ASTM International Committee F04 on Medical and Surgical Materials and Devices has recognized the outstanding contributions of Jack E. Lemons, Ph.D., professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, with the Patrick G. Laing Award.

The Laing Award is Committee F04’s highest-level award. A decorated ASTM member since 1974, Lemons has received several ASTM awards for his work over the years, including the Award of Merit and title of fellow, the Robert J. Painter Memorial Award and the William T. Cavanaugh Award, some of ASTM’s highest organizational honors.

Lemons works on multiple F04 subcommittees and chairs F04.93, the U.S. Technical Advisory Group for International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Technical Committee 150 – Implants for Surgery. He has also served as chairman of the main F04 committee, a group of 300 technical experts who oversee more than 900 international standards. 

Lemons joined the faculty at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) in 1973 and became a full professor and chair of the Department of Biomaterials in the School of Dentistry in 1978. He served as department chair until 1990, and currently is a professor in the UAB School of Dentistry, Division of Orthopaedic Surgery, and an adjunct professor of prosthodontics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. He also directs the UAB Division of Orthopaedic Laboratory Research and is a senior scientist at the Center for Metabolic Bone Disease, the BioMatrix Engineering and Regenerative Medicine (BERM) Center, and the Minority Health and Health Disparities Research Center.

A graduate of the University of Florida, Gainesville, where he earned his bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate in metallurgy and materials science, Lemons is affiliated with many other groups in addition to ASTM. This includes the American Society for Metals, where he is a fellow, as well as the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgery, American Board of Forensic Examiners and the International Association for Dental Research, among others. He also serves on the editorial boards of several medical journals and holds two U.S. patents.

ASTM PR Contact: Erin K. Brennan, Phone: 610-832-9602; ebrennan@astm.org

Release #9677