The ACRC Team
Faculty
Makhlouf M. Makhlouf
Professor of Mechanical Engineering, WPI; Director, ACRC
+1-508-831-5647; mmm@wpi.edu
B.S., American University (Cairo), 1978; M.S., New Mexico State University, 1981; Ph.D., WPI, 1989
Solidification of metals, the application of heat, mass and momentum transfer to modeling and solving engineering materials problems, and processing of ceramic materials.
Before joining WPI, Makhlouf Makhlouf was a senior research engineer at the Bay State Division of Dresser Industries. He received his B.S. from American University in Cairo, his M.S. from New Mexico State University, and his Ph.D. from WPI. His research interests include solidification of metals, the application of heat, mass and momentum transfer to modeling and problem solving in materials science and engineering, and processing of ceramics materials. He is the Foundry Education Foundation (FEF) Key Professor at WPI. He received the Herbert H. Uhlig award for outstanding research from NACE in 1987. He is a member of ASM International, AFS, ASEE and Sigma Xi.
Diran Apelian
Howmet Professor of Mechanical Engineering; Director, MPI
+1-508-831-5992; dapelian@wpi.edu
Professional Web site
B.S., Drexel University, 1968; Sc.D., MIT, 1972
Solidification processing, spray casting, molten metal processing, aluminum foundry processing, plasma processing, and knowledge engineering in materials processing.
Diran Apelian is Howmet Professor of Engineering and Director of the Metal Processing Institute at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI). He received his B.S. degree in metallurgical engineering from Drexel University in 1968 and his doctorate in materials science and engineering from MIT in 1972. He worked at Bethlehem Steel's Homer Research Laboratories before joining Drexel University's faculty in 1976. At Drexel he held various positions, including professor, head of the Department of Materials Engineering, associate dean of the College of Engineering and vice-provost of the University. He joined WPI in July 1990 as the Institute's Provost. In 1996 he returned to the faculty and leads the activities of the Metal Processing Institute.
He is credited with pioneering work in various areas of solidification processing and powder metallurgy – specifically in molten metal processing, aluminum alloy development, plasma deposition, spray casting/forming, and semi-solid processing of metals. Apelian is the recipient of many distinguished honors and awards – national and international; he has over 500 publications to his credit; and serves on several technical, corporate and editorial boards. During 2008/2009, he served as President of TMS. Apelian is a Fellow of TMS, ASM, and APMI; he is a member of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE), and the Armenian Academy of Sciences.
Download his biography (94KB PDF file)
View Professor Apelian's publications
Life's Journey Photography Exhibit
Affiliated Faculty
ACRC is a virtual enterprise in that some of the research work is carried out with colleagues at other universities. The faculty listed below are affiliated with ACRC:
Andreas N. Alexandrou
Professor of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, University of Cyprus
andalexa@ucy.ac.cy
B.S., American University of Beirut, 1982; M.S., University of Michigan, 1983; M.S. (C.E.), 1985; Ph.D., 1986
Microgravity, mathematical modeling of material processes, semi-solids, magento-hydrodynamics, and wake flows.
Andreas Alexandrou is currently the interim Department Head of the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at the University of Cyprus. Prior to this appointment, he was Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), Director of the Semisolid Metal Processing Center (1998-2001) and Director of the Aerospace Program (1993-1998). From 1993-1994, he held a parallel appointment at Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a Research Associate Fellow at the Materials Processing Center of the Materials Science and Engineering Department.
He received the B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering (1982) from the American University of Beirut while on U.S.AID/Fullbright scholarship. At the University of Michigan, he earned M.S. degrees in Mechanical Engineering (1983) and Civil Engineering (1985), and the Ph.D. degree in Mechanical Engineering (1986). His research interests and contributions are in basic fluid flows with applications in the environment, processing of materials, and in wake flows. His research program has received funding from industry, NASA and the U.S. Department of Energy (total research funding: approx. $6 Million).
He has well over 70 scientific publications and numerous presentations to his credit. In addition to co-authoring "Viscous Fluid Flow," he has authored as single author "Principles of Fluid Mechanics," an undergraduate textbook in fluid mechanics. He received the 1992 WPI Board of Trustee's Award for Outstanding Teaching, the 1993 Morgan Distinguished Instructorship Award, and the 1996 Russell M. Searle Teacher of the Year Award in Mechanical Engineering. He is also the co-founder of the Cypriot Scientist Network.
Lars Arnberg
Professor of Metallurgy, Norwegian University of Science and Technology; Visiting Professor, WPI
011.47.73.59.70.03; lars.arnberg@nt.ntnu.no
Ph.D., Stockholm University, 1979
Casting and solidification of aluminum and magnesium alloys, nucleation, grain refinement and structure evolution.
Lars Arnberg received his doctorate degree in Inorganic Chemistry from Stockholm University in 1979. After spending 2 years as a post doc at MIT, he was hired by the Swedish Institute of Metals Research where he conducted research on powder metallurgy and rapid solidification technology and managed a research department. In 1990, Lars Arnberg was appointed a Professor of Metallurgy at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. His main field of research and teaching is solidification and casting of metals, particularly light metals. This research includes fundamental studies of crystal nucleation and growth as well as studies of casting defects and process technology. Lars Arnberg has a wide international network; he has research cooperation with leading groups in the area of solidification in Europe, USA and Australia. He has more than 150 publications and has received international rewards for his research.
Merton C. Flemings
Toyota Professor of Materials Processing Emeritus, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
+1-617-253-3233; flemings@mit.edu
S.B., MIT, 1951; S.M., 1952; Sc.D., 1954
Engineering fundamentals of materials processing and innovation of materials-processing operations. Author of the widely used textbook Solidification Processing.
Merton Flemings has spearheaded the solidification processing activities at MIT for several decades. He is currently director of the Lemelson-MIT Program for invention and innovation. He received his S.B., S.M., and Sc.D. in metallurgy from MIT. Flemings is credited with bringing a science-based approach to metal casting research. He was a visiting professor at Cambridge University, Tokyo University and Ecole des Mines. Flemings' research and teaching concentrate on engineering fundamentals of materials processing and on innovation of materials-processing operations. He is the author of many key papers and of the widely used textbook Solidification Processing. He is active nationally and internationally in strengthening the field of materials science and engineering and in the delineation of new directions for the field. He currently serves on a number of corporate and technical advisory boards.
Weidong Huang
Professor of Materials Science and Engineering; Director, State Key Laboratory of Solidification Processing, Northwestern Polytechnic University, Xi’an, China
huang@nwpu.edu.cn
B.S., Northwestern Polytechnic University, 1982; M.S., 1984; Ph.D., 1989
Solidification processing, laser processing of metals, crystal growth.
Dr. Weidong Huang is Professor of College of Materials Science and Engineering at Northwestern Polytechnic University. Currently, he is the director of the State Key Lab. of Solidification Processing. He has received several distinguished honors and awards for his outstanding work on crystal growth and laser materials processing. Dr. Huang has over 50 publications to his credit.
Yuandong Li
Associate Professor, School of Materials Science & Engineering - Lanzhou University of Technology (China); Visiting Scholar, WPI
+1-508-831-5790;
B.S., Lanzhou University of Technology (China), 1995; M.S., 2000; Ph.D., 2005
Dr. Li's research interests include non-ferrous alloys and semi-solid alloys, especially those containing magnesium.
Sumanth Shankar
Associate Professor and Braley-Orlick Chair for Advanced Manufacturing, McMaster University
Visiting Professor, WPI
+1-905-525-9140, ext 26473; shankar@mcmaster.ca
B.Tech., Institute of Technology - Banaras Hindu University, India, 1996; Ph.D., WPI, 2000.
Sumanth Shankar's current research interests encompass the study of the evolution of the eutectic microstructure in aluminum-silicon casting alloys, interaction between molten aluminum and ferrous die materials, die materials engineering and coatings, aluminum casting and alloy characterization, molten aluminum handling, cleaning and processing, and grain refinement in aluminum alloys. Sumanth has vast experience in various material characterization techniques such as optical microscopy, SEM, image analysis, etc. His doctoral work was mainly focused on the reaction mechanisms between molten aluminum alloy and ferrous die materials in permanent mold and die casting.
Srinath Viswanathan
Professor, University of Alabama
+1-205-348-5566; sviswanathan@eng.ua.edu
B.S., Indian Institute of Technology, 1978; M.S., University of Pittsburgh, 1983; Ph.D., 1990 Modeling of solidification processes, alloy development, thermal processing, and sensors and controls.
Research Staff
Kimon Symeonidis
Postdoctoral Fellow, WPI
+1-508-831-5790; symkimon@wpi.edu
B.S., National Technical University of Athens, 2004; Ph.D., Worcester Polytechnic Institute, 2009.
Kimon Symeonidis's current areas of research are semi-solid processing, development of novel techniques for casting of wrought alloys, computational fluid dynamics, study of the evolution of the eutectic microstructure in Al-Si SSM castings and application of self propagating combustion synthesis techniques for the creation of new metal matrix composites. Kimon has substantial experience in metal casting solidification processes and various material characterization techniques. The focus of his doctoral thesis was the solidification mechanism of the Controlled Diffusion Solidification Process. Before pursuing his Ph.D. he worked in the steel casting industry and conducted research on the lubricated tribological behavior of steel and bronze.
Libo Wang
Research Professor, WPI
+1-508-831-5535; libo@wpi.edu
M.S., Tsinghua University at Beijing, China; Ph.D., Drexel University
Chemistry-microstructure-performance relationships of aluminum foundry alloys, heat treatment and rheocasting.
Libo Wang graduated from the Metallurgial Engineering Department at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China, and received his doctorate in materials engineering from Drexel University. He worked at a casting machinery research institute and a machine tool foundry in China for over 10 years. Before coming to the U.S., he was a lecturer at Northwestern Polytechnic University in China. Wang's doctoral work focused on the lost-foam casting process. He joined ACRC in 1986. His recent research areas include chemistry-microstructure-performance relationships of aluminum foundry alloys, metal cleanliness, aluminum foundry alloy heat treatment, and rheocasting. He has more than 30 scientific publications.
Support Staff
Carol A. Garofoli
Director of Operations, MPI
+1-508-831-5592; garofoli@wpi.edu
A.S., Becker Junior College, 1972; B.S., Worcester State College, 1982; M.B.A., Assumption College, 1998
Carol Garofoli has held various positions in academic administration at WPI and, from 1990 to 1996, was director of academic operations in the Provost's Office. She holds a B.S. in business management and an M.B.A. As MPI's Director of Operations, she is the primary liaison with WPI's accounting, purchasing and human resources offices, and is responsible for interacting with MPI's consortium companies. Garofoli facilitates MPI activities for programs and oversees its web site and communications.
Maureen Plunkett
Administrative Assistant, MPI
+1-508-831-5992; mrp@wpi.edu
Maureen Plunkett supports the administrative and liaison activities of the Metal Processing Institute.
Renee Brodeur
Staff Accountant, MPI
+1-508-831-5003; rbrodeur@wpi.edu
B.S. Electrical Engineering, WPI, 1983
Renee Brodeur has worked in the high-tech computer and network industries for corporations such as Hughes Aircraft, MITRE, Prime Computer, Sequoia Systems, Sonus Networks, and most recently Motorola. She has experience in many areas of the product development life cycle including firmware/software development, systems engineer, quality assurance, and technical writing. Renee returns to WPI as part of the MPI administrative team. In her role as Staff Accountant she is responsible for maintaining MPI’s financial accounts.
Carl Raatikainen
Manager of Laboratories, MPI
+1-508-831-5805; carlraat@wpi.edu
ASEET Mt. Wachusett Community College, BSTE Mechanical Engineering (Minor:Textile Engineering); MSBA Boston University
Carl Raatikainen is responsible for providing support to undergraduate and graduate students as well as research staff for the MPI laboratories. He orders and maintains equipment, test apparatus, manuals and materials. He oversees the foundry and other related laboratories for personnel safety. Carl began his career as a materials engineer at B.F. Goodrich. At Firestone Tire & Rubber he was a senior engineer in their development group in Akron, Ohio and in their research and development group in Rome, Italy. Recently, he was employed in the engineering laboratory of Setra.
Bradford Lynch
Information Systems, MPI
+1-508-831-5805; bl@wpi.edu
B.S. Mechanical Engineering, WPI, 2010 Currently Enrolled
Bradford Lynch is responsible for the management of all the IT assets at MPI including the computers of the administrative staff as well as the hardware and software used to conduct research. Brad first came to WPI as a high school student working for Network Operations and then continued his work there while enrolled at WPI. Currently he is a rising senior in the Mechanical Engineering department; this combination of IT and ME backgrounds allows him to provide the highest level of service to the MPI community.
Research Students
C. Borgonovo
Graduate Student, M.S. Program, WPI
cborgonovo@WPI.EDU
S. Li
Graduate Student, M.S. Program, WPI
shiminli@wpi.edu
N. Sun
Graduate Student, M.S. Program, WPI
ningsun@wpi.edu
L. Wu
Graduate Student, M.S. Program, WPI
lancewu@wpi.edu
Hao Yu
Graduate Student, M.S. Program, WPI
haoyu@wpi.edu
At-Large Members
John L. Jorstad
JLJ technologies, Inc.; Director-at-Large, ACRC
+1-804-747-0550
Aluminum alloys, metal casting processes, semisolid processing and net-shape manufacturing.
From 1957 to 1993, John Jorstad was with Reynolds Metals Company where he played a key role in the development of aluminum alloys and metal casting processes. He is credited for much of the development that led to the Al-Si 390 hypereutectic alloy. Prior to joining Formcast in 1999, he was director of aluminum development for CMI-Tech Center Inc., the sales and engineering arm of CMI International Inc. (now Hayes-Lemmerz Inc.). Jorstad has been honored by NADCA, ASM and AFS for his many contributions to the industry. He has authored more than 50 articles related to aluminum casting.
Industry Leadership - Steering Committee
David Weiss, Chair, Steering Committee
Eck Industries
Kevin Anderson
Mercury Marine
Herb Doty
General Motors
Herbert Koch
Trimet Aluminum
Fred Major
Rio Tinto
Kalathur Pattabiraman
Honeywell
Brian Began
Foseco
Ralph Sawtell
Alcoa Technical Center
Jose Talamantes
NEMAK
Guenter Trenda
Salzburger Aluminum AG
Maintained by webmaster@wpi.eduLast modified: October 19, 2009 15:28:39