Professor Wayne D. Kaplan completed his BSc in Mechanical Engineering at the Technion in 1989, and his MSc in Materials Engineering at the Technion in 1991. On receiving his doctorate from the Technion in 1994, Prof. Kaplan spent one year as a Humboldt fellow at the Max-Planck-Institut für Metallforschung, Stuttgart. In 1995 he joined the Department of Materials Science & Engineering at the Technion. He is a fellow of the American Ceramic Society and a member of the Israel Microscopy Society. Prof. Kaplan has served as Dean of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering (2010-2014), and as the Executive Vice President for Research of the Technion (2014-2019).
Kaplan’s research focuses on topics related to interfaces, and microstructural evolution. Microstructural design objectives for metal-ceramic joints and composites are often limited by the nature of the metal-ceramic interface. Two very different materials must be brought into contact with a specific interfacial geometry, and a physico-chemical bond must be formed between them. The process may include the formation of interface phases due to chemical reactions, both between the components and with the process atmosphere. The chemical and mechanical stability of the interface is dependent on the possibility of interface reactions as well as on the interface microstructure, which includes the interfacial discontinuity associated with the change in the chemical bond type. While the properties of metal-ceramic components are sensitively dependent on the properties of the joint forming materials, the structure and quality of the interfacial bond is often the major factor which determines the final macro-properties. An understanding of the chemical nature of the metal-ceramic interface, as well as its microstructure and crystallography, is critical for the successful development of metal-ceramic joints and components.
