Dr. Jonathan Back (1939-2020) was born on June 12, 1939 in London, England. He was a 1957 graduate of Ithaca High School. He earned his B.S in Physics from Cornell University in 1961, his M.E in Engineering Science from Pennsylvania State University in 1968, and his Ph.D. in Metallurgy (Materials Science) from the University of Pennsylvania in 1972. Dr. Black served as a professor of Orthopedic Research from 1971-1988 at the University of Pennsylvania, and as a professor of Biomaterials from 1988-1993 at Clemson University. He was the first occupant of the Hunter Chair in Biomaterials at Clemson. He was a self-employed consultant in Biomaterials Science and engineering from 1993-2019 and an adjunct professor of Biomedical Engineering for Cornell University from 2011-2015.

Dr. Black authored several books, including Biological Performance of Materials, and many technical papers in the fields of Biomaterials Science, Orthopedics, and Bioengineering. He was a founding member of the Bioelectrical Repair and Growth Society, a founding member and past president of the Society for Biomaterials, a charter fellow of the Fellowship of Biomaterials Science ang Engineering, and a member of the American Society for Testing and Materials, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, and the Orthopaedic Research Society. Dr. Black also served as a lay preacher at the Thomas Paine U.U. Fellowship in Collegeville, PA, as well as at other U.U. congregations.