Renowned metallurgist, business leader, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute graduate Martin Weinstein, the former vice chairman and chief executive officer of international manufacturer Sequa Corp., will receive the prestigious Davies Medal for Engineering Achievement from the Rensselaer School of Engineering.

Weinstein, who graduated from Rensselaer in 1957, will be honored during a ceremony at 2 p.m. on Thursday, May 13, at the Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies auditorium on the Rensselaer Troy campus. At the event, Weinstein will deliver a presentation titled “Advanced Metallurgy for Gas Turbine Engines.” The lecture will be followed by a reception, both of which are open to the campus community.

“The Davies Medal is the highest honor given to an alumnus of Rensselaer’s School of Engineering, and we are extremely proud to present this award to Dr. Weinstein,” said David Rosowsky, dean of the School of Engineering at Rensselaer. “Dr. Weinstein is an innovator, an entrepreneur, an effective leader of people, and a true inspiration to all Rensselaer engineering students, faculty, and alumni. His success and legacy are proof positive that Rensselaer engineers are among the finest , hardest working, and most creative minds in the world.”

In honor of one of the Institute’s most accomplished, active, and loyal alumni, Clarence E. Davies ’14, Rensselaer established the Davies Medal for Engineering Achievement to recognize a Rensselaer alumnus with a distinguished career of engineering achievement, public service, and technical and managerial accomplishments.

A prolific researcher with several patents for diffusion coatings for jet engine and gas turbine materials and components, Weinstein’s scientific investigations and published papers span a range of topics, including electronic materials, composite materials, high-temperature alloy development, crystal growth, advanced jet engine component manufacturing processes, diffusion coating of metals, and advanced jet engine component repair technologies.

Currently the founding owner of advanced materials and energy solutions company Sheffield Scientific, Weinstein has a long and distinguished history of leadership and innovation in corporate research and development. He joined Texas-based Chromalloy American Corp. in 1968, where he served in several leadership roles across the company’s diverse business portfolio. Weinstein was named president of Chromalloy’s Compressor Technologies Group in 1979, and in 1996 was appointed chairman and chief executive officer of Chromalloy Gas Turbine Corp.

In 2004, Weinstein was named chief executive officer of Sequa Corp., the parent company of Chromalloy, with annual sales of approximately $2.4 billion and 11,000 global employees. In late 2007, Weinstein and a group of investors purchased Sequa Corp. (NYSE: SQAA). He retired a year later as vice chairman and CEO of Sequa, and chairman of Chromalloy Gas Turbine. He remains a senior consultant to the company.

In addition to serving on the board of directors for many international corporations, Weinstein was a founder and co-founder of several companies and joint ventures. Among these joint ventures were two companies formed with Rolls-Royce to repair and manufacture Rolls-Royce turbine blades and vanes, as well as two joint ventures with Siemens Corp. associated with heavy industrial gas turbine parts manufacture, repair, and distribution.

Weinstein also served on the board of directors of the Jewish Federation, Chambers Players of San Antonio, and the National Council of Christians and Jews. He is a member of the American Iron and Steel Institute, the American Society for Metals, the American Institute of Metallurgical Engineers, the New York Academy of Science, Sigma Xi, and the MIT Corporation Advisory Committee on Materials and Metallurgy.

In 2006, he received the RAA Fellows Award from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Weinstein earned his bachelor’s degree in metallurgical engineering from Rensselaer in 1957, and went on to earn his master’s and doctoral degrees in metallurgy from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The Davies Medal award at Rensselaer is funded by an endowment from Mr. and Mrs. J. Erik Jonsson ’22.

Contact: Michael Mullaney
Phone: (518) 276-6161
E-mail: mullam@rpi.edu