Rising Star Spotlight: Changgong Kim

Changgong Kim
PhD Candidate in Mechanical Science and Engineering at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Changgong Kim is a Ph.D. candidate working with Prof. Kathryn Matlack in Wave Propagation and Metamaterials Laboratory at Mechanical Science and Engineering from the UIUC. His research focuses on nondestructive evaluation (NDE) of microstructure and defects of metals. He worked with Dr. Chenhui Shao on the Quantitative Non-Destructive Evaluation of Fatigue Damage Based on Multi-Sensor Fusion REMADE Project. As a member of the project, he has worked on using ultrasound to evaluate the fatigue damage accumulation in aluminum alloys. We asked him about his experience:

Q: How did you become interested in the remanufacturing?
A: Recycling metals for remanufacturing was relatively new to me as I was only familiar with recycling plastics previously. I found it intriguing not just because of the idea of going green, but also by the fact that ultrasound (which is my research area) can play a key role in it. The idea of judging the reusability of the used metals from ultrasonic measurements and how this can lead to saving energy was fascinating. This caught my attention as I could take part in addressing one of the core issues of modern society.

Q: How has your experiences working on a REMADE project changed your understanding of the field?
A: As one of the project participants, I noticed multidisciplinary REMADE projects and learned that energy can be saved in a variety of ways i.e. through design, manufacturing management, and recycling. We may be familiar with these concepts, but their importance deserves more emphasis especially to the researchers working on application-friendly topics. The biggest revelation was that the field of ultrasonic is not just limited to detecting defects but also determining how to optimally reuse the existing material without degrading its performance.

Q: What’s your advice for the new generation of students considering careers in remanufacturing?
A: Remanufacturing is a broad area where multiple techniques intersect industrial needs. As a researcher, I think it is important to have a multidisciplinary understanding. Remanufacturing offers a platform for students to research on hot topics of the modern world and it is worth considering.

Q: Where do you see yourself, in terms of the industry, in 5 years?
A: I am personally interested in the battery and 3D printing industry. Ultrasound has a lot of potentials for the evaluation of materials. Specifically, it can be used to measure changes in micro- to nanoscale microstructure/defects in materials. I’d like to extend my current understanding of ultrasound to apply it to different materials and manufacturing processes.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE REPLAY OF HIS PROJECT WEBINAR

Rising Star Spotlight: Zhijiang Gao

Zhijiang Gao
Ph.D. student of Kroll Institute for Extractive Metallurgy at Colorado School of Mines

Zhijiang’s doctoral research at KIEM focuses on the removal of Cu impurities from shredded automobile scrap, involving physical sorting improved by machine learning and thermo-chemical processing under molten state. He has been accepted for publishing work “Applying Improved Optical Recognition with Machine Learning on Sorting Cu Impurities in Steel Scrap” in the Journal of Sustainable Metallurgy. He worked with Dr. Patrick Taylor on the Pushing the State of the Art in Steel Recycling through Innovation in Scrap Sorting and Impurity Removal REMADE Project. We asked him about his experience:

Q: How did you become interested in steel recycling?
A: Before participating in the REMADE project, I knew that steel is the most recycled material in the world and it maintains a high recycling rate. Millions of metric tons per year of automobiles, appliances, and other steel products have been recycled by the steel industry. I then learned about the primary issue still limiting steel recycling is the surface hot shortness during hot working induced by Cu contaminants. I became interested in steel recycling when I realized how much work researchers have done to try to eliminate this issue. It could be a great opportunity if we can contribute our efforts to the progress of improving steel recycling.

Q: How has your experiences working on a REMADE project changed your understanding of the issue?
A: With the access to actual automobile scrap and following identification piece by piece, we have stepped through the recycling of automobile scrap and understand the reason for Cu accumulation and contamination. Through exploratory experiments, we think the application of new sensor technology could be feasible for sorting the impurities out in an efficient way. All these experiences not only provided me with thorough details, but also made me think that to solve the issue, technical and economic factors must be evaluated at the same time, especially for recycling and recovery.

Q: What’s your advice for the new generation of students considering careers in Recycling and Recovery?
A: “No such thing as waste, only resources in the wrong place.” I think this could be the ultimate target for recycling and recovery. With the development of the circular economy, recycling would be of paramount importance, as well as the training of engineers and participants who have a passion in this for a career.

Rising Star Spotlight: Shahana Althaf

Shahana Althaf
Postdoctoral Researcher at the Center for Industrial Ecology, Yale University

Shahana Althaf is a Postdoctoral Associate at the Yale School of the Environment. She also serves as a Fellow of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council (GFC) on Net Zero Transition. Prior to joining Yale, Shahana completed her PhD in Sustainability at RIT. She works with Dr. Barbara Reck and Dr. Thomas Graedel on the project titled Mapping the Materials Base for REMADE. We asked her about her experience:

Q: How did you become interested in the Circular Economy?
A: My educational background is in electronics engineering. It was during my master’s studies in Telecommunication Engineering that I started thinking about the environmental impacts of technology, which led me to apply to the sustainability PhD program at RIT to investigate the sustainability implications of consumer electronics adoption. As I learned more about the environmental footprint of material use in different product systems, I became more interested in the concept of the circular economy which envisions a system in which no material is wasted.

Q: How has your experiences working on a REMADE project changed your understanding of the issue?
A: Working on the REMADE project has been a great learning experience for me. Close collaborations with our academic and industry partners (MIT, Unilever, Sunnking, ISRI), has made me realize the importance of systems thinking and industry-academia collaboration in planning and enabling circularity solutions.

Q: What’s your advice for the new generation of students considering careers in Systems Analysis and the Circular Economy?
A: I believe it is important for students majoring in any discipline to develop a basic understanding about the concepts of systems analysis and circular economy. As global economies and leading firms are starting to commit to climate pledges, there is now good demand for expertise in sustainability and circular economy. The career opportunities for circular economy experts are only going to grow in the future – be it in academia, industry, government, or non-profit organizations, as measures to tackle climate change will become ever more important.

Rising Star Spotlight: Venkat Nemani

Venkat Nemani
Postdoc in the Mechanical Engineering Department @ Iowa State University

Venkat Nemani obtained his Ph.D. from the Mechanical Science and Engineering Department, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign in 2019. He is currently a postdoc at Iowa State University in the Mechanical Engineering Department. His primary research interests include machine failure prognostics, sustainability through remanufacturing, and physical system modeling. He is working with Dr. Chao Hu, an Assistant Professor at Iowa State University, on the project titled Data-Driven Design Support for Re-X of High Value Components in Industrial and Agricultural Equipment. We asked him about his experience:

Q: How did you become interested in Design for Re-X?
A: I always desired to tie in academic research with industrially relevant problems. Having pursued sustainability minor during my undergrad, I felt fortunate to get the opportunity to work on the REMADE project, where I could see the practical benefits of Design for Re-X. The issues of global warming and climate change affecting the planet need to be addressed sooner than later and I personally believe Design for Re-X is a potent engineering-based solution, especially for a consumerist society.

Q: How has your experiences working on a REMADE project changed your understanding of the issue?
A: Working on the REMADE project for the past few months has given me the opportunity to talk to our industry partner John Deere, where I understood the importance associated with Re-X while also understanding the practical difficulties in implementing Re-X strategies. It was inspiring for me to learn that even a small design change could provide significant monetary and environmental benefits. During the course of the project, we are attempting to develop a simple-to-use software tool for the remanufacturing industry which we view as the platform to bridge communication between academic researchers, industrial product designers, and remanufacturing experts.

Q: What’s your advice for the new generation of students considering careers in Design for Re-X?
A: I personally believe that Design for Re-X will be a go-to solution to reduce the burden on the environment for all major industries. These industries would definitely require young talented people who can think out of the box. It will be a challenging career for sure as the Re-X solutions are often not intuitive and require exploration, but, in the end, one can be proud that the fruits of the efforts put into such careers have long-term effects and provide true benefits to the entire society.

Rising Star Spotlight: Jinqiang Liu

Jinqiang Liu
Ph.D. student in Electrical Engineering @ Iowa State University

Jinqiang Liu is pursuing his Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering at Iowa State University. He primarily studies the planning and operation of grid-connected lithium-ion battery energy storage systems. His research also includes life cycle assessment and design decision making for the remanufacturing sector. He is working with Dr. Chao Hu, an Assistant Professor at Iowa State University, on the project titled Data-Driven Design Support for Re-X of High Value Components in Industrial and Agricultural Equipment. We asked him about his experience:

Q: How did you become interested in Design for Re-X?
A: After several months of working on our REMADE project, I became aware that remanufacturing a component can significantly reduce the life cycle environmental impacts of the component. And our work in Design for Re-X is very practical. I am happy to do such meaningful research that has practical relevance in today’s society.

Q: How has your experiences working on a REMADE project changed your understanding of the issue?
A: My work on the REMADE project helped me to gain a better understanding of the value and challenges of Design for Remanufacturing. The technical inputs from our industry partner helped to reshape my thoughts on this topic. Earlier, I was more interested in abstract mathematics, but now I care more about the real benefits that Design for Re-X can bring to the industry.

Q: What’s your advice for the new generation of students considering careers in Design for Re-X?
A: First, a good Design for Re-X will reduce the environment impact of the product and contribute to sustainable manufacturing. Also, try to start with a smaller project of life cycle assessment and design for Re-X for one component. Such smaller projects can help find value and gain experience in Design for Re-X which can be exploited for bigger projects and gear towards a successful career.

Rising Star Spotlight: Michael Moodispaw

Michael Moodispaw
Bachelors and Ph.D. student in the Material Science and Engineering Department @ The Ohio State University

Michael is a second-year graduate student with the Light Materials and Manufacturing Research Lab at The Ohio State University after starting a dual BS/graduate program in 2019. He is focused on recycling and sustainability of light alloy production, specifically on reducing various forms of energy consumption via alloy usage and melt processing. Michael is a secondary author on the 2020 NADCA paper of the year award for work on improving refractories for aluminum melt processing, and winner of the student poster competition at the 2019 World Congress on Integrated Computational Materials Science. He is working with Dr. Alan Luo on the Increasing Melt Efficiency and Secondary Alloy Usage in Aluminum Die Casting REMADE Project. We asked him some questions about his experience:

Q: How did you become interested in your field of study?
A: I have always been interested in academic research and have worked in research since 2016 at Ohio State. With a love of chemistry and physics I decided to study engineering. After narrowing in on MSE in my second year of college, I became interested in metals and metals processing and began to focus on those areas through my coursework. Around this time, I also became an active member of the Foundry club at OSU, a student chapter of the American Foundry Society (AFS).

During my undergraduate studies in Material Science Engineering at Ohio State, I took a class by my now current advisor about molten metal processing. My interest in the class stemmed from my interest in the metals industry, alloy design, and participation in OSU’s foundry club. During this class, I learned about casting alloys, casting systems, solidification science and technology, and the overarching importance of the casting industry. The importance about sustainability in metals processing industry was highly stressed during this course which immediately caught my interest. Personally, I have dedicated a lot to living a sustainable life and have always wanted to direct my career and research to sustainable engineering. The course I took showed me how I may be able to work on sustainable engineering relating to my interests in metallurgy.

Q: How has your experiences working on a REMADE project changed your understanding of sustainable manufacturing?
A: My experience with my REMADE project has provided me with an opportunity to learn a great deal about recycling and sustainability efforts across a range of materials and processes. The importance of recycling policy has been brought to light during my time working on the project. Previously, I did not fully understand the potential impact of what nationwide sorted recycling policy could have on more efficient reuse of materials. I was also impressed by the recycling technology available already to overcome some of the challenges of impurities in material feed and waste from sorting challenges. Sustainable manufacturing, centered around reuse of materials, is all about impurity mitigation and finding applications which can tolerate those impurities.

Q: What’s your advice for the new generation of students considering careers in sustainable manufacturing?
A: My advice for anyone considering a career in sustainable manufacturing would be to absolutely pursue one. As it is more important than ever to curb the effects of climate change through reduction in energy use and material waste, the sustainable manufacturing field will grow rapidly making room for many career opportunities across all areas of materials and manufacturing. By pursuing a career in this area, you can help lead sustainability efforts and bring us into a much-needed area of green manufacturing and technology.

Rising Star Spotlight: Temitope Runsewe

Temitope Runsewe
Ph.D. student in the Department of Industrial Engineering @University of Miami

Temitope Runsewe is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Industrial Engineering at the University of Miami. She obtained her Masters Degree in Industrial Engineering from Texas State University, San Marcos. She is the recipient of double awards, the Texas State University Graduate College Scholarship and Student Government Scholarship. Her research interests are in statistical analysis of large datasets in emerging systems and simulation based optimization of complex systems. She is working with Dr. Nurcin Celik on the Assessment of the Impact of Single Stream Recycling on Paper Contamination in Recovery Facilities and Paper Mills REMADE Project. We asked her some questions about her experience:

Q: How did you become interested in fibers recycling?
A: Recycling has always been a passion of mine having lived in a third world country that suffers from a lot of improper disposal of waste. I began studying a lot about recycling and found that the consumption of fibers has increased worldwide in a bid to use more environmentally friendly options. I realized that fibers suffer from a lot of contamination issues and some of the recycled fibers end up downgraded or disposed into landfill. I became so curious about the recycling of fibers that the first opportunity I got to work on a fiber related project I jumped on it.

Q: How has your experiences working on a REMADE project changed your understanding of the issue?
A: Working on the Remade project has enlightened me greatly on how various waste management agencies work tirelessly and are continually investing in recycling. While this effort is being put into place, the recycling participants have a major role to play. If the participants do not play their roles effectively, it could sabotage the efforts of the waste managements agencies. I understand now that the work to be done is not just the work of the agencies, but it equally is the responsibility of the participants.

Q: What’s your advice for the new generation of students considering careers in recycling?
A: Recycling is so broad, there is a place for everyone. The world needs more people who deeply care about the environment. An environment centric mindset is what would make you succeed in this field while contributing to making the planet a safer place.