Society News
Letter from the President
Dear Adhesion Society Members,
I hope you're enjoying the summer! I’m still energized from our February conference in New Orleans. Thanks to Chelsea Davis, Christopher So, and all our organizers, it was a fantastic event. We honored Anil Bhowmick with the 3M Excellence in Adhesion Science Award and Ngon Tran with the ASC Early Career Award. Plenary talks by Catherine Brinson, Jonathan Wilker, and Hans-Jurgen Butt sparked great discussions, and our career panel was well attended.
Looking ahead, 2026 Program Co-Chairs Christopher So and Michael Bartlett are planning an exciting meeting in Savannah, with a focus on bio adhesion and bioinspired adhesives. We’ll also celebrate the 2025 awardees: Kathryn Wahl (Excellence in Adhesion Science) and Kevin Golovin (Early Career Award).
Our committees are hard at work: Malinda Armstrong is enhancing our website, Heather Liddell is integrating sustainability into our programs, Bindu Krishnan is leading DEI efforts, and Grace Wan is organizing short courses—reach out if you’d like to contribute.
Don’t miss our September webinar featuring Anil Bhowmick, Ngon Tran, and Christopher So to get a glimpse at some world class research. Follow us on Twitter(X) and LinkedIn, and tag us in your posts to help promote advances in adhesion science.
Wishing you a productive rest of 2025. I look forward to seeing you in Savannah!
Please contact me if you have suggestions to advance the Adhesion Society or if you simply want to get involved at any level.
Nick Shephard
President, Adhesion Society
Senior Fellow, Dow Consumer Solutions
Member Spotlight
2025 Early Career Award (sponsored by Adhesive and Sealant Council)
Kevin Golovin Awarded the Adhesion Society Early Career Award!
Congratulations to Kevin Golovin for winning the 2025 Adhesion Society Early Career Scientist Award, sponsored by the ASC. This honor recognizes his groundbreaking contributions to adhesion science, including the development of low-ice-adhesion surfaces, PFAS-free oleophobic textiles, and abrasion-resistant omniphobic coatings.
Please join us in congratulating Kevin Golovin on this well-deserved recognition and in celebrating her bright future in adhesion science.
2026 3M Award for Excellence in Adhesion Science to Dr. Kathryn Wahl
It is our great pleasure to announce Dr. Kathryn Wahl as the 2026 recipient of the Award for Excellence in Adhesion Science sponsored by 3M. This is the Society’s premier award for outstanding achievements in scientific research, contributions to the field, and longstanding impact to the field with worldwide recognition. Dr. Wahl received her Ph.D. in Materials Science & Engineering from Northwestern University, and following a Post Doctoral Research appointment, has had a tremendously prolific career at the US Naval Research Laboratory where she is currently serving as Head of the Surface Chemistry Branch. She is being primarily recognized for her outstanding and legacy contributions in the areas of adhesion, tribology and nanomechanics.
These seminal contributions span an array of topics from groundbreaking work in adhesive and material mechanics, measuring elastic contact stiffness and viscoelasticity at the nanoscale, to fundamental studies in tribology with in situ measurements of layered solid lubricants, and perhaps most well-known, her highly elucidating studies on the fundamental chemical mechanisms and physical mechanics of barnacle adhesion. One of the common themes throughout her career has been her ability to pull together large, collaborative teams to tackle challenging projects, and consequently her contributions advancing the field are highly interdisciplinary spanning fields of materials, mechanics, chemistry, physics, and biology. Dr. Wahl’s impressive track record of scientific contributions, expansive legacy of impact, and inspiration to those that have followed in her footsteps are all exemplary and she is extremely deserving of the 2026 Award for Excellence in Adhesion Science.
Newsletters
AS Newsletter - 2025 Edition