Event
MSE Seminar: Dr. Suresh Babu, UMD
Wednesday, October 29, 2025
3:30 p.m.
Room 2108 Chemical and Nuclear Engineering Building
Sherri Tatum
301-405-5240
statum12@umd.edu
"Solid State Additive Manufacturing of Materials Designed for Extreme Conditions"
Abstract: Additive manufacturing (AM) continues to transform how advanced materials and complex components are designed, fabricated, and deployed. Among the emerging solid-state approaches, Ultrasonic Additive Manufacturing (UAM) offers unique opportunities for joining metals and creating hybrid structures without melting. This presentation highlights fundamental mechanisms of bond formation during UAM, including overcoming barriers posed by surface asperities, oxides, and contamination. Recent atom probe and in-situ studies reveal that high strain-rate plastic deformation induces adiabatic heating and vacancy generation, enabling oxide decomposition and solid-state diffusion. These mechanisms allow for robust metallurgical bonds across similar and dissimilar materials, often with embedded functionalities such as fiber optics, sensors, or neutron absorbers. Practical demonstrations include scaling UAM to fabricate control plates with embedded Ta and Eu2O3 compacts for nuclear reactor applications, where tailored interfaces and irradiation resistance are critical. Ongoing studies address anisotropy, void distribution, oxide stability, and irradiation-induced property degradation, including phenomena analogous to the Portevin–Le Chatelier effect. Engineering strategies such as surface texturing, interlayers, and post-weld heat treatments are explored to enhance performance. Beyond technical advances, this work situates UAM within the broader theme of democratizing advanced manufacturing—making cutting-edge processes accessible to small and medium enterprises, startups, and the workforce through education, open innovation, and collaborative research ecosystems. By integrating fundamental science, scalable process innovation, and workforce development, UAM exemplifies how solid-state AM can meet extreme environment challenges while expanding participation in next-generation manufacturing.
Bio: Dr. S. S. Babu obtained his bachelor’s degree in metallurgical engineering from PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore, and his master’s degree in Welding Metallurgy from IIT Madras. He earned his Ph.D. in Materials Science and Metallurgy from the University of Cambridge, UK, in 1992, followed by research at the Institute for Materials Research, Sendai, Japan. He joined Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in 1993, serving in joint and staff research roles until 2005. He then became Technology Leader at Edison Welding Institute (2005–2007) and Professor of Materials Science and Director of the NSF I/UCRC Center for Materials Joining Science at The Ohio State University (2007–2013). From 2013–2025, he was UT/ORNL Governor’s Chair of Advanced Manufacturing, also directing the Bredesen Center (2019–2022) and serving as founding Educational Director of the UT–Oak Ridge Innovation Institute (2020). In 2020, he was appointed to the U.S. National Science Board. He also served as Senior Advisor for Research and STEM at UT (2022–2024). In 2025, Dr. Babu became Clark Distinguished Chair Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Maryland. With 33 years of experience, 280+ publications, and recognition as a fellow of AAAS, ASM, AWS, and SME, he has advanced welding metallurgy, additive manufacturing, and collaborative innovation at the university, national, and international levels.
