Planning Grant: Engineering Research Center for Transformational Science and Manufacturing Innovation on Heterogeneous Materials Joining - ERC-TRANSMI-HMJ

Ohio State University, The, Columbus OH

Investigators

Abstract

The Planning Grants for Engineering Research Centers competition was run as a pilot solicitation within the ERC program. Planning grants are not required as part of the full ERC competition, but intended to build capacity among teams to plan for convergent, center-scale engineering research. Driven by transformations in manufacturing and increased need for materials efficiency and efficacy,most engineering structures and components increasingly require complex heterogeneous materials joints. Materials joining makes a substantial contribution to the U.S. economy, being a critical enabling technology for at least one-third of its gross domestic product and influencing the backbone of its defense, infrastructure, and economic well-being. Drawing from that, the vision of the ERC for Transformational Science and Manufacturing Innovation on Heterogeneous Materials Joining is to transform advanced heterogeneous materials joining through a comprehensive approach using fundamental science, process innovation, innovative design, and predictive modeling, coupled with the development of a vibrant and diverse workforce prepared to create and deploy new technologies, this center will propel the U.S. to the top of global manufacturing leadership. The interdisciplinary team, including members from The Ohio State Univ. (lead), North Carolina A&T State Univ. (NCAT), Univ. of Michigan (UM), and IUCRC-Ma2JIC, will develop the science and enable the technological transformations that the U.S. and world manufacturers across key industrial sectors including energy, transportation, biomedical, and defense, need to face present and future challenges on materials joining. This planning grant will allow the proposed team to further develop their center plans for education and workforce development, build a synergistic team, and detail the scientific and technical challenges to tackle. 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.