Category: News

Aluminum Production Project Funding for Paul Sanders

Paul Sanders (MSE/IMP) is the principal investigator (PI) on a project that has received a $749,980 research and development grant from the U.S. Department of Energy.

The project is titled “Aluminum Critical Mineral Production via Landfill Mining: Environmental, community, and technical feasibility for integrated multi-material resource recovery.”

Jonathan Robins (SS/IMP) and Timothy Eisele and Robert Handler (ChE/IMP) are co-PIs on this project.

Aluminum Critical Mineral Production via Landfill Mining: Environmental, Community, and Technical Feasibility for Integrated Multi-Material Resource RecoveryMichigan Technological University (Houghton, Michigan) plans to utilize a multidisciplinary team of engineers (mineral processing, metallurgy, and environmental) and social scientists to investigate if site selection is key to assessing the technical and economic feasibility of landfill mining for materials. Social science analysis of the landfill history/contents and community will be key to selecting a landfill pilot with a high probability of being viable economically, environmentally, and within the community.

DOE Funding: $ 749,980

Read more at the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management.

MTU and LIFT Partner to Design Future Additive Manufacturing Materials, Manufacturing Processes

LIFT, the Detroit-based manufacturing innovation institute sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense, has partnered with Michigan Technological University on a number of recent projects. Last year, four teams of undergraduate students designed a powder metal atomization chamber to enable the creation of new alloy metal powders for use in additive manufacturing.

While atomization is a standard technique for producing powders for metallic additive processes, there is limited production capability for custom alloys. The students’ design, a modular 10-foot-tall chamber, has the ability to atomize about 88 pounds (40 kilograms) of metal, including ferrous metals, nickel-based alloys and aluminum-based alloys.

“This atomization capability is needed because current powders for metal additive development projects are expensive and have long lead times,” said Paul Sanders, Patrick Horvath Endowed Professor of Materials Science and Engineering and advisor to the undergraduate design teams. “This chamber, if built and deployed, will provide for improved powder additive alloy design faster and at less cost across industry.”

For more information, read the full press release on LIFT’s website.

By Materials Science and Engineering.

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New Funding for Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope

An array of 6 micrographs for two materials in different time frames.
Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images of fresh plastic waste (A and D) and excavated plastic (B, C, E, F) under 500× magnification. Image available on Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International.

Bruce Lee (BioMed/IMP) is the principal investigator (PI) on a project that has received an $804,990 research and development grant from the U.S. Department of Defense.

The project is titled “Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope for Research in Additive Manufacturing, Materials Development, and Plastic Waste Recycling.”

Stephen Techtmann (BioSci/IMP), Paul Sanders (MSE/IMP) and Trisha Sain (ME-EM/IMP) are co-PIs on this potential one-year project.

Related

New Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope Proposal

NSF Funding for Yongmei Jin on Silicide Nanostructure Project

Yongmei Jin
Yongmei Jin

Yongmei Jin (MSE/IMP) is the principal investigator (PI) on a project that has received a $592,502 research and development grant from the National Science Foundation.

The project is titled “NSF-BSF: Computation-Guided Advanced Fabrication of Silicide Nanostructures with Novel Magnetic Properties.”

Ranjit Pati (Physics/IMP) is a co-PI on this potential three-year project.

Extract

Silicon technology compatible nanomagnets are needed for spintronics, which enable low-power, high-density data storage and processing critical for next-generation nano- and micro-electronic devices. This impacts a wide variety of technological applications in commercial and defense industries. A bottom-up approach based on controlled self-assembly of nanoislands on a silicon substrate is used to fabricate transition metal silicide nanostructures.

The project seamlessly integrates computation with experiment. Computation research involves first-principles density functional theory calculations and micromagnetic simulations bridged by atomistic spin model simulations. Experimental research involves controlled material synthesis, growth of self-assembled epitaxial silicide nanoislands on a silicon substrate, in-situ/ex-situ structural and compositional characterization and magnetic property measurement.

Read more at the National Science Foundation.

Abadi and Kasraie on 3D Nano-ink

Masoud Kasraie
Masoud Kasraie ’22 materials science and engineering

Parisa Pour Shahid Saeed Abadi (ME-EM/BioMed/MSE) and Masoud Kasraie ’22 (PhD, materials science and engineering) were quoted by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) in a story about the 3D nano-ink they developed in 2021 that could reduce the weight of many 3D-printed parts by 80%, keep cracks too tiny to see from growing in aeronautical equipment and medical devices, and double as electrical wiring.

The research was highlighted by Michigan Tech News in September 2021.

Abadi is an assistant professor in mechanical engineering-engineering mechanics, an affiliated assistant professor in biomedical engineering, and an affiliated assistant professor in materials science and engineering.

Read “A 3D Nano-ink for Stronger, Lighter Builds” by Jean Thilmany in ASME news.

Erik Herbert Receives Funding for Mechanically Stable Interface Project

Erik G. Herbert
Erik G. Herbert

Erik Herbert (MSE/IMP) is the principal investigator (PI) on a project that has received a $535,317 research and development grant from the National Science Foundation.

The project is titled “GOALI: Engineering Mechanically Stable Interfaces Through Short-Range Molecular Rearrangement Driven by Inhomogeneous li Ion Transfer Kinetics.”

Stephen Hackney (MSE/IMP) is a co-PI on this potential three-year project.

Extract

This fundamental research project aims to fill critical knowledge gaps required to enable the engineering of next generation high energy density solid state batteries. Specifically, the project will address how the chemistry, composition and physical arrangement of atoms, ions, molecules, and defects in both the atomic structure and interface morphologies collectively control the development of localized pressure known to causes catastrophic failure such as cracking or short circuiting in a battery.

This new knowledge will directly inform robust strategies to engineer the safest and highest performance batteries for consumer electronics and electric vehicles.

Statistical analysis of experimentally observed transitions in stress relaxation mechanisms will enable the construction of novel small-scale deformation mechanism maps expressed as a function of key operational variables, electrochemical cycling, and temperature. These unique maps will provide much needed insight into the physical dimensions of interface defects capable of producing catastrophic device failure by fracture of the solid-state electrolyte.

In this way, the maps will directly inform strategies and guidelines for engineering stable interfaces capable of supporting stress-free, planar deposition of a pure, metallic lithium anode.

Read more at the National Science Foundation.

Walter Milligan is the New Chair of Materials Science and Engineering

Walt Milligan
Walt Milligan

The College of Engineering announces that Walter Milligan has accepted the position of Chair of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, beginning July 1, 2021.

“I am very happy that Walt has agreed to be the Chair of Materials Science and Engineering,” stated Dean Janet Callahan. “His 31 years of experience at Michigan Tech, both on the faculty and in administration, will be a great asset for the Department and the College.”

Milligan began his academic career at Michigan Tech in 1989, and for 17 years he taught MSE and conducted interdisciplinary research on high-performance structural materials. In 2006, he took on a new challenge, and was appointed as Michigan Tech’s first Chief Information Officer, and was tasked with building a robust, campus-wide information technology organization. He held that position until 2015 when he returned to the faculty, and in 2019-2020 he served as the Interim Department Chair in the new Department of Manufacturing and Mechanical Engineering Technology.

Milligan earned a BS in Metallurgical Engineering from the University of Cincinnati, as well as MS and PhD Degrees in Materials Engineering from Georgia Tech. He has worked for GE Aircraft Engines, Carpenter Technology Corporation, NASA – Glenn Research Center, the Nuclear Research Center in Grenoble, France, and the University of Science and Technology in Trondheim, Norway. He is a Fellow of ASM International and a Distinguished Life Member of Alpha Sigma Mu, and has served on the Boards of Directors of TMS and ABET.

“It’s hard to believe that I’ve been here for 31 years,” Milligan said. “This Department is my home, and one of the founding disciplines of the University, with a rich tradition and history. I am honored to lead the Department to its next phase.”

By the College of Engineering.

Materials Science and Engineering for High School Students

MSE 2100: Introduction to Materials Science and Engineering

New Dual-Enrollment Course at Michigan Tech!

Pouring melt, stretching a sample, and displaying a micrograph.

Semesters Offered

Fall 2021 Course Delivery Course Registry
Aug. 30–Dec. 17, 2021 Online #85007
Spring 2022 Credits Instructor
Jan. 10–Apr. 29, 2022 3 Mary Fraley

Course Description

Learn about how engineering materials are processed and designed!

We will look at polymers, metals, ceramics, glass and composites.

Why take this course?

Earn college credits while in high school with dual enrollment!

MSE 2100: Intro to Materials Science and Engineering is now being offered as a new dual-enrollment course at Michigan Tech for high school students. These credits can be used towards a degree at Michigan Tech or any college that accepts MSE 2100 transfer credits. Many engineering curriculums, both at Michigan Tech and elsewhere, require this course or will accept it as an elective.

Who can take this course?

High school juniors and seniors who have completed high school Chemistry and Algebra 2.

How to Register

Contact your high school guidance counselor to complete the dual enrollment forms.

Registration is completed through the Michigan Tech Admissions office. Email mtu4u@mtu.edu or call 906-487-2335.

Questions About the Course

Contact Mary Fraley
Sr. Lecturer, Materials Science and Engineering
Michigan Technological University
mafraley@mtu.edu
906-487-1899

2021 Order of the Engineer inductees

Order of the Engineer logo.

Eight MSE seniors were inducted into the Order of the Engineer, an organization established underscore and celebrate the important role engineering plays in maintaining the safety and welfare of the public, through the ethical and dedicated commitment to the products that they design and produce. 

Inducted were Lauren Bowling, Nate Carey, Michael Claiborne, Morgan Drumm, Sidney Feige, Michael Gazdecki, Anna Isaacson, and Ryan Weiss.