Chris Yuan, associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, won first place in the Reusable Abstractions of Manufacturing Processes national research competition.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology, National Science Foundation, American Society of Testing and Materials (ATSM) and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers organize the national contest. It is designed to showcase sustainable manufacturing techniques on a unit manufacturing process using a specific ATSM standard.
Yuan’s project, “Sustainable Manufacturing Analysis of Atomic Layer Deposition of Al2O3 Thin Film,” won first place over seven finalists from universities across the country.
Atomic layer deposition is recognized as the most accurate surface coating technology and has found wide applications on semiconductors, batteries, solar cells, fuel cells, medical devices, optics and more. Through his research, Yuan aims to develop a unit manufacturing process model to characterize the potential environmental impacts of the atomic layer deposition process, using Al2O3 thin film in semiconductor manufacturing as a case study.
Learn more at challenge.gov/challenge/ramp-reusable-abstractions-of-manufacturing-processes-2017/.