Interim Dean of Engineering Kazem Kazerounian has named Dr. Rainer Hebert as Director of the recently established Pratt & Whitney Additive Manufacturing Innovation Center (AMIC) at UConn. Read about the center here.

In announcing the news, Dr. Kazerounian noted that as a member of the Materials Science & Engineering faculty, Dr. Hebert brings not only strong leadership skills to his new role but also expertise in additive manufacturing alloy development and process capabilities. Over the last 15 years, Dr. Hebert’s research has focused on the phase stability of metallic materials, including the crystallization behavior of metallic glasses under thermal and mechanical loads and phase formations during intense plastic deformation and wear.  He is active with ASM International and currently serves as the vice chair of the ASM Hartford Chapter.

Dr. Hebert recently returned to his active academic duties following a year-long sabbatical during which he was embedded as a Technology Development Engineer within Pratt & Whitney’s Integrated Solutions Group/Additive Manufacturing.  He worked alongside industrial and mechanical engineers to identify challenges and gaps in the transitioning of powder-bed additive manufacturing processes to the production level. He serves as UConn’s representative to the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute (NAMII) and is also vice chair of the ASM (the Materials Information Society) Hartford chapter.

Under Dr. Hebert’s leadership, the AMIC will serve as hub for discovery, design innovations, advanced materials and new processes for Pratt & Whitney and as a test bed for other companies seeking to explore the capabilities and advantages of additive manufacturing for prototyping and focused production of parts. AMIC builds upon the solid foundation of world-class research and teaching faculty at UConn, Pratt & Whitney’s global leadership in advanced aerospace design and manufacture, the state’s extraordinary network of defense parts suppliers and biomedical device manufacturers, and Connecticut’s exceptional student population.