My interest in technical studies was derived from my father, Dr. Ben F. Oliver, who is also a materials scientist. My mother Mary Oliver instilled in me an interest in mathematics. I went to graduate school at Stanford University where I worked in Prof. William D. Nix's group. My intention was to obtain a Master of Engineering and proceed to the business school; however, working with Professor Nix was such a rewarding and enjoyable experience that I continued in materials science to obtain a Ph.D. Finally my good friend and co-author at Stanford, Prof. George M. Pharr (who is now at the University of Tennessee), has had a tremendous influence on my own work.

  What, in your opinion, is the significance of your work for the field?

The simple model and techniques put forward in this paper allowed the characterization of thin film mechanical properties to be established as a small industry. The results provided a method for performing instrumented indentation experiments that accounted for differences in the indenter shape. This allowed better comparisons of results from different measurement systems and laboratories, thereby contributing to the acceptance of these types of tests.

  What were the greatest challenges in performing and presenting your work?

The greatest challenge was obtaining results with sufficient accuracy to allow the model to be tested. The results were completely measured once only to find that the analysis required better accuracy in the raw data than was at first obtained. The instrument used was then improved in several ways and the entire data set had to be measured again.

  What lessons would you draw from your work to pass on to the next generation of researchers?

Choose your collaborators carefully and you will be proud and pleased with the results.