Willson Receives the Billy & Claude R. Hocott Research Award

Dr. Grant Willson has been awarded the Billy & Claude R. Hocott Distinguished Centennial Engineering Research Award by the Cockrell School of Engineering.

The award honors faculty members who have brought significant credit and contributions to the engineering profession through documented research while associated with UT Austin.

The award is supported through an endowment funded by alumnus Claude R. Hocott (B.S. 1933, M.S. 1934, Ph.D. 1937). Hocott’s education in engineering, years of practice as an engineer, leadership in industrial research, and active participation and interest in teaching gave him an increasingly deep respect for quality research. This respect, along with his love for his alma mater, prompted him to establish this award.

“This is the highest award recognizing research excellence in the Cockrell School, and there is no faculty member that is more deserving of the honor than Grant Willson,” department chair Dr. Tom Truskett said.

This recognition adds to Willson’s many prestigious accolades, most notably the 2013 Japan Prize and a 2007 National Medal of Technology and Innovation.

He is considered a leading researcher in materials, contributing to innovations for microelectronics, liquid crystals, computer simulation, nanometer scale structures and more. These discoveries have earned Willson the Inventor of the Year Award from UT Austin, the Semiconductor Industry Association University Research Award and the Sigma Xi Monie A. Ferst Award.

Willson will be formally recognized for this achievement during the 2017 Fall Faculty Meeting.

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