Dr. Kassner is a professor in the department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. He holds M.S.and Ph.D. degrees in Materials Science and Engineering from Stanford University, has published two books and more than 200 articles and book chapters in the areas of metal plasticity theory, creep, fracture, phase diagrams, fatigue, and semi-solid forming, and currently serves on the editorial board of Elsevier's International Journal of Plasticity.