By Anna Lynn Spitzer
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09.02.05 – Albert Yee, Irvine division director, won’t soon forget this year’s birthday or the annual national meeting of the American Chemical Society. The Division of Polymeric Materials: Science and Engineering society last week honored Yee’s impending birthday and his contributions to the field at the meeting in Washington, D.C. with a dedicated symposium and a subsequent banquet and roast.
“Fracture and Relaxations in Polymer Solids – in Honor of the 60th Birthday of Professor Albert F. Yee” was organized by four of Yee’s former University of Michigan students. Hung-Jue Sue, professor of mechanical engineering at Texas A&M University; Christopher Soles, materials research scientist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology; Raymond A. Pearson, professor of materials science and engineering at Lehigh University; and Qinghuang Lin, a research scientist at IBM Watson, also organized the banquet/roast at an area Chinese restaurant.
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More than 50 people attended the dinner, held Monday, Aug. 29, at China Garden restaurant in Arlington, Va. Ten of the invited guests shared fond anecdotes, many with a humorous twist, about their past experiences with Yee. Yee’s wife, Jessica Yu, and his daughters, Vivian and Claire, also attended the event. Guests presented Yee with a framed portrait of himself as a gift.
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“It was an incredible honor to be recognized in this way,” Yee said. “The symposium was well-received and the dinner was a lot of fun, even if it was at my expense. What really touched me was the realization that my mentoring and leadership have had a positive impact on so many people over the years.”
(All photos by Yen Peng Kong.)