Dear all,

 

Happy Friday! We have an upcoming talk on 3D printing and would like to invite you to join us if you have the time. Below is the information. Please feel free to help distribute the announcement to anyone who might be interested. Thank you.

 

3D Printing of Biomass-fungi Composite Materials

 

Zhijian (ZJ) Pei, Professor

Wm Michael Barnes ’64 Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering

Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843

 

Time: 2pm on Nov 10th (Friday)
Location: ENGR 4201 (Fairfax) or zoom (
https://gmu.zoom.us/j/94215983239; Meeting ID: 942 1598 3239)

 

Abstract: This presentation is about a 3D-printing based method to manufacture environmentally friendly products using biomass-fungi composite materials. In the biomass-fungi composite materials, the biomass (from agricultural wastes such as wheat straw and switchgrass) serves as a nutrition source for fungi, and the fungi grow through and bind the biomass particles together. Products manufactured using this method can substitute those currently made from petroleum-based plastics. Initial targeted applications of these manufactured products will be in packaging, furniture, and construction. The presentation will cover several experimental studies on feasibility of this new method, the relationship between the composition of the mixture (prepared for 3D printing) and print quality, and the effects of waiting time (from the time when the mixture is prepared till the time 3D printing is performed) and mixing on properties of the prepared mixture. The presentation will conclude by discussing research challenges and future research topics for this new manufacturing method.

 

Brief Biography: ZJ Pei is a professor in the Wm Michael Barnes ’64 Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Texas A&M University (TAMU). He is the holder of the Mike and Sugar Barnes Professorship II. Prior to joining TAMU, he was a professor and the inaugural holder of Ice Professorship in the Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering at Kansas State University. From November 2016 to November 2017, he was an ASME Foundation Swanson Fellow, serving as the Assistant Director for Research Partnerships at the Advanced Manufacturing National Program Office hosted by NIST. From August 2012 to August 2016, he served as the Program Director of the Manufacturing Machines and Equipment program at NSF and received Director’s Award for Excellence Program Director. He has served as an associate editor for four journals and an editorial board member for seven journals. He has published more than 200 journal papers and more than 160 conference papers. He is a fellow of ASME, SME, and IISE. He received his PhD degree in Mechanical Engineering from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

 

 

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Pei Dong

Assistant Professor | Department of Mechanical Engineering

Nguyen Engineering Building | Room 4453

4400 University Drive, MS 6E9

Fairfax, VA, 22030

George Mason University

Email: [log in to unmask]

https://volgenau.gmu.edu/profiles/pdong3