As part of the UNC Research Opportunities Initiative (ROI), the University of North Carolina General Administration has awarded a grant to three universities that will collaborate on developing new metal-based manufacturing methods. The ROI grant will provide ISE’s Center for Additive Manufacturing and Logistics (CAMAL) with $200,000 a year for three years. The partnership includes CAMAL, the Center for Precision Metrology (CPM) at UNC Charlotte, and the Advanced Metallic Materials and Porous Structures Lab (AMMPS) at NC A&T.
Drs. Ola Harrysson, Russell King and Richard Wysk are the primary investigators on the project. Their goal is to leverage the existing expertise among these centers to address known shortcomings and challenges of metal-based additive manufacturing. This will help to position North Carolina as a future world leader in the field.
“The state of North Carolina is already reaping the benefits of the first round of UNC ROI funding,” UNC President Margaret Spellings told the Triangle Business Journal. “These new awards will continue to advance our goals of strengthening UNC’s research enterprise, connecting top researchers on multiple campuses, and supporting economic development in our state.”
CAMAL brings a 15+ year history of additive manufacturing (AM) research and strong industry involvement to the partnership. It’s considered one of the top AM research facilities in the world.
CPM adds their extensive proficiency in dimensional and surface metrology and in development and integration of instrument systems for precision measurement.
AMMPS provides expertise in understanding the properties of powdered metals and their production and purification as well as materials science.