Researchers will develop a new additive manufacturing (also known as 3D printing) technique and nano additives to achieve next generation energetic composites with highly tunable sensitivity and performance. If successful, the team will develop the capability to manipulate the porosity in energetic composites at the micro scale via this new 3D printing technique so as to improve the safety of energetic materials without sacrificing the energetic performance. The project is led by Xuan Song, an assistant professor of industrial and systems engineering at the University of Iowa, and Travis Sippel, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at Iowa State University. H.S. Udaykumar, professor of mechanical engineering and interim associate dean for graduate programs and research at the University of Iowa, is also part of the team.

The Department of Defense has selected six collaborative teams as winners of the Defense Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (DEPSCoR) competition. Each team will receive up to $600,000 over a three-year period of performance to pursue science and engineering research in areas relevant to DOD initiatives supporting the National Defense Strategy.

DEPSCoR is a congressionally-mandated, capacity-building program managed by the Directorate of Defense Research and Engineering for Research and Technology (DDRE(R&T)) within the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering. The program strengthens basic research infrastructure at institutions of higher education in under-utilized states and territories.

For more info, visit the DEPSCoR website.