Keynote: Dr. Shuai Shao, The National Center for Additive Manufacturing Excellence (NCAME), Auburn University, presents “Potential for Model-Assisted and Data-Driven Qualification of Additively Manufactured Metallic Materials and Parts”
Potential for Model-Assisted and Data-Driven Qualification of Additively Manufactured Metallic Materials and Parts
Dr. Shuai Shao
The National Center for Additive Manufacturing Excellence (NCAME), Auburn University
Wednesday, June 3, 2026 | 3:00 – 4:00 p.m.
Exhibit Hall A – Industry Forum
Abstract: Additive manufacturing technologies, with their significant potential, have attracted considerable interest across many industries. However, for additively manufactured (AM) parts to be trusted in load-bearing, safety-critical applications, their structural integrity must be thoroughly characterized. Bridging this gap is challenging due to issues unique to evaluating the performance of AM materials and components. Mechanical properties measured from laboratory specimens may not represent those of service parts, primarily because differences in geometry and size influence thermal histories during fabrication, which in turn affect microstructure and mechanical behavior. In addition, multiple sources of variability can alter the structure and properties of parts at different locations on a single build plate. Owing to these AM-specific challenges, generating reliable mechanical properties and design allowables remains difficult. This presentation provides an overview of these challenges and highlights the importance of establishing robust structure–property relationships for AM materials to enable model-assisted and data-driven qualification frameworks.
Biography: Dr. Shuai Shao received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Washington State University in 2012. He worked in the Los Alamos National Laboratory as a post-doc after graduation. In Feb 2016, Dr. Shao joined the Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems (CAVS) at Mississippi State University as a post-doc, where he acquired his current research interest in additive manufacturing. In Jan 2017, he joined the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering of Louisiana State University as an assistant professor. Since Fall 2019, he has been an Associate Professor and subsequently a tenured Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Auburn University. Dr. Shao’s overall research theme concerns with understanding the role of manufacturing-induced and crystallographic defects in the deformation and degradation of metallic materials. Over his academic career, he has authored/co-authored 120+ peer-reviewed articles in prestigious journals and several book chapters, which have resulted in >6000 citations. He has been actively organizing scientific symposia at international conferences including TMS, MS&T, and ASTM ICAM. He has served/is serving as the PI and Co-PI of multiple research projects funded by DOE, NASA, NSF, DOD, NIST, and FAA. Most of his research activities focus on understanding and modeling synergistic effects of microstructure and defects on the deformation and degradation of additively manufactured metallic materials.