F. H. Norton; some background on the man and the Award

Thirty-Five Years Ago - - - Text provided by W. H. Rhodes

F. H. Norton Named Distinguished New England Ceramist

At the October 20th (1971) evening meeting of the New England Section, Professor F. H. Norton was presented a Steuben bowl in partial recognition of his many achievements and contributions to the advancement of ceramic science and technology. He became the 8th recipient of the New England Section's "Distinguished Ceramist " Award. Chairman Dr. Daniel Button turned over the award ceremony to Professor Robert Coble, a former student and professorial colleague of Professor Norton.

In making the presentation, Professor Coble noted:

"F. H. Norton began his professional career by making a significant contribution in the design of airplane wings which were standards in the industry well into the 1940's. His distinguished ceramics career included the founding of the Ceramics Division of graduate ceramic education at M.I.T., authorship of numerous important texts beginning with Refractories, many scientific and engineering advancements, numerous patents, and perhaps most satisfying, the contributions of his students to the ceramics profession." Professor Norton gave a talk entitled, "A Perusal of Ceramics", in which he concentrated on improved production methods and quality control within the whitewares industry. Included were such topics as high-pressure slip casting, one-high wall tile firing, improvement in glazing to ensure uniformity of shade and color, and decreasing the reject rate in sanitary ware manufacture."

Most of the audience was not associated with the whiteware industry but rather, the technical ceramics field. Thus, the message was particularly enlightening and inspired such questions as, "Given these technical and productivity advancements, do you think a new profitable and competitive (with imports) wall tile company could be initiated?" Professor Norton's answer was, "Yes, it would be possible, but don't forget that Japanese and European manufacturers are highly competent technicians."

F. H. Norton was Section Counselor from 1953 - 1964. In 1977, the F. H. Norton Award was established in his honor. It had previously been known as the Distinguished Ceramist Award (1967-1976) and the Raytheon Ceramic Award (1965-1966) in the prior year.