June 2023 - A couple of papers were presented at the SME North American Manufacturing Research Conference (NAMRC 51). Titles of the talks were "Effect of surface wetting on tribological behavior for laser textured steel using ionic liquid-based lubricants" and "Nanosecond laser textured superhydrophobic/superhydrophilic patterned surface for efficient fog harvesting"
May 2023 - Our work designs efficient wetting patterns on metal surfaces to collect water directly from fog. This effort was directed towards collecting fresh, drinkable water from the atmosphere in extreme water scarcity areas. The surface design is inspired by the venation pattern of the leaf for efficient collection and transport of water droplets from a foggy environment. Paper published in Journal of Manufacturing Processes.
April 2023 - Our collaborative work with Dr. Jun Qu's group at Oak Ridge National Laboratory investigates the role of oleophobic and oleophilic surface wettability on the tribological performance in a ball-on-flat setting of laser-textured M2 tool steel using ionic liquid lubricants. Paper published in Journal of Manufacturing Processes.
March 2023 - Avik Samanta presented at TMS 2023. Title of the talk "Enhanced Tensile and Tear Toughness Properties of Thin-Wall Vacuum-Assisted High-Pressure Die-Cast Aural-5 Alloy by Friction Stir Processing."
February 2023 - Utility patent assigned to our developed laser-based maskless patterning of metal alloys.
November 2022 - Our research at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) has shown how strategic tool design and passing strategy can create a defect-free processing zone during friction stir processing (FSP) of high-pressure die-cast (HPDC) Al Alloys, resulting in uniform, enhanced tensile properties. Paper published in Materials Science and Engineering: A.
October 2022 - Avik Samanta presented at MS&T 2022. Title of the talk "Friction stir processing based local microstructure modification to improve fatigue properties of high-pressure die-cast aluminum alloy."
August 2022 - Our group developed a nanosecond and picosecond laser-based method for transforming additively manufactured parts by the Laser Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF) method to superhydrophobic. Paper published in Applied Materials Today.
July 2022 - Avik Samanta co-guest editing a special issue titled "The Future of Micro Additive Manufacturing Technologies" in Micromachines with Dr. Sougata Roy from Iowa State University and Dr. Xuan Song from the University of Iowa.
May 2022 - Avik Samanta is featured in the latest UI ME Newsletter.
April 2022 - In our recent work at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), we provided an economic pathway to use Friction Stir Processing (FSP), a solid-state thermomechanical processing technique, to locally modify the microstructure of high-pressure die-cast Al Alloys to improve its strength and ductility. Paper published in Journal of Manufacturing Processes.
March 2022 - Avik Samanta presented at TMS 2022. Title of the talk "Microstructural Modification of a High-Pressure Die-Cast A380 Alloy Through Friction Stir Processing and Its Effect on Mechanical Properties."
February 2022 - Avik Samanta guest editing a special issue titled "Effects of Laser Treatment on Surface Characterization and Mechanical Properties of Alloys" in Coatings
December 2021 - Our team optimized the chemistry modification of laser-treated surfaces for superhydrophobic functionalization. Paper published in Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects.
August 2021 - Our team fabricated a superwicking surface guided by a superhydrophobic surface on metal alloy for self-propelling anti-gravity liquid transport. Paper published in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces.
August 2021 - Our team developed a machine-learning model to predict wettability based on surface morphology and surface chemistry. This work was spearheaded by my colleague Wuji Huang. It is the first time a machine learning model considers surface topography image data and surface chemistry conditions to predict surface wettability. Congratulations, Wuji, on your first paper. Paper published in Journal of Manufacturing Processes.
August 2021 - Our work on a laser-based superhydrophobic-superhydrophilic patterned surface similar to the surface of the stenocara beetle, which survives in the Namib Desert in southern Africa by absorbing atmospheric moisture. Published in Applied Surface Science.
July 2021 - Our collaborative work with Dr. Aashish Rohatgi and Dr. Saumyadeep Jana from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) shows improved corrosion resistance imparted by nanosecond laser surface processing of a commercial AZ31 (Mg-3Al-1Zn) alloy, which is known to have poor corrosion resistance, especially in chloride-containing environments. Electrochemical studies and salt fog testing (ASTM B117) indicate substantial enhancement of corrosion resistance. The work is published in Corrosion Science.
June 2021 - We developed a novel laser surface engineering method for electrocatalyst surfaces to control the activity and selectivity of chemical transformations involved. This research is from an ongoing collaborative effort with Prof. Syed Mubeen’s group at the University of Iowa. The work is published in Chemical Communications by the Royal Society of Chemistry. This paper appeared on the Front cover of the volume 57, issue 65.
June 2021 - Avik Samanta started as a postdoctorate research associate at the Applied Materials and Manufacturing group in the Energy Processes & Materials Division at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL).
December 2020 - Collaborative finite element modeling work for Ultrasonic Metal Welding (UMW) with GM R&D is published in the Journal of Manufacturing Processes. These high-fidelity and computationally efficient finite element models to simulate the multilayer UMW process are the most comprehensive solution to date and help provide engineering guidance for the design of UMW applications.
August 2020 - Avik Samanta started as a postdoctoral research scholar at the Laser Materials Processing Lab at the University of Iowa.
May 2020 - Avik Samanta successfully defended his PhD thesis in Spring 2020. Congratulations! Thesis title: "Surface Nanostructuring Principles and Design of Extreme Wetting Treatment for Laser Textured Metal Alloys.”
April 2020 - The Daily Iowan reports our research on the droplet drying process on surfaces and coronavirus survivability on surfaces.
April 2020 - Our review paper explaining the role of surface chemistry for laser-textured metal alloys to achieve extreme surface-wetting behaviors is published in Materials & Design.
March 2020 - Our recent paper entitled “Design of Chemical Surface Treatment for Laser Textured Metal Alloy to Achieve Extreme Wetting Behavior” is published at the ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces.
January 2020 - Avik Samanta joins the Materials Science and Technology Division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory as research intern.
January 2020 - Avik Samanta is featured in Dare to Discover campaign at University of Iowa
October 2019 - Avik Samanta is featured in the latest UI ME Newsletter.
October 2019 - Avik Samanta is featured in College of Engineering News Feed.
October 2019 - Avik Samanta presented the paper with title "Laser Chemical Processes to Tune Metal Surface Wettability" at the 56th Annual Technical Meeting of Society of Enginneering Science (SES 2019) held at Washington University in St. Louis, MO.
June 2019 - Avik Samanta is invited by Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IITB), and Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology, Shibpur (IIEST) to deliver a talk on wettability control on metals by integrated laser texturing and surface chemistry modification.
June 2019 - Avik Samanta presented the paper for the title of "Nanosecond Pulsed Laser Processing Turns Engineering Metals Antireflective and Superwetting" and the poster for the title of "Turning Wettability on Laser Textured Metals by Surface Chemistry Modification" at 47th NAMRI/SME North American Manufacturing Research Conference (NAMRC 47) and 2019 ASME International Manufacturing Science and Engineering Conference (MSEC 2019) at Erie, Pennsylvania, USA..
May 2019 - Avik Samanta receives 2018- 2019 Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award from the Council of Teaching, University of Iowa at the Iowa Memorial Union.
April 2019 - Avik Samanta receives the Best Graduate Poster Award at the 2019 UI Research Open House.
March 2019 - Avik Samanta received the Graduate College Post-Comprehensive Research Fellowship from the University of Iowa for Fall 2019.
October 2018 - Our research is featured in the 2018 ME Newsletter.
October 2018 - Avik Samanta presented the poster titled "Enhancement of Laser Textured Surface Nanostructuring to Achieve Superhydrophobicity on Engineering Metal Surface" at the 37th International Congress on Aplications of Lasers & Electro-Optics (ICALEO) at Orlando, Florida, USA.
April 2018 - Avik Samanta receives the Rajyalakshmi & Shankar N Planjery Award in Spring 2018.
April 2018 - Avik Samanta receives the Best Graduate Poster Award at the 2018 UI Research Open House. Congratulations!
April 2017 - Avik Samanta receives the Best Graduate Poster Award at the 2017 UI Research Open House. Congratulations!