Samuel Face American inventor Date of Birth: 02.08.1923 Country: USA

1. Biography of Samuel Face
2. Early Career
3. Contributions to Concrete Flooring
4. The F-Numbers System
5. Later Career and Innovations
6. Legacy and Awards

Biography of Samuel Face

Samuel Allen Face Jr. was an American inventor known for his significant contributions to the technology of concrete coatings and wireless control. He was born on August 2, 1923, in City Point, Virginia. Face graduated from Matthew Fontaine Maury High School and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). His grandfather, J. Fred Muhlig, who was also an MIT graduate, worked as an engineer under Thomas Edison.

Early Career

After serving as a marine engineer and naval architect at Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Company for four years, Face joined the family business in 1951. The family companies, founded by his great-grandfather Edward Webster Face in 1867, became the platform for Face's inventions and innovations.

Contributions to Concrete Flooring

Face is best known for his role in developing techniques and installations that have become global standards for the specification, control, and measurement of flatness and levelness in concrete floors. His personal consultations on construction projects in more than 20 countries helped advance modern technologies for industrial concrete flooring and commercial concrete flooring options.

In the 1970s, while working with a leading Canadian concrete supplier, Face achieved what he called "superflat floors." These high-precision coatings, popularly known as "Sam Face floors," became part of the standard lexicon in the concrete industry.

The F-Numbers System

During the mid-1970s, Face invented the F-Numbers system for superflat floors. This system, which allows for the calculation of significant allowable tolerances for construction works, was adopted by the American Concrete Institute (ACI), the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), the Canadian Standards Association (CSA), the World Bank, and others.

Later Career and Innovations

In the last 20 years of his life, Face continued to work on flat floor constructions, improving the quality of concrete foundations on each of his entrusted projects without requiring additional investments from building owners. He also invented and personally built the "Superflat Grinder," which, according to ACI, had no equal.

Shortly before his death, Face became interested in piezoelectricity and developed the wireless remote control technology called the "Lightning Switch." He made corrections and expanded the application of piezoelectric actuators, generators, and sensors. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) named the "Lightning Switch" as one of the top 20 "spinoff" technologies used in NASA spacecraft in the early 21st century.

Legacy and Awards

Samuel Face passed away from cancer on May 2, 2001, at his home in Larchmont, Norfolk, Virginia. He was buried in Elmwood Cemetery in Norfolk. In honor of Face, the "Golden Trowels" award was created, which is highly esteemed in the flooring industry. The award is presented annually at "The World of Concrete" international exhibition-seminar in Las Vegas.