Donald Koss received his B.S. degree from the University of Minnesota and the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Yale University with a major in metallurgy. After a post-doctoral study at Oxford University and four years at Pratt and Whitney Aircraft, he joined the faculty of the Department of Metallurgical Engineering at Michigan Technological University. In 1986, Dr. Koss came to Penn State University as Chairman of Metals Science and Engineering (until 1995) and Professor of Materials Science and Engineering. He has also been a visiting scientist at the Los Alamos National Laboratory during two sabbatical leaves.
The research of Professor Koss has primarily examined the deformation and fracture behavior of metallic materials. His past research has ranged from the mechanisms of ductile fracture to the influence of processing history on the resulting deformation and failure behavior of steels, titanium, and aluminum alloys. After retirement, Professor Koss interacted extensively with Professor Motta in research programs focusing on the effects of hydrogen on the microstructural evolution and fracture behavior of the zirconium alloy, Zircaloy-4, used extensively in nuclear power reactors. Professor Koss has authored or co-authored about 170 technical publications.
- Deformation and fracture behavior of metallic materials.
- Influence of microstructure on mechanical properties.
- Effect of stress state on structure and properties of structural alloys.