The Von Hippel Award, the most prestigious award of the Materials Research Society was first presented to its namesake, Arthur von Hippel, in 1976. On November 19, 1988, Prof. von Hippel celebrated his 90th birthday, an appropriate occasion to look back on a lifetime of achievement. Through the many testimonials that were heard at his 90th birthday celebration from family, friends, former students and colleagues, emerged a picture of materials science that reflects much that we treasure as the fabric of the Materials Research Society, namely the interdisciplinary approach to materials research.

It has become an annual tradition of MRS to celebrate the achievement of the Von Hippel Award winner, and each year the celebrants begin the ceremony with an affirmation of the efficacy of the interdisciplinary approach. In the early years of the Von Hippel Award, our young students often heard greetings from Prof. von Hippel himself during the opening ceremony. But as the size of the meetings has grown, it has become increasingly difficult for “The Professor” to offer personal greetings. Many young people today yearn for contact with their intellectual heritage. Inspired by this need, the leadership of MRS recommended that a brief article be written for the MRS BULLETIN on reminiscences about Prof. Arthur von Hippel and his legacy of the interdisciplinary approach to materials research.