POTTERY AND CERAMICS

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30215, 21 August 1963, Page 17

POTTERY AND CERAMICS

New Research Director Dr. P. K. Foster has been appointed director of the New Zealand Pottery and Ceramics Research Association in succession to Dr. L D. Swindale, who is leaving shortly to become professor of soil science art the University of Hawaii. Dr. Foster, who is aged 35, will take up his new appointment next week. Dr. Foster graduated M.Sc. with first-class honours in physical chemistry from the University of Canterbury Under a bursary from the British Iron and Steel Research Association, he studied at the Imperial College of Science and Technology University of Landon, where he was awarded the degree of doctor of philosophy in inorganic chemistry in 1953. He also obtained the diploma of the Imperial College. Since 1957 he has been engaged on research work in the Dominion Laboratory of the Department of Scientific and

Industrial Research art Gracefield as principal scientific officer in the metallurgy section. One of Dr. Foster's research contributions has been investigations of hydrogen embrittlement and sulphide stress cracking of engineering steels used for geothermal power production at Wairakei. In collaboration with other DS.I.R. scientists he developed a theory of hydrogen diffusion in steels. The success of this work led to the Pottery and Ceramics Research Association starting an investigation in 1961 with the application of the theory to the diffusion of moisture through clay. This project deals with the problem of drying loss and is still in progress.