Nanotechnology-enabled Manufacturing Processes

Date: November 22, 2024; Time: 2:30 PM Location: PWEB 175

Abstract: The advances in technology and intelligent components, driving innovation in engineering systems or processes, enable expectations to meet the growing demand for enhanced performance and a deeper understanding of mechanisms in a range of applications. While research activities in nanotechnology have exploded over the past decades, the infusion of nanotechnology into practical engineering systems or processes, especially manufacturing processes, has been limited due to the intricate barriers in various manufacturing processes. Appropriate integration of nanodevices into manufacturing processes is crucial for retaining the advanced functionality and performance of the devices in harsh environments. Furthermore, scale-up production of functional materials with uniform incorporation of nanoelements, such as nanoparticles, nanotubes, nanofibers, nanorods, and so on, is essential to leverage the distinctive physical, chemical, and mechanical properties of nanoelements for a wide range of industrial applications. This talk will present two aspects of nanotechnology-enabled manufacturing processes: nanodevice-aided manufacturing and scalable manufacturing of functional materials with nanoelements. In-situ monitoring of several manufacturing processes, particularly friction element welding, an advanced joining process for aluminum alloy to high strength steel, has been successfully achieved with embedded nano-thin-film sensors. The nano-thin-film sensors (embedded or not) would be powerful tools for in-situ sensing at critical locations, thus advancing fundamental understanding of manufacturing processes. In addition, a novel methodology for uniformly incorporating nanoelements into functional materials has been successfully developed for large-scale production of high-performance materials. This nanotechnology-enabled manufacturing process promises to be a transformative technology for further advancing manufacturing processes and economically producing high-performance functional materials for the energy and sustainability challenges facing today’s manufacturing sectors.

Biographical Sketch: Professor Hongseok Choi is an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Clemson University, where he focuses on advanced materials processing, particularly in the realm of manufacturing with a strong emphasis on the interplay between material properties and fabrication methods. He has earned his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison) in 2007 and worked as an assistant scientist in Nano-Engineered Materials Processing Center (NEMPC) until 2013, where his work laid the groundwork for various innovations in manufacturing and materials processing. Dr. Choi has authored numerous influential publications in the field, contributing significantly to the understanding and application of advanced manufacturing processes. He actively participates in interdisciplinary collaborations and serves on various committees for professional organizations, fostering growth and advancement within the fields of manufacturing and materials science. He is a recipient of the SME Distinguished Faculty Advisor Award, demonstrating his dedication to fostering the next generation of engineers and reflecting his commitment to education and mentorship. Dr. Choi also engages in active collaboration with industry partners to translate research findings into practical applications, further solidifying the bridge between academia and industry in addressing current engineering challenges.

Nature in Motion: The power of bioinspired design in unraveling locomotion across mediums and scales

Date: January 24, 2025; Time: 2:30 PM Location: PWEB 175

Abstract: Organisms have evolved various locomotion (self-propulsion) and shape adaptation (morphing) strategies to survive and thrive in diverse and uncertain environments. Unlike engineered systems, which rely heavily on active control, natural systems often exploit distributed flexibility to simplify global actuation and control requirements. This talk will introduce several examples of bioinspired multifunctional structures, such as feather-inspired flow control devices and fish- and insect-inspired robotic model organisms. These devices and systems offer a pathway toward revolutionizing mechanical systems across scales and in different media. The work presented in this talk also highlights how engineering analysis and experiments can help answer critical questions related to elasticity in biological systems, such as the click beetles’ legless jumping.  These research topics showcase that biology and engineering form an interdisciplinary two-way street. On one side, natural solutions can inform and inspire mechanical systems’ design. This is referred to as bioinspiration or bioinspired design. The other side is referred to as engineering-enabled biology. On this side, controlled engineering experimental, numerical, and analytical tools are used and developed to answer key biological questions that would be difficult or even impossible to answer directly using the natural system.

Biographical Sketch: Prof. Aimy Wissa joined the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department at Princeton University as an Assistant Professor in January 2022. She is the director of the Bio-inspired Adaptive Morphology (BAM) Lab. Wissa was a post-doctoral fellow at Stanford University, and she earned her doctoral degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Maryland in 2014. Wissa’s work focuses on the modeling and experimental evaluation of dynamic and adaptive bioinspired structures and systems, such as avian-inspired and insect-inspired wings and robotic systems with multiple modes of locomotion. Wissa is a McNair Scholar. She has received numerous awards, including the Air Force Office of Scientific Research Young Investigator and NSF’s CAREER awards.

Thermal Energy Storage for Grid Resilience

Date: October 18, 2024; Time: 2:30 PM Location: PWEB 175

Abstract: The energy sector is undergoing a major transformation.  More renewable energy resources are being added to the energy grid to replace aging fossil fuel power plants and meet growing demand.  However, these renewable energy resources are more intermittent and rely on favorable weather conditions to produce energy often resulting in a misalignment of energy generation and demand.  Thermal energy storage (TES) is a powerful tool to combat this misalignment.  This talk will discuss how TES can improve the resilience of the evolving energy grid.  Near-ambient temperature TES can complement building technologies to reduce building energy usage for heating and cooling, shift energy usage from on-peak to off-peak times, and extend the capabilities of existing building heating and cooling systems.  At elevated temperatures, TES can serve as a peaking resource delivering power to the grid by discharging high grade heat to a thermal power cycle when renewable generation drops or demand rises.  As the energy grid continues to evolve, TES provides unique opportunities to further enable widespread renewable energy deployment.

Biographical Sketch: Jason Hirschey is a postdoctoral researcher in the Thermal Energy Systems group at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado.  He received his PhD in mechanical engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2022 on near ambient temperature thermal energy storage for building heating and cooling.  His current research focuses on thermal energy and heat transfer with special emphasis on concentrated solar power and high temperature thermal energy storage for power generation.

Two-player zero-sum differential games with one-sided information and state constraints, aka Football

Date: October 11, 2024; Time: 2:30 PM Location: PWEB 175

Abstract: Enabling embodied intelligence requires robots to plan according to unknown and potentially adversarial intents of interacting agents. This talk will focus on one scenario where theory and methods are underdeveloped. Specifically, we study zero-sum differential games with state constraints and one-sided information, where the informed player (Player 1) has a categorical payoff type unknown to the uninformed player (Player 2). The goal of Player 1 is to minimize his payoff without violating the constraints, while Player 2 either aims to violate the state constraints or, failing that, maximize the payoff. Examples of such games include man-to-man matchup in football and missile defense scenarios. Due to the zero-sum nature, Player 1 may need to delay information release or even manipulate Player 2’s belief to take full advantage of information asymmetry, while Player 2’s strategy will need to balance all possible consequences. Existing solvers such as CFR+ (e.g., for Poker) are applicable, but are not scalable to continuous action spaces as is often the case in robotics. We will discuss efficient solvers for these games by leveraging unique structural properties of their value functions.

Biographical Sketch: Dr. Yi Ren is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Arizona State University. His research spans a range of topics at the intersection of machine learning and engineering, with recent focuses on differential game theory, GenAI model attribution, and representation learning for materials. He has published in both machine learning conferences, including ICLR and ICML, and engineering journals, such as IEEE Transactions on Robotics and Acta Materialia. Dr. Ren received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan in 2012 and his Bachelor’s degree in Automotive Engineering from Tsinghua University in 2007. Outside of research, he enjoys playing soccer and spending time with his children.