RESEARCH FOCUS
Zach has been a Research Engineer in Georgia Tech’s Mechanical Engineering Department since August 2021, working with Professor Aaron Stebner at the Advanced Manufacturing Pilot Facility. Prior to Georgia Tech, Zach was a graduate teaching fellow and research assistant at the Colorado School of Mines in Golden Colorado where he received his PhD in Mechanical Engineering as part of the Data-Driven Advanced Manufacturing and Mechanics Lab. Zach received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Colorado in Boulder Colorado and prior to pursuing a graduate degree, gained experience both working as a field engineer in the petroleum industry and as a professional tutor.
Zach’s research revolves around as manufactured material property characterization, prediction, and certification. The two major thrusts of his research are: (1) theoretical and experimental mechanics of inelastic anisotropic and asymmetric materials and (2) sensor development for process monitoring and part qualification in directed energy deposition (DED) additive manufacturing (AM) systems. By developing a more complete understanding of the elastic limits of anisotropic and asymmetric materials, we can better describe both (i) the deformation during manufacturing processes such as forging, forming, or rolling and (ii) the final strength of an as manufactured component. By developing sensor systems to monitor AM processes such as DED, we can begin to better inform the creation of predictive models, identify critical events related to part performance, improve feedback controls for more reliability and repeatability, and ultimately qualify processes and certify components.
Research Areas: Pneumatically Conveyed Solids, Electromagnetic Sensing Techniques, Sensor Development, Tomography Methods, Material Anisotropy, Mechanical Testing, Fracture & Fatigue, High Energy X-ray Diffraction Microscopy (HEDM), Micromechanics, Continuum Mechanics, Higher Dimensional Geometry
