William Curtin

William A. Curtin is an American materials scientist who is Elisha Benjamin Andrews Professor at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. He is the author of several high-impact publications in the field of materials science.

He was editor-in-chief of Modelling and Simulation in Materials Science and Engineering for more than ten years until 2016.

Curtin proposed a new model for the Portevin–Le Chatelier effect (PLC effect), which is based on the "single-atomic-hop motion of solutes from the compression to the tension side of a dislocation core." This model provides a predictive framework for understanding dynamic strain ageing (DSA) in these alloys, offering new insights into the microscopic interactions that lead to macroscopic material behaviors.