Speaker: Dr. James E. Smay, Professor of Materials and Engineering, Oklahoma State University, Tulsa
This presentation highlights the assembly of ceramic materials by direct-write, 3D printing. 3D
printing has permiated the engineering world as well as the public imagination. The pallet of
materials available has broadened to include thermoplastics, thermosets, photopolymers,
elastomers, metals and ceramics. The method for patterning ranges from automated cement
deposition for construction to nano-scale lithography. In this talk, I will focus on extrusion-based,
direct writing of colloidal gels to create high-quality ceramics. The intrinsic, non-Newtonian
rheology of concentrated collidal gels will be explained in relation to printability of complex
structures as well as the finishing steps necessary to create advanced ceramic parts. Examples
from electroceramics to artificial bone implants created with this 3D printing technique will be
discussed.
Biography
Dr. Smay is Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at Oklahoma State University in
Tulsa. He joined the OSU faculty in 2002 after receiving his B.S. degree in Mechanical
Engineering in 1996 from OSU Stillwater, his Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering in 2002
from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and an internship at Sandia National Labs
in Albuquerque. Dr. Smay’s research is focused on colloidal processing of ceramis. Dr. Smay has
received the Victor K. Lamer award from the American Chemical Society for his early work in
this area and the CAREER and PECASE awards from the National Science Foundation while at
OSU. He currently teaches undergraduate and graduate engineering courses on both the Stillwater
and Tulsa campuses. Additionally, Dr. Smay consults through his company to build researchgrade
printers for universities across Europe, the US and Asia.