Engineering professor receives $400,000 NSF grant
Noori to study microwaves’ possible role in bonding different kinds of metal
Dr. Hadi Noori has received a three-year, $400,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to develop a new manufacturing process using something you probably have in your kitchen.
Noori, an assistant professor of engineering at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford who specializes in materials science, has developed a process to bond different kinds of metal by directing microwaves at the metals to create a “dusty plasma” around their surfaces that allows them to bond.
The new method is much faster than traditional methods to create a weld — possibly up to 100 times faster. It's also much more energy-efficient, which could save substantial labor hours in the manufacturing process.
“If you can save time, you can save resources,” Noori said.
He said the process might also have applications for joining metals under extreme conditions, such as those found in space.
Right now, Noori has had initial success with the method. Over the next three years, he'll work to understand the science behind the process well enough to refine it for specific purposes — perhaps joining two metals that couldn't previously be joined or building a structure or machinery on a moon base.
Working alongside him will be a doctoral student from the University of Pittsburgh's Swanson School of Engineering and four paid undergraduate engineering students at Pitt-Bradford, who will help build prototypes and test and measure results.
Noori said the research will give his Pitt-Bradford students a chance to deepen their theoretical knowledge, gain firsthand research experience, and explore whether they might want to pursue an advanced engineering degree.
“This is how we develop the next generation of researchers in academia and industry,” he said.
Noori, himself the son of two teachers, is also working to introduce younger students to engineering. As part of the grant, he built an annual summer workshop for 30 high school science teachers, providing them with direct experience and foundational knowledge of how microwaves interact with various materials.
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