Peter Uggowitzer
Austrian-Swiss metallurgist
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Peter J. Uggowitzer (born 24 November 1950 in Klagenfurt am Wörthersee in Austria) is an Austrian-Swiss metallurgist and materials scientist. He has contributied in several fields of metallurgy, specially in the development of nickel-free austenitic stainless steels, aluminium crossover alloys and biodegradable magnesium alloys for medical implants.
Swiss
Peter J. Uggowitzer | |
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| Born | 24 November 1950 Klagenfurt, Austria |
| Citizenship | Austrian Swiss |
| Alma mater | Montanuniversität Leoben |
| Known for | Ni-free stainless steels, magnesium alloy implants, aluminium crossover alloys |
| Awards | Great Badge of Honour of the State of Styria (2025) ETH Golden Owl (2005, 2012) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Nonferrous metallurgy Ferrous metallurgy |
| Institutions | Montanuniversität Leoben ETH Zurich |
| Thesis | Plasticity and Fracture of Ferritic-Martenitic Two-Phase Steels (1981) |
| Hein-Peter Stüwe Hellmut Fischmeister | |
Academic life
Born in Carinthia, Uggowitzer studied materials science at Montanuniversität Leoben, where he earned his doctorate in 1981 in the field of dual-phase steels. He then joined ETH Zurich, where he completed his habilitation in 1993 and served as a professor at the Department of Materials from 1996 to 2015.[1] In 2017, he returned to Montanuniversität Leoben, where he was Professor for Alloy Design of Light Metals at the Chair of Nonferrous Metallurgy until 2024.[citation needed]
One of his early milestones was the development of a new family of nickel-free nitrogen austenitic steels,[2][3] which are now widely used in medical devices as well as in the jewellery and watchmaking industries. Later, his research focus shifted to light metals, particularly aluminium[4] and magnesium.[5]
In 2019, Uggowitzer and co-authors pointed out that the phenomenon of ageing of aluminium alloys does not occur at the atomic scale.[6] In late 2020, Uggowitzer and co-authors initiated the research field of radiation-resistant aluminium alloys for future space exploration.[7]
Uggowitzer was awarded the Great Decoration of Honor of the State of Styria by Governor Mario Kunasek and Deputy Governor Manuela Khom.[8][9]
Awards
- 1987: Masing Memorial Prize of the German Society for Materials Science (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Materialkunde)[citation needed]
- 2005 and 2012: ETH Best Teaching Award – Golden Owl[10]
- 2014: Tammann Commemorative Medal of the German Society for Materials Science (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Materialkunde)[citation needed]
- 2025: Great Badge of Honour of the State of Styria[8][9]