William David Kingery; Considered the Father of Modern Ceramics

William David Kingery, 73, considered the father of modern ceramics. Kingery won the prestigious Kyoto award in 1999, a $400,000 Japanese prize given for significant contributions in advanced technology, basic sciences and creative arts. He was credited with helping to bring the 12,000-year-old craft of ceramics (the production of bricks, china, pottery and glass from natural materials) into the age of modern technology. Kingery pioneered methods for using ceramics in aerospace and electronics engineering. His research into why and how ceramics are formed led to the use of ceramics in virtually every area of modern technology, including oxygen sensors, fuel cells and a wide variety of electronic components. Kingery taught at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and later the University of Arizona. On Friday in North Kingstown, R.I., of a heart attack.