Alfred University has announced that Aldo R. Boccaccini, an internationally recognized expert on materials that provide a “scaffolding” for the growth of human tissue, will deliver the annual John F. McMahon Lecture October 13 on the Alfred University campus. Sponsored by the Kazuo Inamori School of Engineering at Alfred University, the annual invited lecture recognizes a renowned expert in materials science. It was created to honor the memory of John F. McMahon, an Alfred University alumnus, faculty member and dean of the New York State College of Ceramics.

Aldo R. Boccaccini is professor and head of the Institute of Biomaterials at the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany. His topic is “Development and Applications of Bioactive Glass and Composite Scaffolds for Bone Engineering: Advances and Challenges.”

Other events being held in conjunction with the McMahon Lecture include a symposium on spark plasma sintering, to take place from 9-11 a.m. and 2-4 p.m., with both sessions in Binns Merrill Hall, Room 106. The symposium is open to both academic and industrial collaborators who are interested in becoming partners with the university in the use of its new spark plasma sintering facility. The new facility will be dedicated at 4:15 p.m. that day.

For more information, call (607) 871-2425 or visit www.alfred.edu.