EWI, Ohio State awarded NIST grant to develop technology roadmap

Partnering with The Ohio State University and the Precision Metalforming Association, EWI has recently been awarded a two-year National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) grant to develop the first-ever comprehensive U.S. advanced joining and forming technology roadmap.

The Advanced Joining and Forming Technology Roadmap will be the first comprehensive analysis of U.S. materials joining and forming challenges, technology priorities, and high-impact research and development priorities. Domestic joining and forming operations contribute between an estimated $100 billion and $200 billion to the U.S. economy. Advances in materials joining and forming are expected to yield a competitive advantage for U.S. manufacturers in many market sectors and contribute to job creation and a stronger economy.

Lead organization EWI will organize an Advanced Joining and Forming Technology (AMTech) Consortium and steering committee to develop the roadmap. Ohio State faculty and research organizations will play a key role in these efforts.Ohio State professors John Lippold and Taylan Altan will serve on the AMTech Steering Committee and enlist input and participation of university experts from across the nation, as well as industrial members of the respective centers they direct. Lippold is a professor of materials science and engineering and director of the Center for Integrative Materials Joining Science for Energy Applications, the nation’s preeminent university material joining research program. Altan, professor emeritus of integrated systems engineering is director of the Center for Precision Forming, which focuses on the needs of metal forming industry.

Fontana Professor of Materials Science and Engineering Glenn Daehn, director of Ohio State’s Ohio Manufacturing Institute (OMI), will serve on the steering committee and work with the Ohio Manufacturers’ Association to involve regional manufacturers of all sizes in the materials joining and forming roadmap development process.

The roadmap will guide research and related efforts to accelerate innovation to meet the intensifying demand from U.S. manufacturers for improved or entirely new methods for joining and forming materials. Reflecting trends and needs in many economically significant industries, including transportation, consumer goods, defense, energy, and infrastructure construction and repair, this demand is driven by a variety of forces, from the introduction of new materials to the transition to more agile manufacturing operations.

Headquartered in Ohio, EWI is the leading engineering and technology organization in North America dedicated to advanced materials joining and allied manufacturing technologies.