The CHTE Team
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.
Professor Diran Apelian is of the Howmet Professor of Engineering and Director of the Metal Processing Institute (MPI) at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI). He received his B.S. degree in Metallurgical Engineering from Drexel University (1968) and his Doctorate in Materials Science and Engineering from MIT (1972). After graduating MIT, he joined Bethlehem Steel's Homer Research Laboratories. He joined Drexel University in 1976 and held various positions at Drexel, including Professor, Head of the Department of Materials Engineering, Associate Dean of the College of Engineering and subsequently Vice-Provost. He joined WPI in July 1990 as the Institute's Provost, and led the mission of broadening WPI's academic programs and research agenda.
After a six-year tenure as Provost, Dr. Apelian was appointed to head the Metal Processing Institute at WPI. MPI is an industry-university alliance dedicated to near-net-shape manufacturing with centers in metal casting; powder metallurgy; and heat treating. MPI is supported by over 110 corporate partners, as well as funding from private foundations and the federal government.
Apelian's research interests and expertise are in materials processing, and specifically, solidification and net-shape manufacturing. He is credited for pioneering work in various areas of solidification processing; molten metal processing and filtration of metals; aluminum foundry engineering; plasma deposition; and spray casting/forming. For his achievements, Prof. Apelian has been honored with a number of awards, including the Howard Taylor Gold Medal in 1987 by AFS as well as the Scientific Merit Award of AFS (1990). He is an Honorary Member of NADCA. In 1990, Apelian received ASM's Henry Marion Howe Medal for the best paper or series of papers in Metallurgical Transactions by AIME. In March 1992, at the AIME Annual Meeting, he received the Champion H. Mathewson Gold Medal for his contributions to the literature. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate and was named Honorary Professor of Northwestern Polytechnic University in Xian, China, in 1997. He is an Honorary Member of the French Materials Engineering Society - SF2M (2000). He is a Fellow of ASM, APMI and TMS, in 2006 he was the recipient of the Bruce Chalmers Award awarded by TMS. In 2006, WPI recognized Apelian with the Board of Trustees' award for Outstanding Research and Creative Scholarship. Apelian was recognized (in 2007) for his work on society and technology with Acta Materiallia's prestigious Hollomon Award. He is also the recipient of the Brimacombe prize (2007) for being a world ambassador, an innovator, and a visionary for a better global society. Dr. Apelian is also the 2008/2009 President of TMS (The Minerals, Metals and Materials Societies).
Dr. Apelian has over 450 publications to his credit and eleven books that he has co-edited. He is a member of various professional societies including TMS, ISS, MRS, ASM, AFS, NADCA, and MPIF. Dr. Apelian serves on several technical advisory boards and on corporate boards. He has served on, and chaired, several National Materials Advisory Boards for the National Research Council. He was Chief-Editor of Journal of Light Metals, a web based journal, and now serves on the Editorial board of the International Journal of Cast Metals Research, and the Encyclopedia of Materials Science and Engineering.
Download his biography (2.9MB PDF file)
View Professor Apelian's publications
Faculty
Yiming (Kevin) Rong
Professor of Mechanical Engineering
+1-508-831-6020; rong@wpi.edu
B.S., Harbin University of Science and Technology (China), 1981
M.S., Tsinghua University (China), 1984; M.S., University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1987
Ph.D., University of Kentucky, 1989
Numerical modeling and simulation of heat treatment processes, manufacturing processes and systems, fixturing and tooling, CAD/CAM.
Kevin Rong is the Higgins Professor of Mechanical Engineering and the Director of Computer-Aided Manufacturing Laboratory (CAM Laboratory) at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI). He worked as a faculty member at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale for eight years before joining WPI in 1998. Dr. Rong's research on computer-aided fixture design (CAFD) has been well recognized. He is the principal investigator of many research projects funded by federal agencies and manufacturing companies. Dr. Rong is a fellow of ASME and a member of ASM, SME and ASEE.
Richard D. Sisson Jr.
Professor of Mechanical Engineering; Head, Materials Science and Engineering Program
+1-508-831-5335; sisson@wpi.edu
B.S. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1969; M.S., Purdue University, 1971; Ph.D., 1975
Materials process modeling and control, manufacturing engineering, corrosion, and environmental effects on metals and ceramics.
Richard Sisson received his B.S. in metallurgical engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. After earning his M.S. and Ph.D. in metallurgical engineering from Purdue University, he joined DuPont's Savannah River Laboratory as a research metallurgist. He came to WPI in 1976 as the Morgan Distinguished Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering. Sisson has also worked at Virginia Polytechnic Institute as an assistant professor of materials science and engineering and at Exxon Chemical as a consulting engineer. His teaching and research has focused on the applications of thermodynamics and kinetics to materials processing and degradation phenomena in metals and ceramics. He has more than 100 publications and has made more than 100 presentations on such topics as heat treating, synthesis of nanocrystalline ceramics, EB-PVD coating deposition kinetics and microstructure, and hydrogen embrittlement of high-strength steels. He is a fellow of ASM International and was elected Vice President for a two-year term effective September, 2005. On April 27, 2006 he was inducted into the Academy of Engineering Excellence at Virginia Tech College of Engineering. In 2007, he received the Chairman's Exemplary Faculty Prize.
Affiliated Faculty
CHTE, located at WPI, is a virtual enterprise in that the research work is carried out at various different universities. One of CHTE's objectives is to establish and develop educational resource groups throughout North America. The faculty listed below, are engaged with CHTE.
Harold Brody
Distinguished Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Connecticut
+1-860-486-0853; h.brody@uconn.edu
S.B., MIT, 1960; S.M., 1961; Sc.D., 1964
Materials processing, solidification and casting, and heat treatment, numerical simulation of materials processing, design of manufacturing processes for castings, and engineering education.
Jinwu Kang, Ph.D
Associate Professor of Department of Mechanical Engineering
Tsinghua University, Beijing, P.R.China
+011-8610-62784537; kangjw@tsinghua.edu.cn
Researching numerical simulation of casting and heat treatment processes, and ERP in foundries. Teaching Multi-component Phase Equilibria, System Engineering and Quality Management.
John Morral
Professor, Department of Materials Science and Engineering
+1-614-292-6255; morral@mse.eng.ohio-state.edu
B.S., Ohio State University, 1964; M.S., 1965; Sc.D., MIT, 1969
Physical metallurgy, heat treatment, modeling alloy diffusion, and phase diagram prediction.
Gregory B. Olson
Professor of Materials Science & Engineering
Northwestern University
Gregory B. Olson, FASM, FTMS, is the Wilson-Cook Professor of Engineering Design and Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at Northwestern University, Director of the Steel Research Group, and a founder of QuesTek Innovations LLC. He received his B.S. and M.S. in 1970 and Sc.D in 1974 in Materials Science from MIT and remained there in a series of senior research positions before joining the faculty of Northwestern in 1988. The author of over 175 publications, his research interests include phase transformations, structure/property relationships, applications of high resolution microanalysis, and materials design.
Research Staff
Mohammed Maniruzzaman
Research Assistant Professor
+1-508-831-6007; maniruzz@wpi.edu
B.S., Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), 1987; M.S., BUET,1989; M.S., Tuskegee University, 1995; Ph.D., WPI, 2000
Molten metal treatment, alloy heat treatment, materials characterization and mathematical modeling in materials. processing.
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 SystemsResearch Team
Xiaolan Wang
Graduate Student, WPI
Board of Directors
Victor Flinner
Timken
Robert Gaster
Deere & Company
William Harris, Jr., Chair
Sikorsky
Thomas Mebrahtu
Air Products & Chemicals
Richard Novak
Praxair, Inc.
Michael Pershing
Caterpillar, Inc.
Geoffrey Somary
Ipsen International, Inc.
Michael Stempo
Air Liquide America Corporation
At-Large Member
Roger J. Fabian
Business Development Manager-Eastern Region, Bodycote/Lindberg; Director-at-Large for Industrial Liaison, CHTE
+1-860-225-7691; fabianrj@aol.com
B.S., RPI; M.B.A., 1980
Roger Fabian received his B.S. in metallurgical engineering and his M.B.A. from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He has held various positions at Bodycote/Lindberg and has been actively involved in the areas of vacuum heat treating, vacuum brazing, and all areas of heat treating and metals joining. Fabian has taken an active role and has held leadership positions in ASM's Heat Treating Society and the Metal Treating Institute (MTI). He is a fellow of ASM, President of HTS, and past president of MTI. He was one of the core group of heat treaters who envisioned the need for a road map for the industry.
Maintained by webmaster@wpi.eduLast modified: August 12, 2008 13:40:40