Aziz Gets Tenure Bid In Applied Sciences

In an internal appointment that may indicate a growing trend in the Division of Applied Sciences, Associate Professor of Materials Science Michael J. Aziz has been offered tenure, he said Friday.

Aziz, a pioneer in phase transformation kinetics and an avid windsurfer, said he received the offer on September 22, and will make his decision within the next few weeks.

"We're well into the negotiating at this point," he said.

The division has tenured at least five of its junior faculty within the past several years, including McKay Professor of Applied Physics Eric Mazur, McKay Professor of Applied Mechanics John W. Hutchinson and McKay Professor of Applied Physics Frans A. Spaepen.

Mallinckrodt Professor of Applied Physics William Paul and McKay Professor of Applied Physics Robert M. Westervelt have also been tenured from within the department.

And Aziz said he believes his appointment represents division leaders' further efforts to "change the way they search for senior faculty."

He said the division has become more selective in its junior faculty hiring decisions, and has helped its assistantand associate professors to become strong tenurecandidates.

"They try to find people who have potentialearly, and they do what they can to help thembecome the best in the world," Aziz said.

Steven D. Theiss, a fifth-year graduate studentin the Division of Applied Sciences who works withAziz, said Aziz's permanent presence would benefitthe department.

"He's a good catch for Harvard because he'syoung, and most of his research career is still infront of him," Theiss said.

Theiss said he observes and applauds a changein the division's approach to tenure offers.

"I think it's a better policy on their part tochoose people who may be not at the top of theirfield, but have the promise to get to the top oftheir field," Theiss said.

Aziz said he is a major contributor to theunderstanding of a technique called "rapidsolidification." Using this technique, scientistscan produce materials that cannot be producedunder normal circumstances.

The novel properties of such materials makethem useful in solar cells and in the structuralcomponents of jet engines, Aziz says.

"He can get very excited about the things thathe's teaching, which is fun to watch," saidTheiss, who is currently working on an experimentin Los Alamos, N.M.

Howard G. Zolla, a fourth-year Division ofApplied Sciences graduate student who is one ofAziz's thesis advisees, said the professor has"worked extremely hard in the last couple of yearsto improve his teaching."

With Mazur, Aziz has developed a new techniquefor co-teaching Physics 11a. During lectures, theprofessors present questions on the overheadprojector, then ask students to explain theiranswers to their classmates. The results, he says,have been consistently higher performance onhomework and exams.

Zolla described Aziz as "a fairly social guy.He's not nearly as much of a geek as a lot ofother faculty down here."

Aziz, 36, received a degree in applied physicsfrom the California Institute of Technology in1978, and a Ph.D from Harvard in 1980

"They try to find people who have potentialearly, and they do what they can to help thembecome the best in the world," Aziz said.

Steven D. Theiss, a fifth-year graduate studentin the Division of Applied Sciences who works withAziz, said Aziz's permanent presence would benefitthe department.

"He's a good catch for Harvard because he'syoung, and most of his research career is still infront of him," Theiss said.

Theiss said he observes and applauds a changein the division's approach to tenure offers.

"I think it's a better policy on their part tochoose people who may be not at the top of theirfield, but have the promise to get to the top oftheir field," Theiss said.

Aziz said he is a major contributor to theunderstanding of a technique called "rapidsolidification." Using this technique, scientistscan produce materials that cannot be producedunder normal circumstances.

The novel properties of such materials makethem useful in solar cells and in the structuralcomponents of jet engines, Aziz says.

"He can get very excited about the things thathe's teaching, which is fun to watch," saidTheiss, who is currently working on an experimentin Los Alamos, N.M.

Howard G. Zolla, a fourth-year Division ofApplied Sciences graduate student who is one ofAziz's thesis advisees, said the professor has"worked extremely hard in the last couple of yearsto improve his teaching."

With Mazur, Aziz has developed a new techniquefor co-teaching Physics 11a. During lectures, theprofessors present questions on the overheadprojector, then ask students to explain theiranswers to their classmates. The results, he says,have been consistently higher performance onhomework and exams.

Zolla described Aziz as "a fairly social guy.He's not nearly as much of a geek as a lot ofother faculty down here."

Aziz, 36, received a degree in applied physicsfrom the California Institute of Technology in1978, and a Ph.D from Harvard in 1980