Society News
Letter from the President
Dear Adhesion Society Members,
It is an honor to serve as President of the Adhesion Society as we approach a landmark year. Our 2027 Annual Meeting (February 7–10, 2027, San Antonio) will mark the Society’s 50th meeting. For nearly five decades, this gathering has brought together chemists, engineers, physicists, biologists, and materials scientists from academia, industry, and government to share research, exchange ideas, and learn from one another.
Adhesion science and engineering is as important as ever, and the San Antonio call for papers reflects the expanding reach of our field. Emerging areas include bioinspired and underwater adhesives; switchable and adaptive adhesion for soft robotics and wearables; surgical and biomedical adhesives; recyclable and debondable materials; AI- and data-driven design; and bonding for microelectronics and advanced packaging. Underpinning these applications is continued research in interfacial mechanics, fracture, wetting, and viscoelasticity, together with methods for characterization and modeling.
I hope you will join us in San Antonio to share your work, reconnect with colleagues, welcome new members, and help celebrate this important milestone.
In the coming year, I will focus on three priorities: expanding our membership, supporting the professional growth of current members, and celebrating 50 years of the Adhesion Society. Adhesion research takes place in many university departments, companies, and government laboratories whose scientists and engineers have not yet found their way to the Society, and I hope each of you will invite a colleague or student to join. We will continue to help members advance in their careers through our awards, annual meeting, short course, and opportunities to present and lead within the Society. As we celebrate the 50th meeting, we will recognize the people who built our community and look ahead to the next 50 years.
I welcome your ideas for advancing the Society’s mission, strengthening our community, and making our 50th meeting memorable. Please reach out to me at ktturner@upenn.edu.
Kevin T. Turner
President, Adhesion Society
Professor and John Henry Towne Chair, Department of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics, University of Pennsylvania
Member Spotlight
2025 Early Career Award (sponsored by Adhesive and Sealant Council)
Kevin Golovin Awarded the Adhesion Society Early Career Award!
Congratulations to Kevin Golovin for winning the 2025 Adhesion Society Early Career Scientist Award, sponsored by the ASC. This honor recognizes his groundbreaking contributions to adhesion science, including the development of low-ice-adhesion surfaces, PFAS-free oleophobic textiles, and abrasion-resistant omniphobic coatings.
Please join us in congratulating Kevin Golovin on this well-deserved recognition and in celebrating her bright future in adhesion science.
2026 3M Award for Excellence in Adhesion Science to Dr. Kathryn Wahl
It is our great pleasure to announce Dr. Kathryn Wahl as the 2026 recipient of the Award for Excellence in Adhesion Science sponsored by 3M. This is the Society’s premier award for outstanding achievements in scientific research, contributions to the field, and longstanding impact to the field with worldwide recognition. Dr. Wahl received her Ph.D. in Materials Science & Engineering from Northwestern University, and following a Post Doctoral Research appointment, has had a tremendously prolific career at the US Naval Research Laboratory where she is currently serving as Head of the Surface Chemistry Branch. She is being primarily recognized for her outstanding and legacy contributions in the areas of adhesion, tribology and nanomechanics.
These seminal contributions span an array of topics from groundbreaking work in adhesive and material mechanics, measuring elastic contact stiffness and viscoelasticity at the nanoscale, to fundamental studies in tribology with in situ measurements of layered solid lubricants, and perhaps most well-known, her highly elucidating studies on the fundamental chemical mechanisms and physical mechanics of barnacle adhesion. One of the common themes throughout her career has been her ability to pull together large, collaborative teams to tackle challenging projects, and consequently her contributions advancing the field are highly interdisciplinary spanning fields of materials, mechanics, chemistry, physics, and biology. Dr. Wahl’s impressive track record of scientific contributions, expansive legacy of impact, and inspiration to those that have followed in her footsteps are all exemplary and she is extremely deserving of the 2026 Award for Excellence in Adhesion Science.
Newsletters
AS Newsletter - 2025 Edition