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CCM Profile: Assistant Director Steve Andersen:  Negotiating the Path Between Research and Applications
By Diane Kukich

CCM Associate Scientist Steve Andersen (BME90, MME97) views himself as an “applications guy” rather than a “research guy,” but he’s actually an expert at bridging the gap between the two.  “The path between research and applications is a two-way street,” he says.   Andersen’s job is to make sure that the traffic on that street moves smoothly and consistently in both directions.
                           
“The key challenge in my job is to ensure that research and technology are not managed separately,” he says.  “I work with our researchers to identify the best and most promising new materials, processes, and software products and apply those technologies to programs in which we’re already involved with industry and the military.”

“At the other end,” he continues, “I work with our DOD and industrial sponsors to determine their needs and use this information to identify new directions for our research, with an eye toward results that will be usable in two or three years.”


Stephen Andersen
CCM Assistant Director for Military Programs

This match-making process is not only the core of Andersen’s job but also the key to CCM’s uniqueness.  “It’s a reflection of how closely we’re tied into the needs of our sponsors,” he says.  “We can move from a development in the lab to validation in the field or the manufacturing plant in a very aggressive time frame, enabling us to keep pace with our industrial sponsors.”

CCM’s Applications and Technology Transfer Laboratory is at the heart of this unique capability.  The lab enables the Center to pursue high-risk/high-reward developments, which, if successful, can be transferred to military or industrial sponsors in a timely way. 

Andersen emphasizes that this is not a simple prototyping operation:  “What we do in the lab is totally in keeping with our three-part mission,” he says.  “The facility enables us to conduct research, educate scientists and engineers outside CCM, and transfer new technologies to them.  The challenge is ensuring that the research is relevant to the applications and that the applications are relevant to the research.”

According to Andersen, some aspect of the work is “always pushing the technological limits—doing something that hasn’t been done before.”  Examples include the HUMVEE hood that was developed in collaboration with TPI and the ballistic hardtop produced with AMTECH Corporation.

“The need for the hood was defined by the military,” he says, “and we had the materials and process technology to meet it.  We leveraged the process work from our AMIPC program, which is funded by the Navy, and developed a superior product at a reasonable cost.  The part is a candidate for production using TPI’s SCRIMP process.”

“For the project with AMTECH,” Andersen continues, “we leveraged our past experience in intelligent processing and process modeling for VARTM with CAD and FE analysis software for vehicle-scale components, complemented by our armor experience, to come up with a monocoque armored component.  We helped the company set up their factory with equipment and processing capabilities to meet an immediate need for the Marines.”

One unusual but critical facet of Andersen’s job is his role in helping to form connections—between industry and the military as well as between consortium members.  In some cases, this means bringing together companies that, in other circumstances, might be considered competitors. 

Andersen works with the various consortium members to form a “composite” team that is much stronger than any of the players would be individually.  “We bring together everyone from raw material suppliers and material converters to composites fabricators and systems integrators to meet particular requirements,” he explains.  Like the materials themselves, the teams are tailored to meet the specific needs of the project.

Andersen attributes his success in this role as a “broker” to his industrial experience.  “Industry wants to know how it’s going to work for them.  My industry experience lets me do this.”

Andersen’s CCM experience doesn’t hurt either:  His history with the Center spans almost 19 years, from his undergraduate days as a mechanical engineering student doing research with Director Jack Gillespie.  He has since developed a strong understanding of the research and technology culture from the viewpoints of not only industry and academia but also the military.

It is fitting that he gained some of his experience with industry while sitting in an office in the Composites Manufacturing Science Lab.  “I was working for Anholt Technologies, one of the Center’s industrial partners in the early to mid-1990s, and I spent time in residence at CCM,” he explains.  That position gave him a good foundation for the role he now plays in fostering collaboration and facilitating technology transfer. 

After leaving Anholt, Andersen gained additional experience working on industrial projects in a number of areas, including medical devices, wind energy, and bridge decks.  He returned to the Center as a professional staff member in July of 2002, ready to do what he does best:  serve as a matchmaker between those with capabilities and those with needs.

“Steve is a great asset to our organization,” says Gillespie.  “He understands the industrial and academic cultures as well as the needs of the defense sector.  This understanding is complemented by his extensive knowledge of composites design, analysis, prototyping, and process scaleup.  The expertise Steve brings to the table is what enables us to play such a strong role in technology insertion—in getting the research out of the lab and on the ground and into the field.”

OTHER NEWS

UDaily Story - 3:56 p.m., Jan. 2, 2007
UD Scientists Discover New Class of Polymers

They said it couldn't be done. And that's what really motivated UD polymer chemist Chris Snively and Jochen Lauterbach, professor of chemical engineering at UD.

Read Full Story in UDaily

New Book Publication:
Processing and Properties of Nanocomposites
By Prof Suresh G. Advani
CCM Associate Director,
George W. Laird Professor, Mechanical Engineering

This book focuses on carbon nanotubes and nanoclays and explores their importance and roles in composites. Hence, the chapters address processing, rheology, mechanical properties and their interaction with fiber composites.

Key Features:
- Highlights details of material structure
- Introduces new techniques for mechanical property characterization
- Includes rheological methods for characterization

For more information or to purchase, visit http://worldscibooks.com
World Scientific Publishing Corporation

 spacebeam1

CONSORTIUM

CCM would like to welcome General Motors Corporation, Warren, MI, and Owens Corning Science & Technology, Novi, MI, to our University-Industry Consortium. We also wish to thank BAE Systems, Santa Clara, CA, Degussa Corporation, Piscataway, NJ, Hexcel Research & Technology, Sequin, TX, and Leading Edge Composites, Nottingham, PA, for their ongoing support, for the recent renewal of their memberships, and for continuing to participate in consortium activities.

To learn more about our Consortium, please visit http://www.ccm.udel.edu/Consortium/members.html .

POSITIONS AVAILABLE

Greene, Tweed & Co., a world-class provider of innovative product and business solutions and experts in high performance materials and engineering design, currently has the following employment opportunities available:

Composite Engineer, (Kulpsville, PA )

Process Engineer, (Philadelphia , PA)

PUBLICATIONS

Conference Proceedings

Federici et al., “Catalytic Microcombustors with Integration of Thermoelectric Elements for Portable Power Production,” AIChE Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA, 2006.

Federici et. al., “Enhancing Microburner Stability for Portable Power Through Heat Recuperation,” AIChE Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA, 2006.

Journals

Alms, J., F. Zhou, C. Corlay, and S. G. Advani, "Thermal Detection of Air Leakage in Vacuum Infusion Processes", SAMPE Journal, 43 (1), pp. 56-59, Jan/Feb, 2007.

Decker, M. J, C. J. Halbach, C. H. Nam, N. J. Wagner, and E. D. Wetzel.  "Stab Resistance of Shear Thickening Fluid (STF)-Treated Fabrics," Composites Science and Technol,  67, pp. 565-578, 2007.

Federici, J. A., D. G. Norton, E. D. Wetzel, and D. G. Vlachos,”Catalytic Microcombustors with Integration of Thermoelectric Elements for Portable Power Production,” Journal of Power Sources, 161 (2), pp. 1469-1478, 2006.

Heider, D., P. Simacek, A. Dominauskas, H. Deffor, S. Advani, and J. W. Gillespie, Jr., “Infusion Design Methodology for Thick-Section, Low-Permeability Preforms using Inter-Laminar Flow Media,”, Composites: Part A, 38, pp. 525-534, 2007.

Young, S. L. and N. J. Wagner, “Rheological Properties and Small Angle Neutron Scattering of a Shear Thickening, Nanoparticle Dispersion at High Shear Rate”, I&EC Research, 45(21), pp.7015-2024, 2006.

Awards:
AIChE - Catalysis and Reaction Engineering Travel Award (2006) - Justin A. Federici

 

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