About

A new generation of materials and manufacturing processes require the development of new Nondestructive Testing (NDT) methods for quality assessment. An example is Additive Manufacturing (AM) or 3D printing. According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), ex-situ (e.g. after the process is done) test methods of parts made by AM using conventional NDT techniques are still emerging. Polymer- and metallic-based AM are developing in several applications for building complex components in power, automotive, oil and gas, and aerospace industries. There are several defects and anomalies that can occur during the AM processes (e.g. cracks, porosities, and lack of adhesion). There is a significant push in the field of quality control and, in particular NDT, to develop new techniques that can overcome the limitations of traditional methods for quality control, defect detection, and characterization in AM parts.

The main goal of this consortium is to establish a sustainable pipeline of under-represented students from Native American, African American, and Hispanic serving institutes to the National Nuclear Security Agency (NNSA) laboratories. Three minority-serving universities including:

  • New Mexico State University - NMSU (the lead and a Hispanic Serving Institution, HSI)

  • Navajo Technical University - NTU (a Tribal University, TCU)

  • Prairie View A&M University - PVAMU (a Historically Black University, HBCU)

QCAM will develop a sustainable workforce pipeline with advanced knowledge and skills required for in- and ex-situ-quality control of polymer and metallic AM components. Doña Ana Community College (DACC), as a branch of NMSU, will be involved in QCAM to expose college students in southern New Mexico to AM and career opportunities with the DOE/NNSA industry/labs. The partnership of these three universities, with relatively close geographic proximity and different strengths in advance manufacturing, can make this consortium a unique long-term sustainable pipeline of workforce to serve DOE-NNSA national laboratories.

NMSU, with expertise in in- and ex-situ monitoring and inspection of AM parts and advance manufacturing education, will lead efforts to engage the consortium partners. PVAMU will bring knowledge of polymer-based AM and virtual reality to enhance the distance education and outreach activities of the consortium. NTU, already a member of other NNSA consortiums, will enhance metallic AM capabilities and help the consortium leadership efficiently manage the consortium activities based on their valuable experience from their involvement in other NNSA consortiums. In addition, this consortium is a unique as it integrates HSI, TCU, and HBCU universities in a single integrated cross-disciplinary partnership.

“The main goal of the Consortium enabling In- and Ex-Situ-Quality Control of Additive Manufacturing (QCAM) is to establish a sustainable pipeline of under-represented students in the field of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) from Minority Serving Institutes with advanced knowledge and experience to serve the US Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Agency (NNSA) National Labs and Plants.”

In addition to the three academic partners, three DOE-NNSA industry/labs: 1. Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), 2. Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ONRL), and 3. Kansas City National Security Campus (KCNSC) will be partners  in this consortium. The educational and research activities in the QCAM will be shaped around the DOE-NNSA partners’ needs to help students gain the desired skill sets to reduce their onboarding time, increase their productivity, and help their new employers support the DOE-NNSA missions.

The final aspect of the current consortium that makes it a long-term sustainable pipeline for students is to emphasis on distance education and use of tools, such as virtual reality, to create a platform to efficiently perform outreach, education, and other consortium activities. An online platform will be extensively used to develop courses and hold workshops. If successful, cross-consortium activities among other NNSA consortiums will be possible. This will be a unique feature of the QCAM consortium, creating a benchmark to be followed in the future for other such DOE activities and federal agencies.

To accomplish the main goal of QCAM that is to establish a pipeline of skilled workers while solving high impact technical problems related to quality control of AM parts, the Principal Investigators propose a multi-faceted structure that reflects the key objectives of the overall project which include:

  1. Build unique research and educational capabilities regarding in- and ex-situ quality control of AM.

  2. Increase the number of undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate students in the STEM program with a concentration on AM and relevant multi-disciplinary areas such as sensing, NDT, data processing, and machine learning.

  3. Create a novel and flexible platform to substantially enhance the broader impact of the consortium and enable cross-consortium partnership by extensively incorporating tools such as online/distance education, social media, media, virtual reality, broadcasting, news, and hybrid-workshops.

  4. Create rich experiences for students in multi-disciplinary fields related to AM and quality control through coursework, extracurricular opportunities, and internships, and preparing them to gain multi-disciplinary knowledge, skills and soft-skills to join industry.

QCAM activities include outreach, education, and research and will always aim at enhancing students’ knowledge of AM and quality control by combining recruitment, knowledge, skills, and experience.