Metals | A Tribute to Prof. Dr. Ronald William Armstrong

It is with deep sorrow that we announce the passing of Prof. Dr. Ronald William Armstrong, the Section Editor-in-Chief of Metals, in May 2023.

In 2020, Prof. Dr. Armstrong demonstrated his exceptional organizational skills by successfully managing a Special Issue for the journal Metals (ISSN: 2075-4701) and subsequently publishing a Special Issue book. Recognizing his profound enthusiasm and strong academic background, we invited him to join the Editorial Board later that year. In 2022, Metals established a new Section entitled "Crystallography and Applications of Metallic Materials", and in recognition of his expertise and dedication, Prof. Dr. Armstrong was promoted to the position of Section Editor-in-Chief.

Throughout his tenure as Section Editor-in-Chief, Prof. Dr. Armstrong worked closely with the editorial members and staff, providing invaluable guidance and fostering the growth and development of the journal. He was an unwavering pillar of strength for Metals, and we were privileged to have him serve in such a prominent role. We extend our deepest gratitude for the contributions he made to the journal, and his legacy will be preserved within the journal.

Prof. Dr. Armstrong was Professor Emeritus at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, USA, and an internationally renowned materials scientist with collaborating research partners in all corners of the world on the strength of materials, poly-crystal structures, and temperature and strain influences on mechanical properties. Celebrated for his witty poems and dry humor, Prof. Dr. Armstrong had just completed editing two books and was actively working on a third while publishing additional research papers at the time of his passing. Prior to joining the faculty at Maryland, Prof. Dr. Armstrong was a tenured professor at Brown University, USA.

He was also a Life Member of Clare Hall at the University of Cambridge, England. With his beloved wife, Mary Ann, and daughters, Lisa and Lori, Prof. Dr. Armstrong traveled the world with stints living in New Zealand, Australia, and England, while pursuing his lifelong passion for fly fishing.

Prof. Dr. Armstrong’s clever wordsmithing and loving affection are already so greatly missed, along with his smile that showed more joy than most receive in a whole lifetime and his congenial winks that he employed often to tell us: he knows the secret and now we do too.

We wish to express our deepest condolences to his family, friends, and colleagues.