R&D
Infrastructure
Our affiliated faculty are leaders in key areas of design & advanced manufacturing and our facilities host a wide range of state-of-the-art technologies. We engage a range of academic and industrial partners to help move manufacturing forward.
Training
Programs
Our affiliated faculty and knowledgeable professional staff deliver highly specialized and tailored training programs in advanced manufacturing, both online and on-site.
Professor Lorenzo Valdevit
Director
Professor Marc Madou
Associate Director
Professor Regina Ragan
Associate Director
Professor Timothy J. Rupert
Associate Director
Professor Mohammad Al Faruque
Research Thrust Leader
Professor Aaron Esser-Kahn
Research Thrust Leader
Professor Wendy Liu
Research Thrust Leader
Professor Julie Schoenung
Thrust Leader
Benjamin Dolan
Technical Director
Don Fruta
Administrative Analyst
Academia
Dr. Diran Apelian
Director of Metals Processing Institute
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Kornel Ehmann
Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Northwestern University
Thomas Kurfess
Professor, Fluid Power and Motion Control/Manufacturing
Georgia Tech
Christopher Schuh
Head of Materials Science and Engineering Department/Founder of Xtalic
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Dan J. Thoma
Director of Grainger Institute for Engineering
University of Wisconsin – Madison
Research
William B. Carter
Director, Sensors and Materials Laboratory
HRL Laboratories, LLC
Anantha Krishnan
Associate Director of Engineering
Lawrence Livermore National Lab
Dr. Jeffrey Wadsworth
President and CEO
Battelle
Dr. Jeffrey Zabinski
Director, Weapons & Materials Research Directorate
Army Research Laboratory (ARL)
Industry
Vijay Alreja
CEO
VJT
Aziz Asphahani
CEO
Questek
Henry Cialone
President and CEO
EWI
Joseph Dallarosa
Director System Development
IPG Photonics
David Furrer
Senior Fellow Discipline Lead for Materials and Processes
Pratt & Whitney
Theresa Klix
Head of Metallic Materials Engineering
Fiat/Chrysler
Charlie Kuehmann
Vice President of Materials Engineering
Tesla/SpaceX
Our aim is to be a leader in science-based manufacturing, employing state-of-the-art techniques from materials modeling and characterization, sensing technologies, process modeling, optimal design and data sciences. Our affiliated faculty have key expertise in scalable micro/nanomanufacturing, modeling, design and control for manufacturing and advanced characterization. We develop novel fabrication processes for a wide gamut of materials, from hard metals to soft polymers and biological materials.
The key vision behind all of the educational programs that we offer is to educate the next generation of manufacturing leaders. We develop and deliver innovative curriculum in manufacturing science for K-12 schools in our districts, community college students, UCI undergraduate and graduate students, as well as a variety of industrial partners and entrepreneurs. Our key facilities – Rapidtech and Fabworks – provide exceptional opportunities for hands-on learning at all levels.