’s in applications for ultrasound, speakers, microphones, sensors, and similar items. As a mentor to nearly 40 graduate students so far, Bowman is known as guide, not dictator, hosting weekly student presentations and discussions. “He gives us a lot of freedom, allows us to make mistakes, and is very patient and supportive,” says graduate student Hsin-Yu Li. And as chair of the College of Engineering Diversity Action Committee and co-investigator on a National Science Foundation-funded project on gender equity, Bowman champions the full meaning of the term “diversity.” Growing up in the suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio, Bowman’s childhood was like a village in Europe, he says, with cousins frequently dropping by.

He headed to Case Western Reserve University for undergraduate and master’s degrees, then the University of Michigan for his doctorate, earned in 1987. He said “yes” to Purdue in 1988, but that didn’t keep him stateside. He’s given talks in 16 countries, maintains long-standing collaborations with researchers outside the United States, and has been a visiting professor three times, twice at Germany’s Technical University of Darmstadt and once at Australia’s University of New South Wales.

“Directional property of materials is a topic where there’s more activity outside the U.S., so I travel a lot,” Bowman says. “Because of the topics I work in, I’m probably better known in Europe than the U.S.”

Of all Bowman’s personal interests, which over the years have included tennis, radio station music programming, mountain biking, canoeing, camping, and garden design, today’s favorites are travel and photography.

He loves cities-Chicago, where he owns a condo on Lake Shore Drive-and Sydney, Berlin, Montreal, London, Beijing, Seoul, and Bangkok, among others. “They’re amazing. I’ve had great experiences.” For remote natural beauty, one that took his breath away was Foz do Iguacu, also known as Iguassu Falls, on the Paraguay, Argentina, and Brazil border. “It makes Niagara Falls look very insignificant,” he says. Another was an underground coal mine near Kebnekaise, the tallest mountain in Sweden. “I’m pretty comfortable away from home,” he says. “I have a lot of friends elsewhere in the world. I try to meet up with people whenever I can.”

- Kathy Mayer