To be effective on the battlefield and during intense training, Soldiers need to have equipment that is strong, durable and lightweight. Now, two faculty members from the U.S. Military Academy’s Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering (CME) will have more resources to advance their research in materials development and manufacturing, leading to the development of lighter, stronger and more resilient materials.

Dr. Jennifer Bennett ’93 and COL Margaret Nowicki ’99 have received a $900,000 award from the Defense University Research Instrumentation Program (DURIP) to acquire a Directed Energy Disposition (DED) machine to do just that – advance their research.

DED is a metal 3D printing technology in which parts are built by depositing metal in layers to form a three-dimensional structure. The DED machine is unique in its ability to create functionally graded materials and modify or repair legacy components.

Bennett ’93, who is Assistant Professor in the Center for Innovation and Engineering (CIE) under CME, and Nowicki ’99, Academy Professor and Associate Professor in CME, are the primary investigators for the project. The DURIP award, managed by the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Command Army Research Laboratory (DEVCOM ARL), will support new research collaborations with ARL on creating structures with unusual combinations of strength and toughness that could shape new concepts for Soldier and vehicle protection.

Congratulations to the research team for their demonstrated excellence and for the important collaborative work they’ve set out to do. Read more.

Excerpt and photo taken from https://www.army.mil/.