Dr. King is the director of the U.S. Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory Director at Iowa State University. Prior to becoming Ames Laboratory director, King served as professor and head of the School of Materials Engineering at Purdue University, a position he'd held since 1999. Prior to that, he was a member of the faculty of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, from 1981 to 1999. King also served as Vice Provost for Graduate Studies at Stony Brook from 1987 to 1992. King received a bachelor's degree (1975) in physical metallurgy from the University of Sheffield, England, and a doctorate in metallurgy and the science of materials from the University of Oxford in 1979. In 2007, King was a distinguished lecturer in materials science and engineering at ISU. King is an editor of four books and has published 108 journal articles and 145 refereed conference proceedings, book chapters, extended abstracts, book reviews and other short contributions. He has given more than 100 presentations at conferences, symposia and colloquia around the world. King's professional service includes membership on numerous committees for national and international symposia and committees.