Research Team
Faculty
Diana A. Lados
Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering; Founder and Director,
iMdc
+1-508-831-6168; lados@wpi.edu
WB 234
Professional Web
site
B.S./M.S., Polytechnic University of Bucharest, 1997
M.S., Southern Illinois University, 1999
Ph.D., Worcester Polytechnic Institute, 2004
Design, modeling, and optimization of materials and processes for fatigue, fatigue crack growth, and fracture resistance, high-temperature performance, fracture mechanics, residual stress, plasticity, solidification processing, aluminum foundry engineering, powder metallurgy
Professor Diana Lados, Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering, is the Founder and Director of the Integrative Materials Design Center (iMdc) at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI). She received her B.S./M.S in Mechanical Engineering from Polytechnic University of Bucharest in 1997, her second M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Southern Illinois University in 1999, and her Doctorate in Materials Science and Engineering from WPI in 2004. After graduating from WPI, she worked as a Post-Doctoral Research Scientist and Research Professor at the Metal Processing Institute (MPI) for over two years, and is now part of the faculty of the Mechanical Engineering Department at WPI.
After joining a tenure-track post at WPI, Professor Lados has initiated iMdc, an industry/government-university alliance dedicated to advancing the frontiers of sustainable materials/process design and manufacturing for reliability and high-performance with significant emphasis on life-cycle engineering, green processing, and recycling. Lados's research interests and expertise are in materials processing and mechanical behavior of materials with focus on failure prevention and increased reliability and recyclability. She is credited with significant research contributions in the areas of fatigue, fatigue crack growth, fracture, and high-temperature behavior of engineering materials, including light metal alloys and composites, powder metallurgy steels, as well as work on physical metallurgy aspects of solidification processes and post-processing operations of cast alloys, green manufacturing, microstructure characterization, microstructure-performance relationships, residual stress, plasticity, and fracture mechanics.
For her accomplishments, Professor Lados has been distinguished with several national and international honors and awards. These include: Mass High Tech magazine 2012 "Women to Watch" Award, a 5-year NSF-CAREER Award, the 2011 Early Career Faculty Fellow Award from TMS (The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society, selection in 2010 to both National Academy of Engineering Symposia for exceptional engineering research and innovative education, the 2010 Sigma Xi Outstanding Junior Faculty Researcher Award (WPI), the 2010 Robert Lansing Hardy Award given by TMS for exceptional promise of a successful career in Materials Science, named in the Top 10 "Metalcasting's Next Generation of Future Leaders" (April 2009 issue of the Foundry Management and Technology), the Orr Early Career Award and Orr "Best Paper" Award - Materials Division of ASME, 2008; finalist in the Bodycote Paper Prize Competition, 2004, UK; Center for Powder Metallurgy Technology - CPMT/Axel Madsen Award, 2003; Sigma Xi Graduate Research Scientific Award - Ph.D. Award, 2001; American Foundry Society - Aluminum Division Scholarship Award, 2000; ASM Chet Inman Award, 1999 - 2000; Best Graduating Student Award, 1997 (Student of the Year Award - Polytechnic University of Bucharest); 1st Prize - Scientific Session Contest, Bucharest, 1996. She had research and teaching experience at Polytechnic University of Bucharest; Darlington College of Technology and University of Reading, UK; Politecnico di Torino, Italy; University of Madrid, Spain; NTNU, Norway; Southern Illinois University; Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
Professor Lados has nearly 60 publications and over 120 technical presentations in Materials Science and Mechanical Engineering. She is a member of various professional societies including Sigma Xi, TMS, ASM, AFS, AcerS, AIST, ASTM, MPIF, Who’s Who in Science and Engineering, Manchester Who’s Who Among Executives and Professionals Women in Research and Science, Who’s Who in Powder Metallurgy. She was the 2007-2008 Chair of ASM International - Central Massachusetts Chapter and 2011-2012 Chair of the Material Advantage Committee (MAC) for students in Materials Science. She serves since 2004 on the Board of Review for ASM-TMS/Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A & B (2011-2012 Chair of the Board and Exemplary Service Awards as a Key Reader - 2006 and 2009) and is an active member of ASTM organizing committees. She is also a reviewer for journals in Materials Science and Mechanical Engineering such as Acta Materialia, Materials Science and Engineering A, International Journal of Fatigue, International Journal of Fracture, Engineering Fracture Mechanics, Materials Science and Technology, Journal of Alloys and Compounds, Microporous and Mesoporous Materials.
Professor Lados is a firm believer and a devoted advocate of a new design philosophy based on material-process-component integration. She is consistently promoting this design paradigm through her research and disseminating it through publications, presentations, panel discussions, and lectures at national and international conferences, workshops, professional group meetings, internal corporate meetings. Her integrative design research has built connectivity within the field of Materials Science and interdisciplinary bridges between Materials Science and Mechanical Engineering. Industrial corporations such as General Motors, Mercury Marine, Alcoa, Alcan, NASA, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Pratt and Whitney, Hamilton Sundstrand, Air Force, PANalytical, Fracture Technology Associates as well as ASTM standards such as E647 use the knowledge and the techniques developed by Professor Lados for advanced materials/process design and sustainable manufacturing.
Research Students
Andrew Biro
M.S. Student, iMdc
+1-508-973-3729; andrew.biro@wpi.edu
WB 249
B.S., Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, NY, 2010
Awards:
2012 Chet Inman Award, ASM International - Central Massachusetts Chapter
Ye Cao
M.S. Student, iMdc
+1-774-232-8093;
ycao@wpi.edu
WB 252
B.S., Beijing University of Technology, China, 2010
Ye Cao received his B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering in 2010 from Beijing University of Technology. His research was focused on the secondary electronic emission. The title of his thesis was "The Secondary Emission Performance of Barium-tungsten Cathode with Doped Rare Earth used for Magnetrons". After graduation, he worked for one year in China at AVIC Keeven Aviation Instrument Co., LTD. His research work was focused on NDT and mechanical properties of matallic materials. He joined iMdc in December 2011 as a Masters Student.
Xiang Chen
Ph.D. Student, iMdc
+1-508-762-2597; xiangchen@wpi.edu
WB 249
B.S., North University of China, China, 2006
M.S., Central South University, China, 2009
Mr. Chen received his B.S. in Metallurgical Engineering in 2006 from North University of China and his M.S. in Materials Science in 2009 from Central South University, China. After graduating from Central South University, he started his Ph.D. program in Material Science and Engineering at WPI in September 2009. He joined the iMdc team in December 2009.
His B.S. research was focused on the strain hardening behavior and dynamic performance of cast magnesium alloys. During his M.S. program he conducted a microalloying study in ultra-high strength Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloys, sponsored by the National Basic Research Program of China. His M.S. work included solidification processing and heat treatment, alloy design, recrystallization behavior, tensile fracture, stress corrosion cracking, intergranular corrosion and exfoliation corrosion.
Xiang's Ph.D. research is focused on the in-situ processing of nano-scale metal matrix composites, and the high temperature response and creep behavior of these materials.
Anthony Spangenberger, III
M.S. Student, iMdc
+1-774-242-7847;
aspangenberger@wpi.edu
WB 249
B.S., Worcester Polytechnic Institute, MA, 2012
Yuwei Zhai
M.S. Student, iMdc
+1-774-329-5051;
yzhai@wpi.edu
WB 252
B.S., Xi'an University of Science and Technoloyg, China, 2011
Ms. Zhai received her B.S. in Material Science and Technology in 2011 from Xi'an University of Science and Technology, China. After graduating from Xi'an University of Science and Technology, she started her M.S. program in Materials Science and Engineering at WPI in September 2011. She joined the iMdc team in December 2011.
Research Staff
Anastasios G. Gavras
Post Doctoral Fellow, iMdc
+1-508-736-1026; angavras@wpi.edu
WB
249
B.S., National Technical University of Athens, 2006
M.S., National Technical University of Athens, 2007
Ph.D., Worcester Polytechnic Institute, 2012
Surface properties - corrosion, adhesion, and wear; fatigue and fatigue crack growth behavior of metallic and composite materials; materials processing; materials/process design for high-integrity applications.
Awards:
2011 ASM Chet Inman Award for research excellence and contributions to ASM
2012 Best Ph.D. Thesis in Engineering at WPI
Mr. Gavras received his B.S. in Mining Engineering and Metallurgy in 2006 and his M.S. in Materials Science and Engineering in 2007 from National Technical University of Athens. After graduating from the National Technical University of Athens, he joined the Integrative Materials Design Center (iMdc) at WPI in January 2008.
During the B.S. and M.S. programs, his research was focused on surface properties - corrosion and wear of Al-Si-Mg wrought alloys and corrosion and adhesion behavior of composite coatings on mild steel substrates.
His research addressed fatigue and fatigue crack growth mechanisms of wrought and cast alloys used for high-integrity automotive, aerospace, marine, and military applications with emphasis on microstructural effects and processing conditions. Fracture mechanics principles and their correlations to materials microstructures were also important considerations in Mr. Gavras's research while implementing this interdisciplinary knowledge into a new structural design approach.
Support Staff
Rita Shilansky
Administrative Assistant
+1-508-831-5633; rita@wpi.edu
WB 244
B.S., Worcester State College, 1992
Rita Shilansky has held two positions at WPI from 1990 to present, Administrative Secretary in Student Activities and now Administrative Assistant in Materials Science and Engineering. She holds a B.S. in Urban Studies from Worcester State College and worked for the City of Worcester for 10 years before coming to WPI. She is responsible for the financial accounting, maintaining websites, administrative work for both the Faculty and Graduate Students.
At-Large Members
Diran Apelian
Howmet Professor of Mechanical Engineering; Director-at-Large, iMdc
+1-508-831-5992; dapelian@wpi.edu
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 Howmet Professor of Engineering and Director of the Metal Processing Institute at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. After a successful start at Bethlehem Steel's Homer Research Laboratories, he joined Drexel University in 1976 where he held various positions, including Professor, Head of the Department of Materials Engineering, Associate Dean of the College of Engineering, and 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.
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. These include 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, and was the recipient of the Bruce Chalmers Award in 2006 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.
He has over 450 publications to his credit and eleven books, which he has co-edited. He is member of various professional societies including TMS, ISS, MRS, ASM, AFS, NADCA, and MPIF. He is the 2008-2009 President of TMS. 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 the web-based Journal of Light Metals, serves on the Editorial board of the International Journal of Cast Metals Research, and the Encyclopedia of Materials Science and Engineering.
iMdc Past Graduate Students
Christopher J. Lammi
M.S. Student, iMdc
+1-508-831-5898; cjlammi@wpi.edu
HL 301
B.S., Physics, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Residual stress; fatigue crack initiation and propagation in the presence of residual stresses; residual stress measurement and correction; interaction of residual stress with ultra-fine (nano sized) microstructures; materials processing; materials/process design for high-integrity applications
Mr. Lammi received his B.S. in Physics in 2005 from The University of Massachusetts in Amherst, MA. After graduating from The University of Massachusetts, he spent two years working in the photonics industry for Axcel Photonics, Inc., a manufacturer of semiconductor lasers. In the fall of 2007, he began his Master's Degree work at WPI, and shortly thereafter joined the Integrative Materials Design Center (iMdc) at WPI in December 2007.
During Mr. Lammi's B.S. program, his research was focused on the production of metallic nanowires via electrodeposition within chemically etched nuclear tracks in thin polycarbonate films.
His current research addresses fatigue and fatigue crack growth mechanisms of wrought and cast alloys used for high-integrity structural applications with emphasis on residual stress, fatigue crack growth in residual stress fields, processing effects on residual stress, and residual stress measurement. Chris's research addresses residual stress through experimental, analytical, and numerical perspectives and integrates fracture mechanics considerations in corrective models for residual stress compensation in design.
Brendan Chenelle
M.S. Student, iMdc
+1-978-987-6723;
B.S., Mechanical Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, 2008
Residual stress; fatigue crack initiation and propagation in the presence of residual stresses induced during processing; friction stir welding; residual stress-microstructure interactions; materials processing; thermodynamics; heat transfer.
Awards:
2011 Sigma Xi Outstanding Master's Thesis Award
Mr. Chenelle received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering in 2008 from The University of Massachusetts in North Dartmouth, MA. Prior to graduation and continuing for the summer of 2008, he worked for Tyco Electronics M/A-COM division, a manufacturer of high-performance radar systems. In the fall of 2008, he began Master's Degree studies at WPI. Having always been interested in materials and materials processing, he shortly thereafter joined the Integrative Materials Design Center (iMdc) at WPI in December 2008.
His current research addresses the influence of friction stir weld processing on the Fatigue Crack Growth (FCG) properties of aluminum-magnesium alloys, and will isolate the effects of induced residual stresses from the effects of microstructural refinement for process optimization and control.
Industry Leadership - Steering Committee
Ryan Brodie
Pratt & Whitney - Rocketdyne
Peggy Jones
General Motors Company
Fred Major (Advisor)
Rio Tinto Alcan
Marc Pepi
Army Research Laboratory
Rodney Riek (Chair)
Harley-Davidson
Alan Seid
Honda
Last modified: Dec 05, 2012, 11:10 EST