MSE Seminar: Jay Sayre, Translating Materials Science into Products: Impact Barriers, Armor, and Electrochemical Components

This seminar, optional for our graduate students, will be held in Room 184 Watts Hall

Abstract

The scope of this talk is to present an approach - based in innovation - to translate materials science into products through applied research and polymer engineering science.  Applying scientific principles across various disciplines to solve problems in this manner informs future fundamental research to drive toward practical ends.  High-level research plans will be presented in the areas of energy absorbing polymers (e.g. armor) and electrochemical components (e.g. fuel cell membranes, electrodes, component design).  An in-depth case study will also be presented on an energy-absorbing highway impact barrier, where the objective was to develop a product that accommodated impacts such that crash forces were not life threatening to the driver.  The approach was to design and produce an impact barrier through an iterative materials selection and high-throughput screening process, including characterization, modeling, and full-scale testing.  The result was a commercialized, highway impact barrier system that reduced g-forces by 60-70%, while being completely recoverable and reusable after impact.

Bio

Dr. Sayre is the Assistant Vice President and Director of Innovation for the Institute for Materials Research at The Ohio State University.  He leads the translation of knowledge and assets from the Institute to solve the world’s most pressing problems in the 21st century.  He is also an Adjunct Professor in Materials Science and Engineering where his interdisciplinary research interests are in translating science into products within the fields of applied mechanics and materials engineering.  Specifically, his focus is on polymers and composites, fuel cells, electrode structures, advanced threat armor, dynamic mechanical analysis, fracture analysis, and innovation models, tools, and practices.  Prior to joining Ohio State, Dr. Sayre held the positions of Director of Advanced Materials and Internal Research and Development at Battelle Memorial Institute in Columbus, Ohio, which is the world’s largest, independent research and development organization.  He is an inventor of several commercialized technologies in the areas of fuel cells, impact barriers, and vehicle armor.  He has held numerous security clearances, including a Department of Defense Top Secret.  He holds a PhD in Materials Engineering Science and a BS in Chemical Engineering from Virginia Tech, as well as a Master of Science in Polymer Engineering from the University of Tennessee.