IUCRC Phase III Pennsylvania State University (PSU): Manufacturing and Materials Joining Innovation Center (Ma2JIC)

The Manufacturing and Materials Joining Innovation Center (Ma2JIC) is a multi-university consortium focused on materials joining and metal additive manufacturing research. The Center fosters and translates scientific discovery to application while educating the next generation of scientists and engineers that will develop new advanced manufacturing technologies and process innovations to rebuild the competitiveness of U.S. domestic manufacturing. Given the importance of materials joining for the manufacturing of products that are critical to health, safety, national security, and the continuity of multiple industries, Ma2JIC serves multiple sectors of the U.S. economy and defense. The center provides a highly collaborative research environment among government partners, industry, and university faculty and students to promote the development and application of fundamental knowledge in materials joining and additive manufacturing. The Center is a platform for the education of a well-trained and diverse scientific and engineering workforce. Ma2JIC’s primary focus is on research and development that translates to industry members' and consumers' benefit. The coordinated effort across all sites increases public awareness and scientific literacy. Based on the needs of its large and diverse industrial membership, Ma2JIC supports research in the following three thrust areas: (1) Materials & Joints Performance, (2) Additive Manufacturing, Process Development & Control, and (3) Materials, Microstructure & Weldability & Printability. The Materials & Joints Performance thrust focuses on the effect of materials and manufacturing processes on the mechanical, functional and environmental performance of manufactured or printed components, in particular as they relate to improved reliability, cost reduction and the extension of the service life of critical infrastruture. The Additive Manufacturing, Process Development & Control thrust addresses fundamental challenges in joining and additive manufacturing (AM) processes, robotics and control, as well as integrated computational materials engineering (ICME) frameworks for joining and AM. Finally, the Materials, Microstructure & Weldability & Printability thrust seeks to develop fundamental understanding and testing capabilities to enable evaluation and development of materials more amenable to advanced joining and manufacturing processes. Pennsylvania State University is a natural partner in Ma2JIC and brings complementary capabilities in materials weldability, manufacturing and joining process development, materials performance, modeling innovation, and additive manufacturing. In addition to enhancing its existing strengths, Penn State will also bring new capabilities and research focus areas to expand the range of projects and industry partners affiliated with Ma2JIC. Penn State has historical strengths in powder metallurgy, and ceramic and plastics processing. While these focus areas complement the current Ma2JIC research thrusts, they also allow for an expansion of capabilities and research into related advanced manufacturing processes and promote the integration of multi-material systems into existing and new product forms for the industry partners. These capabilities will also compliment the industry partner base within Ma2JIC and bring new industry partners in related manufacturing areas, such as materials and aerospace parts suppliers. Future work will build upon modeling and material characterization to develop new research involving multi-materials.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.