Joshua J. Hammell
Josh is a research scientist and the current manager of the Additive Manufacturing Laboratory (AML). He is also a part time mechanical engineering PhD candidate and a business owner. Josh comes from a structural steel fabrication background, where he has more than twelve years of experience in welding, brazing, CAD, structural design, and consulting. For the past eight years he has been combining industry based skills with fundamental science to accelerate R&D and technology transition in the AML. During his time there, he has worked on development of applications in the agriculture, tooling, aerospace, biomedical, mining, oil & gas, and power production industries. Josh is specialized in Laser Powder Deposition (LPD) of metals, metal matrix composites, and bulk amorphous metal for wear and/or corrosion applications. His doctoral research, has been focus on radiometric analysis of LPD applications for part qualification. This includes two peer reviewed publications, one in 2011 and one in 2013, and a book chapter published in 2015. He has also presented on “Thermal Imaging for LAM Process Diagnostics” at the Laser Additive Manufacturing workshop, “Replacement of Chromium with Laser Clad WC Cermets” at the Near-Net Shape Manufacturing workshop, as well as "Pragmatic Radiometry for Applications in LPD" at the AMPM Conference. In addition, Josh obtained his Additive Manufacturing Certification, sponsored by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME), in Youngstown, OH in October of 2013.
Dr. Christian A. Widener
Christian A. Widener received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Wichita State University in 2005, with a specialization in materials science. Prior to earning his doctorate, he worked for six years on the installation and repair of gas turbine generators. After earning his doctorate, Dr. Widener became a research scientist at the National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) working on friction stir welding of aluminum alloys for the aerospace industry. Since 2010, he has been an Associate Professor in both the Materials and Metallurgical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering departments at SDSM&T. Dr. Widener is the Director of the Arbegast Materials and Processing (AMP) Laboratory, a cutting-edge research facility using advanced metals processing, joining, and cladding technologies, including friction stir welding, laser powder deposition, ultrasonic welding, and cold spray. Dr. Widener also directs the Repair, Refurbish, and Return to Service (R3S), a South Dakota 2010 Research Center and the Advanced Manufacturing Process Technology Center. These research centers focus on using advanced material processing for additive manufacturing and repair for many industrial and defense related applications. Dr. Widener has more than 50 publications and international conference proceedings on friction stir welding and cold spray technologies.
Personnel
James L. Tomich
James L. Tomich is a candidate for a Materials Science and Engineering Masters in Science at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology (SDSM&T). James received his B.S. in Metallurgical Engineering from the SDSM&T, and has been operating and designing Laser Powder Deposition systems for over 4 years in the Additive Manufacturing Lab at SDSM&T. Raised on a farm in a small town in Wyoming he repaired harvesting equipment and developed a passion for metal fabrication.