Ernest Rabinowicz (1927-2006) was an American mechanical engineer. He was known for his work in tribology at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). [1]
Rabinowicz received his bachelor's degree in physics from the University of Cambridge in 1947. In 1950, he obtained a doctor of philosophy in physical chemistry from the University of Cambridge [1] under the supervision of David Tabor. [2]
Rabinowicz joined the research staff at MIT in 1950, becoming a professor in 1967. [3] He was best known for his research on the friction [4] [5] [6] and wear [7] [8] [9] of materials. He also wrote several popular science articles on tribology topics in Scientific American. [10] [11] His seminal book "Friction and Wear of Materials" [12] was first published in 1965. [1] According to Google Scholar, his work has been cited on more than 10,000 occasions. [13]
As well as teaching students at MIT, Rabinowicz developed and taught a popular extension course on Friction and Wear to many engineers and scientists from industry. His lectures and teaching videos reached a wide audience and made him one of the best known teachers of tribology in the United States, if not the world. [3]
Rabinowicz has been awarded the three most prestigious tribology awards. In 1985, he received the Mayo D. Hersey Award from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. [14] In 1988, he received the International Award from the Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers. In 1998, he was awarded the Tribology Gold Medal by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. [15]