Professor Petzow and I first met in 1975, at the International Metallographic Society (IMS) Annual Meeting in Minneapolis MN. At this time, I had been with Westinghouse (Pittsburgh, PA) for five years. At the Advanced Reactors Division, we were working on materials compatibility issues for a new ‘Liquid Metal Fast Breeder Reactor’ concept. The prime purpose for attending the Minneapolis event was to present a paper. I could not know that, at this Conference, I would be asked to accept a position as Editor of the IMS journal ‘Metallography,’ or that I would meet a man who was to become a close friend for the rest of my working life.

This contribution will include recollections of good advice and commandments given by Petz to a young editor, and broader counseling that continued even into Petz’s last years. The talk will recognize importance Prof. Petzow placed in wide international collaboration, and the energy he gave to fostering an active relationship between DGM and IMS/ASM in the US, and other technical societies around the world.

The presentation will include some pages taken from a career of R&D, failure analysis and accident reconstruction. The talk will conclude with a philosophical note regarding pursuit of excellence in the world of science.