John A. Tallmadge Jr., 80, of Media, PA and professor emeritus at Drexel University passed away June 7, 2008.

Professor Tallmadge joined Drexel's faculty in 1966. In 1973, he was honored as an outstanding teacher by Drexel's College of Engineering. In 1974, he was a Fulbright lecturer at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. He was also a visiting professor at several universities in the United States and at the Imperial College in London. He retired in 1991.

During his academic career, John Tallmadge authored more than 65 publications in the area of coating flows and advised numerous MS/Ph.D. students in Chemcal Engineering at Drexel University. He was one of the earliest researchers in the US to reccognize the need for fundamental research in coating processes. His pioneering research on dip coating in the early 1960's combined both experimental and theoretical approaches to better understand the advantages and limitations of dip coating methods. During his career, Tallmadge also made contributions to the fields of electroplating, chrystallization, and metal finishing. He was one of the early promoters of coating sessions at the AICHE meetings and chaired the 1984 International Symposium on Mechanics of Thin-Film Coating at the AIChE Spring National Meeting, Atlanta GA.

In 1992 ISCST honored John's contributions to coating fundamentals, by naming its highest award after him: The John A. Tallmadge Award for contributions to coating technology.

A native of Allentown, Professor Tallmadge earned a bachelor's degree from Lehigh and a master's degree and doctorate in chemical engineering from Carnegie Mellon University. He served in the Army Reserve from 1948 to 1964.