Becher currently serves as treasurer of ACerS, whose 10,000 members are engaged in research and development, manufacturing, and applications of ceramics, glasses and composites.
On the research staff at ORNL since 1980, he is the leader of the Structural Ceramics Group in the Metals and Ceramics Division. Becher and his colleagues were responsible for the development of whisker-reinforced ceramics, which earned them the ACerS Purdy Award in 1990. His group is now developing new methods to design ceramic-based materials that are stronger and tougher. Before joining ORNL, he was section head and a senior research staff member at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, D.C.
He received bachelor's and master's degrees in metallurgical engineering from the University of Missouri at Rolla and holds a doctorate in materials engineering from North Carolina State University.
Becher was named a corporate fellow in 1990. He is a Fellow of ACerS and was named its Sossman Lecturer in 1990 for his contributions to ceramic science. He was a recipient of the Alexander Humboldt Senior Scientist Research Award, which allowed him to conduct research during 1991 and 1992 at the Max Planck Institute for Materials Research in Stuttgart, Germany.
He and his wife, Shirley, live in Oak Ridge. They have two children, Anna and Emilie.
ORNL, one of DOE's multiprogram national research and development facilities, is managed by Lockheed Martin Energy Research Corporation.