Manufacturing and Materials Research at the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL), Wright Patterson AFB

Abstract

Drs. Michael Caton and David Mollenhauer will brief the Stevens community on the Air Force Research Laboratory’s research interests related to aerospace manufacturing and materials. The Air Force Research Laboratory's Materials and Manufacturing Directorate develops materials, processes, and advanced manufacturing technologies for aircraft, spacecraft, missiles, rockets, and ground-based systems and their structural, electronic and optical components. Air Force product centers, logistic centers, and operating commands rely on the directorate's expertise in materials, nondestructive inspection, systems support, and advanced manufacturing methods to solve system, expeditionary deployment, and operational challenges.

About the Speakers

Dr. Michael Caton

Dr. Caton is the Chief of the Polymer Matrix Composites (PMC) Branch of the Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio. He supervises a multi-disciplinary team of 50+ Civilian, Military, and Contractor personnel to advance PMC technologies for the Air and Space Force through the execution of basic science out to applied research and development. Prior to his current position, Dr. Caton was the Technical Director of the Systems Support Division of the Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, serving as the principal advisor on internal and external technical programs that delivered rapid response technology support to the operational Air and Space Force. In addition, he managed numerous, multi-million-dollar programs with a range of industrial and academic partners that have developed technology in the areas of advanced constitutive modeling, residual stress relaxation predictions, creep/fatigue damage characterization, and materials damage prognosis with a focus on transitioning integrated computational materials science and engineering (ICMSE) methods into industrial practice.

Dr. David Mollenhauer

Currently employed in the Composites Branch of the Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory, Dr. David Mollenhauer is the technical lead for composite damage evolution research in the branch. Dr. Mollenhauer’s in-house research duties include strategic and financial planning and execution of technical efforts in development of state-of-the-art mechanics modeling methods for damage evolution in laminated and textile composites. He is a recognized world expert in OMC damage modeling and experimental mechanics of composites. In addition to in-house technical research, Dr. Mollenhauer is a Program Manager with programs focused on composite certification, ICME of textile composites, and ICME of carbon/carbon composites, among a number of other national and international efforts. Dr. Mollenhauer is an active member of the American Society for Composites. Finally, Dr. Mollenhauer is known for his STEM education motivation efforts via his personal research and development of a large composite catapult system designed to throw pumpkins as far as possible. His team is currently in possession of the world record distance shot (1,151 meters) from a mechanical catapult.

For questions about the speakers, please contact Dr. Kishore Pochiraju.