Institute

Director

Dr. Elahinia is a University Distinguished Professor of Engineering and Chair in the Mechanical, Industrial, and Manufacturing Engineering (MIME) Department at The University of Toledo. Dr. Elahinia’s research interests are advanced manufacturing, models control and design of smart and active materials with an emphasis on additive manufacturing of functional materials such as shape memory alloys for aerospace and biomedical application.

Dr. Elahinia has served as the major advisor for 45 graduate students (10 Ph.D. and 35 M.S.). Seven of his former students are assistant and associate professors at other universities. To disseminate his research findings, Dr. Elahinia and his students co-authored 3 books, 7 book chapters, and more than 100 journal papers.

Dr. Elahinia has also been active and engaged in the professional societies. In 2004 Dr. Elahinia was elected a member of the ASME/SPIE Adaptive Structures and Material Systems Branch under the Aerospace Division. He has since served in several other elected positions including the chair of the branch. This branch has more than 1500 members. Dr. Elahinia serves as an associate editor for four journals in his area of research: Smart Material Research, The Scientific World Journal, Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures as well as the Journal of Shock and Vibration.

Aerospace

Director

Dr. Steven Huebner is a Research Professor. He received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Toledo in 1987 and has managed large aerospace related projects for over thirty years. As program manager and chief engineer on several military and commercial programs, he has managed both the technical and financial aspects of programs with budgets up to $50M. In this capacity, he has developed many contacts with prime contractors such as Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and Northrop Grumman, as well as the Air Force Program Office at Eglin Air Force Base.

At UToledo he has led a team of researchers from two engineering departments and the Chemistry Department on an ONR project in collaboration with Teledyne.

As the executive director, Dr. Huebner seeks to increase applied and collaborative research projects with industrial partners with an emphasis on expanding research in aerospace and advanced manufacturing.

Dr. Huebner teaches MIME Senior Design course. In this course the students benefit from his strong project management and technical skills.

Advanced Manufacturing Director

Dr. Behrang Poorganji is a Research Professor and Director of Advanced Manufacturing at the University of Toledo Applied Research Engineering Institute. Dr. Poorganji has more than 20 years of experience in metallic materials processing with 10 years of direct experience with Additive Manufacturing (3D Printing). Dr. Poorganji got his Ph.D. in metallurgy and materials processing from Tohoku University in Japan, in 2007.

Most Recently, Dr. Poorganji served as a VP of Advanced Technology at Beehive3D, Inc., and he was the former director of materials technology organization at GE Additive. Dr. Poorganji led engineering teams on AM materials design, AM process development, powders processes, development, AM materials behavior, and characterization. Dr. Poorganji has extensive experience at different management, and lead technical positions in aerospace, power management, and automotive industries globally (Japan, Canada, and the USA). Dr. Poorganji worked with several firms and industries worldwide in the Additive Manufacturing as a senior advisor and consultant providing solutions for full industrialization and AM adoption.

Dr. Poorganji Supervised 10 Ph.D. and Master Students in completion of their thesis and degrees. Dr. Poorganji has +100 Keynote Speeches, Invited Talks, Conference Presentations, Peer Reviewed Journal Papers, Technical Interviews, and Book Chapters. He also holds DFSS green belt and Program and Project Management Certificates.

In his spare time, Behrang enjoys family activities, playing volleyball, swimming, reading books, and cooking.