Pitt Engineering faculty and graduate students receive $150K in total funding from PA Manufacturing Fellow Initiative

PITTSBURGH (January 28, 2019) … Four faculty and six graduate students from the University of Pittsburgh’s Center for Advanced Manufacturing (UPCAM) and the Swanson School of Engineering will benefit from the Pennsylvania Manufacturing Innovation Program (PAMIP), a university-industry collaboration supported by the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED).

Funding recipients include:

• Markus Chmielus, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, with graduate student Katerina Kimes and undergraduate student Pierangeli Rodriguez De Vecchis, and industry partner General Carbide. Research proposal: “Enabling highly complex tungsten carbide parts via binder jet 3D printing.” Funding: $64,858.
• C. Isaac Garcia, Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, with undergraduate Yasmin Daukoru and postdoctoral student Gregorio Solis, and industry partner US Steel Corporation. Research proposal: “A new approach to optimize the performance of X80 Nb-bearing linepipe steels using IRCR high temperature processing.” Funding: $28,812.
• Jorg M. Wiezorek, Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science; and M. Ravi Shankar, Professor of Industrial Engineering, with graduate students Jaehyuk Jo and Zhijie Wang, and industry partner AMETEK, Inc. Research proposal: “Hydride-dehydride powder manufacturing intensification by up-cycling of machining chips.” Funding: $56,543.

“The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has embraced the potential of additive manufacturing as the forefront of our next industrial revolution, and we’re excited to partner with them to advance this new research,” noted David Vorp, the Swanson School’s associate dean for research and professor of bioengineering. “Most importantly, the PAMIP program recognizes the importance of engaging the next generation of engineering researchers through funded fellowships. Our undergraduate and graduate students contribute greatly to this research, and the fellowships support their education here at Pitt.” 

PAMIP was established to leverage the science and engineering talent and discovery capacity of Pennsylvania’s institutions of higher education to ensure that Pennsylvania remains a national and international leader in manufacturing and achieves the full economic potential for high-paying manufacturing jobs.

A main component of the PA Manufacturing Innovation Program is the Manufacturing Fellows Initiative (PMFI), a $2 million initiative to support manufacturing research collaborations between Pennsylvania colleges/universities and manufacturers. The goal of the program is to enable these institutions to seamlessly bring their capabilities to bear to support industrial innovation and position the Commonwealth at the forefront of the next wave of manufacturing.

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