Lane Martin, Robert A. Welch Professor of Materials Science and NanoEngineering, Chemistry, and Physics and Astronomy and Director of the Rice Advanced Materials Institute, has received a Richard M. Fulrath Award from the American Ceramic Society (ACerS).
The Fulrath Award encourages international collaboration between Japanese and U.S. ceramic engineers and scientists. Since its inception in 1978, the award has been a symbol of building cultural bridges from the United States to communities along the Pacific Rim.
Martin is recognized for his excellence in research and development of electroceramics for a wide range of applications, including computing, sensing and energy applications. As the U.S. Academic Awardee, Martin joins one Japanese Academic, one U.S. Industrial, and two Japanese Industrial Awardees in the 2025 cohort.
He will officially receive the award at the ACerS Annual Meeting Sept. 28 – Oct. 1 in Columbus, Ohio. Additionally, he will attend the Annual Meeting of the Japanese Ceramic Society at Yokohama University March 4 – 6, 2026.
While in Japan, Martin will also visit a series of universities and research institutes, serving as an ambassador for Rice University to raise awareness of Rice’s investments in materials science—from the growth of the Department of Materials Science and NanoEngineering to the formation of the Rice Advanced Materials Institute (RAMI).
Japan is a global leader in materials science—with materials accounting for 30% of the country's manufacturing GDP—and the advanced materials industry is expected to grow to $3.83 billion by 2035. Making connections with leaders in the electronic ceramics industry in Japan could open the doors for additional collaborations and commercialization pathways for Rice researchers, broadening the global reputation of Rice.
“My hope is that I can continue to spread the word about the great things that are happening at Rice,” said Martin. “Historically, very few Japanese students and postdocs come to work in the U.S., and we'd love to change that. Visits like the one in association with this award are ways to build those connections.”
For Martin, this award is also a chance to expand horizons personally, building on his lengthy history of collaborating with Japanese scholars in his own research and teaching.
“This award is important to me because science is an international language, and it has a history of bringing people together,” said Martin. “While we might not be able to speak the same language on the street, we can speak the same language in the lab. Through that, we build a connection that wasn't there before.”