Student Support: 2019 Metal Powder Industries Federation (MPIF) Annual Conference; Phoenix, Arizona; June 23-26, 2019

Indiana University, Bloomington IN

Investigators

Abstract

This award supports 40 graduate and undergraduate students studying at US institutions to participate in the 2019 PowderMET sponsored by the Metal Powder Industries Federation. This premier powder metallurgy conference acts as a bridge between industries, government laboratories, and academic institutions. The award provides student participants with opportunities to exchange ideas with leading researchers and engineers from worldwide industrial and governmental facilities, as well as with students and faculty from both domestic and international schools. In addition to nurturing a powder metallurgy community, participants will learn the latest research areas and results in powder metallurgy. Powder metallurgy is a topic with applications in literally every portion of the manufacturing sector in the American economy, and therefore directly impacts economic welfare and national security in the short term by promulgating information, but in the long term by recruiting high-quality engineers and scientists into this field. The workforce needs of powder metallurgy have not been met for decades; with a workforce that will see large retirements in the next few years, recruitment of current graduate students is essential for this industry. This project provides the student participants with opportunities to exchange ideas with leading researchers and engineers from worldwide industrial and governmental facilities, as well as with students and faculty from both domestic and international universities. In addition to nurturing a global powder metallurgy (traditional press & sinter, metal injection molding, isostatic pressing, and metal additive manufacturing) vision, participants will learn the latest research areas and results in the fields of interest. These opportunities will not only improve the participants' knowledge in the field but also develop scientists and engineers who are ideally suited to craft the next generation of designs in powder metallurgy that will push the nation's manufacturing capabilities. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.