Richard C. Bradt

Dick Bradt, age 80, passed away on January 3, 2019 at the UAB Hospital in Birmingham.

Dick, the son of the late Clarence and Ethel Reinhardt Bradt, was born in St. Louis, Missouri and grew up in nearby Mascoutah, Illinois. After receiving his B.S. at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston, he obtained his M.S. and Ph.D. at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York.

After being on the faculty at the Pennsylvania State University, University of Washington in Seattle, and the University of Nevada-Reno, Dick joined the faculty at the University of Alabama College of Engineering in 1994 as head of the department of metallurgical and materials engineering. In 2004, he was named the Alton N. Scott Professor of Engineering. He retired in 2009, but as Professor Emeritus he has remained an active researcher, speaker and educator.

His research focused on the properties of refractories, glass and ceramics. With students and colleagues from all over the world, he published more than 400 articles and edited more than 20 proceedings of international meetings. Dick advised more than 100 graduate students and directed 50 doctoral dissertations. In 2013, he received the W.D. Kingery Award of the American Ceramic Society, its highest technical honor, and Distinguished Life Membership in 2017. He was especially pleased to be awarded the University of Alabama Burnum Distinguished Faculty Award in 1998.

Dick was an avid sports fan and mineral collector as well as amateur horticulturist, growing many trees from seeds. Additionally, he was a member of Rotary for over 30 years.

He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Elizabeth, two daughters, Meredith and Claire, and three grandsons.

The burial will take place in a private ceremony in Mascoutah, Illinois. A memorial service will be held at the First Presbyterian Church of Tuscaloosa on Saturday, January 12 at 2:00 pm.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Rotary Foundation or the Foundation for Mascoutah Schools Glover-Bradt Scholarship.