Professor Rolf Kuehni Receives ISCC’s Nickerson Award

Professor Rolf Kuehni of NC State’s Wilson College of Textiles, received the Nickerson Service Award from the Inter-Society Color Council (ISCC) Oct. 21 at the university. An adjunct professor in the College’s department of Textile Engineering, Chemistry and Science, Kuehni is a world renowned color scientist. The Nickerson Service Award recognizes outstanding, long-term contributions towards the advancement of the ISCC and its aims and purposes. The ISCC is the principal professional society in the field of color in the United States, encompassing the arts, sciences and industry.

Born and educated in Switzerland, Kuehni earned a degree of textile chemist at the Textilingenieurschule in Krefeld, Germany. In 1963 he moved to the United States, and eventually earned dual citizenship.

After being involved in color matching of textiles, he developed an interest in color technology. In 1965 he joined Verona Dyestuffs, owned by Bayer Corp., as manager of Development and Color Physics and became a member of the Inter-Society Color Council in 1967. He advanced to vice president, Marketing/Textile Products for Bayer Corp. in the USA, and also was a vice president in the successor company Dystar Corp. from which he retired in 2001. During these years he maintained an interest in color science, being active in ISCC and in research committees of the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists.

In 2002, he was invited to become an Adjunct Professor in color science at NC State. From 1987-89 Kuehni served as the editor of the journal Color Research and Application. He authored some 75 peer-reviewed scientific and technical papers and encyclopaedia articles on color science and technology and is the author and co-author of six books on color.
Other honors include the Armin J. Brunig Award from the Federation of Societies for Coatings Technology (1986), the Godlove Award from ISCC (2003) and the Olney Medal from the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists (2005).