Advanced Manufacturing Research and Education in the U’s Department of Mechanical Engineering examines materials produced using innovative technologies, and the leveraging of innovative technologies to create existing and new products. Core strengths include additive manufacturing, materials forming, materials joining, and nanomaterials.
Faculty and Labs
A.K. Balaji
Research interests include sustainable manufacturing, interfaces between materials, mechanics, & manufacturing, and the science of machining processes and modeling of machining performance.
Jiyoung Chang
Lab: Wearable NEMS
Exploring the synthesis of 2D materials, creating novel hetero-structure and fabrication of flexible/wearable devices. Developing micro/nanoscale tools to explore material/mechanical properties.
Ken d’Entremont
Research Interests include: Product Safety—Consumer Products, Recreational Products, and Innovative Products
Vehicle Dynamics, Safety & Testing.
Yong Lin Kong
Lab – Additive Manufacturing Laboratory
Tommaso Lenzi
Lab – Bionic Engineering Laboratory
Focuses on the intersection of Robotics, Design, Control, and Biomechanics. We invent, prototype, engineer, and test bionic devices and systems to help people move and live independently.
Steven Naleway
Lab – Bioinspired Science and Engineering
Research interests are in the areas of bioinspired design, biological material science, and biomedical materials. Research is ongoing to understand the common structural design elements that are employed by nature to provide impressive mechanical properties and to employ these through a variety of additive and advanced manufacturing techniques.
Robert G. Parker
Lab – Dynamics & Vibrations
Pursues research that merges academic investigations suitable for publication in leading journals with practical applications. While our primary goal is to pursue research valuable for the broad vibration research community, we select projects that are drawn from engineering applications. We pursue these goals while giving PhD and MS students in the lab academically exciting projects for them to develop their independent research skills and prepare for their future careers.
Bart Raeymaekers
Lab – Utah Tribology & Precision Engineering
Precision design and manufacturing of complex mechanical systems and devices. Our approach to research is basic science and applied physics-oriented. We attempt to understand the underlying physics of the problems we study, and then apply this newly gained knowledge to designing an optimized system or device that finds use in an engineering application. Our primary research expertise is in micro- and nanoscale tribology and surface engineering, (elasto)hydrodynamic and thin film lubrication, ultra-thin protective coatings, and processing and manufacturing of novel engineered materials.
Wenda Tan
Lab – Laser-Based Manufacturing
Works to invent new techniques and improve existing techniques of laser-based manufacturing, striving to improve the accuracy, efficiency, and product properties of the manufacturing processes. Uses experiment and computer simulation techniques to understand the underlying physics of laser-based manufacturing processes, and we use such understanding to optimize the processes and maximize the potential of the techniques.
Pai Wang
Lab – Utah Waves & Architected Materials
The group expertise lies at the multi-disciplinary intersection joining mechanics of materials, computational methods, acoustics and vibrations. Our studies focus on the design of artificially structured materials for wave manipulation. These functional composites are commonly referred to as phononic crystals and acoustic metamaterials – systems with unconventional dynamic properties emerging from their micro-structures instead of their constituent materials. A central theme in this field is the emergence of acoustic/phononic band gaps – a range of frequency in which the propagation of elastic wave is suppressed.
Roseanne Warren
Lab – Advanced Energy Innovations
The mission of our group is to pioneer new nanoscale manufacturing methods that will improve the future of society. Our two primary areas of focus are: 1) electrochemical energy storage devices (batteries & supercapacitors), and 2) micro/nanofluidic technologies for manufacturing and human health applications.