Engineers Examine New Materials to Improve Vehicle Design

Posted: 
This September, an annual materials research conference at The Ohio State University will feature university engineers and national experts in a symposium to discuss the role of new materials in vehicle structure and design.

The New Approaches to Lighter, Sustainable Vehicle Materials Symposium will be held during 2011 OSU Materials Week, Sept 12-14, at the Ohio Union.

Automobiles and other ground vehicles are entering what is sure to be a period of rapid change, redesign and improvement. Auto manufacturers are seeking improvements to production in order to meet federal guidelines and customer demand for more fuel-efficient vehicles. This symposium will broadly explore the issues related to integrating new advanced materials into next-generation vehicle systems.

The symposium on New Approaches to Lighter, Sustainable Vehicle Materials will take place on the third day of the Materials Week event, beginning with registration at 8 a.m. and ending with a roundtable discussion that starts at 3 p.m.

The vehicle symposium will feature presentations including

  • Challenges in Lightweight Vehicle Design: Duane Detwiler, Honda

  • Magnesium Alloy for Design in Vehicle Structures and Powertrains: David Greer, Jr., Meridian Lightweight Technologies, Inc

  • Nanotechnology: Lance Criscuolo, Zyvex Performance Materials and Arthur W. Fritts, NanoSperse, LLC

  • Aluminum and Aerospace: The Empire Strikes Back: Daniel Goodman, Alcoa

  • Future Trends in Lightweight Structures in Automobiles: Gregg Peterson, Lotus


OSU Materials Week is a three-day annual conference that showcases materials-related research at The Ohio State University and beyond. The event brings together researchers from Ohio State, other universities and governments labs as well as experts from the materials and auto industries. 2011 OSU Materials Week is presented by the Institute for Materials Research, the gateway to materials-allied research at The Ohio State University, and the Center for Emergent Materials, OSU’s NSF Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC).

The schedule for other days of the week addresses topics including Carbon-Based Materials, Electronics/Magnetics, Biological Materials: From the Nano to Macro Scale; and Materials Design and Catalysis and will also include plenary sessions, technical sessions, student poster sessions, and evening receptions.

The event is free and open to the public. Registration is available online at www.walcom.com/imr/

The complete agenda for can be viewed at http://go.osu.edu/OSUMaterialsWeek2011
Category: Students