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Dr. Enrique J. Lavernia and Dr. Julie M. Schoenung | Image: Texas A&M Engineering

Dr. Enrique J. Lavernia, M. Katherine Banks Chair and Dr. Julie M. Schoenung, Wofford Cain Chair III, both of whom are professors in the Department of Materials Science & Engineering, and in the J. Mike Walker ’66 Department of Mechanical Engineering, have joined forces to write “Metallic Powders for Additive Manufacturing: Science and Applications,” published by Wiley, Inc. 

Additive manufacturing refers to the process of creating and building an object one layer at a time. The most common example of this is 3D printing. The recent explosive interest in 3D printing — one of the most common forms of additive manufacturing (AM) — has fueled the need to understand and implement the atomization of metal powder. Many AM processes require metal powders to create the final objects. Atomization refers to the process of transforming liquid metal into a powder. 

“Given our active involvement in this field, we saw the need for a book dedicated to the exploration of metal powders within the framework of additive manufacturing,” Lavernia said. 

Given our active involvement in this field, we saw the need for a book dedicated to the exploration of metal powders within the framework of additive manufacturing.

Dr. Enrique J. Lavernia

This technical reference book provides a foundational understanding of the science that controls the formation and microstructure of atomized metallic droplets. Additional chapters describe methods for characterizing the chemical and physical properties of metallic powders, and the influence these characteristics have on the final additively manufactured parts. The economic and sustainability-related benefits and constraints of atomization and AM, together with a vision for the future, are also provided.

This book is co-authored by Dr. Kaka Ma, associate professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and School of Advanced Materials Discovery at Colorado State University; Dr. James Shackleford, distinguished professor emeritus in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of California, Davis; and Dr. Baolong Zheng, project scientist in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of California, Irvine. 

“We are grateful for the opportunity to collaborate closely with our outstanding colleagues,” Lavernia said. “We thoroughly enjoyed writing this book with them.”