Ohio State Alumnus Elected to the National Academy of Engineering
Ohio State Materials Science and Engineering Alumnus and External Advisory Committee Co-Chair Member Dr. Robert Schafrik was elected to the esteemed National Academy of Engineering on March 7 for his more than 40 years of innovation in materials for gas turbine engines. During this time, Dr. Schafrik and his team reduced the development time for several new materials, including low rhenium turbine blade alloy, R65 – a high temperature cast-and-wrought disk alloy, titanium aluminide turbine blade alloy and greatly expanded the use of composite applications in engines.
Dr. Schafrik has a Ph.D. in metallurgical engineering from The Ohio State University. He has contributed to 28 archived publications and holds 19 patents, and is currently a member of the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board and the National Materials and Manufacturing Board.
“It is an exciting time to be in material development for gas turbine engines,” said Dr. Schafrik, who spent 20 years on active duty as a military officer in the U.S. Air Force prior to joining GE in 1997. “The technology advances that have greatly enhanced the performance and capabilities of aircraft engines are made possible in large part by the advances in materials.”
Currently, at GE Aviation, Dr. Schafrik is the General Manager of the Materials and Process Engineering Department (MPED). In this role, he leads an organization that is responsible for developing leading edge materials, characterizing material properties, selecting materials for specific applications, preparing specifications, and insuring an adequate global materials industrial base supporting Aviation’s NPI and legacy turbine engines. Some of his team’s accomplishments include developing low rhenium turbine airfoil materials in 2 years versus conventional 6-8 years (includes engine qualification); inventing high temperature cast-and-wrought disk alloy, R65, in 4 years versus conventional 10 years; greatly expanding use of composite applications in the engine; and identifying a break-through method to synthesize advanced titanium alloys without requiring melting of the material. Dr. Schafrik received an Aviation CEO Award, Rise to the Challenge in 2009 and GE’s Edison Award in 2010.
For more information on Ohio State’s past NAE members, visit the NAE website.
Article and photo contributed by GE
