Turning Innovative Science and Engineering into Values are committed to turning innovative science and ... Materials Research Society for scholarship, ... With the inauguration of

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The University of Texas at El Paso

DEPARTMENT OF METALLURGICAL, MATERIALS AND BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING (MMBME)

Fall 2017 A Newsletter of MMBME

Turning Innovative Science and Engineering into Values

http://mme.utep.edu Excellence in metals, materials and biomedical devices

http://mme.utep.edu/

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Message from the Department Chair Greetings, Alumni and Friends and welcome to the

fourth newsletter. After three years as the department

chair, I am delighted to report that the department is

in excellent shape. The

department has witnessed a significant growth in

enrollment at both the undergraduate and graduate

levels, which is an indication of our student’s strong belief

in the high quality of education that we provide. Looking at this aspect from a different point of view, our students

are being hired by institutions of repute and they continue

to make an impact in the outside world. This is the proudest achievement.

Graduate students continue to be well-funded. Several research projects secured from federal, state,

private and international institutions are being executed. These include National Science Foundation, National

Institutes of Health, Department of Defense, University of Texas System, National Natural Science Foundation of

China, ArcelorMittal, CBMM-North America, and National

Research Council of Science and Technology, South Korea, to list a few.

We are committed to turning innovative science and

engineering into solutions that bring value to society. We

try to meet the unmet needs of society, while advancing

new structural and functional materials area and

leveraging new research technologies.

Your support is vital to providing students with what

they rely on to realize their individual potential. Your

participation is truly meaningful. You know first-hand that

the department is committed to educational excellence

and is a hub of innovation. Its impact on metallurgical

needs of the country has been huge. Every gift makes a

difference. Thank you for helping to provide the students

with access to UTEP’s world-class academics, teaching,

and research. We sincerely hope you would agree that the

department is as important now as ever (and well worth

supporting), especially given the current climate. We hope

that you will visit us soon to see the new face and new

altitude of the department. Moreover, with your help the

department can continue to go from strength to strength.

Thank you for consideration.

As I mentioned at the beginning of the message, our

faculty and students are enjoying outstanding success. For

example, one of our students received the Materials

Advantage award for outreach activities. In this

Newsletter, you will read about the major strides our

students and faculty are making in research and

partnerships. The innovative process of ‘phase-reversion’

to obtain nanostructured or ultrafine-grained stainless

steels was partially modified to manufacture endoscopic

instrument. Similarly, our biomedical engineers are

advancing and exploring the benefits of 3D printing for

medical implants and devices.

You will also note from the examples and stories in

this newsletter that the engineers have the extraordinary

talent to make a difference in the world. Every moment of

our time everything we do is for the welfare and well being

of society. I salute the hard work of faculty and staff for

not only helping the students in providing the best

possible education, but for their exemplary work in taking

the department to new heights and help build on

distinction.

In summary, the department continues to enjoy a

strong foundation. Its numerous achievements continue

to motivate students and faculty to develop their

knowledge and skills with great enthusiasm. These

accomplishments and strengths also provide a platform

for our dedicated and diverse community of students and

faculty to advance in many ways: through innovation and

creativity; by nurturing friendship and partnership with

community, alumni, and industry; and by reinforcing the

internal structures that sustain us.

On behalf of MMBME family, it is my pleasure to

recognize and thank the growing community of alumni

and friends, for their generous gifts and donations that

helps ensure the future of the department.

Hope you enjoy this issue and please drop a line with

your thoughts and comments.

Professor Devesh Misra

IN THIS ISSUE

Student News

Inauguration of Society for Biomaterials Chapter

Celebration of Student and Faculty Accomplishments

Global Experience and Academic Exchange

Partnership Development with Freeport McMoRan

3D Printing Partnership with Carnegie Mellon

University

Faculty and Research News: Turning Research into

Values


Department Chair and Graduate Program Director for Materials Science and Engineering

Professor Devesh Misra

Undergraduate Program Director for Metallurgical and

Materials Engineering Program Professor Steve Stafford

Program Director for Biomedical Engineering Professor Thomas Boland

Undergraduate Advisor for Biomedical Engineering (Minor) – Professor Binata Joddar


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Student News

ASM Award Ramon Benitez’s outreach proposal was selected as one of the grant recipients of the ASM Materials Education

Foundation Student Chapter.

Undergraduate Students Spend a Semester in South Korea

Edgar Reyes together with

Sandra Najera and Daniel Cruz had an

opportunity to study at the

University of Ulsan,

South Korea, located on the

southeast coast of the country.

For the students, getting

to the University was a challenge, “not only because it was a new country,

but a new continent with a different language, and

specifically, a different alphabet,” said Edgar. But with specific instructions from the administrator in-charge of

the international students, they were able to take a taxi and instruct the taxi driver to drive them to the university.

Once there, they were received by the students in-charge of the international student’s program, who gave a warm

welcome. This is where the real adventure started. New people were introduced. New language was a big barrier,

and a new culture to fit in and there were many things to

learn. These new experiences were the start of a real adventure for the undergraduate students.

Students had a splendid opportunity to participate in an internship program with Hanguk Mold, a company

dedicated to processing plastic injection molding in the field of engineering design and marketing.

Edgar says that taking classes in a different country was also a challenge. The very first class with only

international students, provided a neutral environment for

the benefit of all of us. The second class, it was 3 of us from UTEP, and 45 other Korean students, but with

English language as the medium of instruction. During their stay in Korea, they visited temples, malls,

gardens, rivers, beach and some other beautiful places. This made them understand how big and different the

world is compared to El Paso. All of them continue to remember the rich and

enjoyable experience they had in Korea.

An Insight into an Undergraduate Student’s Research Perspective

Ivan Montes, an undergraduate student, was always anxious to know as to what aspects of a material govern their properties and performance. This interest inspired him to pursue a degree in Metallurgical and Materials

Engineering. A strong believer in a well-rounded education,

Ivan developed a special interest in biomaterials. He started at UTEP in 2016 and thought about integrating

materials engineering with biomedical sciences. This motivated him to start conducting research in the

Biomaterials Laboratory of the department. Alongside his mentor, Dr. Krishna Nune, Ivan is

working to understand the effect of different implant materials on cellular processes. “Understanding osteoblast

cell response to different metallic interfaces is crucial in

the medical implant and prosthetic industry “, explains Ivan. “What we are doing here is, determining the most

efficient alloy surface for the application in question” through the analysis of a series of quantitative and

qualitative experiments involving biocompatibility, osteointegration, surface properties (topography, energy,

and wettability), cell-material interactions, intercellular communication, and mechanical properties of the implant

material.

Ivan plans to continue his research until he graduates in a few years, and then commence his graduate studies

at UTEP. Meanwhile, he hopes to discover more about the vast field of materials engineering and unveil its many

applications to engineering solutions in the biomedical field.

Ivan Montes conducting research in the Biomaterials Laboratory

Celebration of Student and Faculty Accomplishments: The Annual Banquet In keeping with

the tradition of more than 25

years, the

department recognized the

outstanding contributions of

undergraduate and graduate

students at the annual banquet held

on May 5, 2017 for excellence in professional activities.

The annual banquet captures the spirit of excellence that we aspire to deliver each year. It also symbolizes something much bigger. It embodies the spirit of enthusiasm of our students and faculty.


Edgar Reyes visiting a temple in

Ulsan, South Korea

A view of the 2017 banquet


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Undergraduate senior Mikael Garcia received the

“Carolina Munoz Memorial Award” for scholarship, service to the profession, department, and student

engineering organizations.

Victor Vargas received the “Henry P. and Margaret

F. Ehrlinger Memorial Award” for excellence in professional activities.

Ph.D. Student Sai Challa received the “Ray W. Guard

Memorial Award” for outstanding academic achievement including research.

Undergraduate student Jeremy Pena received the

“John R. Serrano Memorial Copper Research Award” for copper research.

Sai Challa, Venkata Natarajan, Nishat Tasmin, Pramanshu Trivedi, Ivan Hernandez received the “Graduate Research Award”.

In 2015, the department presented

its first ever Teaching

and Research Outstanding Faculty

Award at the annual department banquet.

Steve Stafford was the first recipient. This

year, Thomas Boland was recognized for

outstanding

instruction, research and scholarship, service to

the department and community.

Inauguration of Society for Biomaterials UTEP Chapter

In Spring 2017

semester, a few motivated students

and Binata Joddar (faculty advisor) got

together and initiated the UTEP student

chapter of Society for Biomaterials (SFB)

with the following

vision:

Promote biomaterials related knowledge, education and

awareness at UTEP and in the El Paso Del Norte region.

Strengthen STEM talent in biomaterials in an

interdisciplinary manner.

Raise funds to support senior design projects in the

department in the field of biomaterials.

Engage in outreach activities by visiting local high

schools and demonstrating the benefits of 3D bio

printing.

With the inauguration of SFB, the department has five

active student chapters, Materials Research Society

(MRS), Materials Advantage, ASM International, American

Foundry Society (AFS), Society for Biomaterials (SFB) and

Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES).

Global Experience and Academic Exchange The international collaboration and exchange is envisioned

by the department as a high valued mechanism for promoting scientific discovery and maximizing the impact

of academic and research excellence. In recent years, the faculty has collaborated with colleagues from Finland, UK,

Germany, China, India, Brazil, and South Korea and is continuing. A conceptual benefit is that the students and

faculty acquire greater awareness of the expertize that exists at the two ends, broadening our insights and

enlarging our views. This culminates in the development

of international networks for joint initiatives and information exchange, and professional development.

Cooperative Agreement with Seokyeong University (SKU), South Korea The study abroad program – dual degree program with

Seokyeong University continues to be a great success supported by $2 million grant from the SKU. The

cooperative program includes study abroad opportunities for the students at UTEP and Seokyeong University.

Participating students acquire international experience by studying in an overseas university that have Printing

Nanoengineering (PNE) courses at their university.

Guikuan Yue Develops Cooperative Partnership with Freeport-McMoRan Guikuan Yue, Assistant Professor has joined hands with our friends in Freeport-McMoRan to establish state-of-the-

art ‘Electrochemistry and Extractive Metallurgy Laboratory’, in the department. The focus is on research in the field of

copper hydrometallurgy and electrometallurgy,

electrochemistry for materials preparation and processing in aqueous or non-aqueous electrolyte, solution chemistry

and thermodynamics in environmental and water treatment in mining and metallurgy industry, and

corrosion. Considering his expertise, the ultimate goal for these areas involves improving the existing technology or

develop novel environmentally benign or energy-saving processes, so as to address the problems in the fields of

metallurgy, energy and environment.

Guikuan Yue holds a Ph.D. in Materials Engineering (hydrometallurgy) from The University of British Columbia,

Vancouver, Canada. He joined UTEP in Sep. 2016 and has been continuously making efforts to interact and work

with the partners in non-ferrous metallurgy industry (especially Cu, Au, Mo) in North America and Latin

America to spur entrepreneurial activity in the metals sector based on technology developed by the department

faculty and students. The primary objective is to contribute to the economic development of the local El Paso region, and adjacent national and international


Thomas Boland receiving

the 2017 Outstanding

Faculty Award at the

annual banquet


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regions such as New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, and

provide training to students for future career opportunity. Guikuan Yue is currently strongly engaged with

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (FMI), one of the world's leading producers of copper concentrate, cathode and

continuously cast copper rod. FMI is a premier U.S.-based natural resources company with headquarters in Phoenix,

Arizona. FMI is the world’s largest publicly traded copper producer, the world’s largest producer of molybdenum,

and a significant gold producer. FMI’s portfolio of metal

assets includes the Grasberg minerals district in Indonesia, one of the world's largest copper and gold deposits;

significant mining operations in the Americas, including the large-scale Morenci minerals district in North America

and the Cerro Verde operation in South America. In November 2016, Guikuan Yue organized a one-day

field trip with senior undergraduate students to Freeport-McMoRan El Paso facility. Through the visit to Refinery and

Rod Mill, students learned the industrial operation in detail

to obtain a deeper understanding of what they have learned in class. Guikuan Yue is continuously interacting

with FMI, in particular, with alumni, Brad Wesstrom, to understand the current issues and address them at UTEP.

Guikuan Yue visited the TC Sanchez Facility and Central Analytical Service Center in Safford, TC Tucson

Facility in Arizona. He visited and discussed the mutual research interests and goals with senior managements

(including several UTEP alumni) for future collaboration on

different aspects of copper research including heap leaching, pressure leaching, electrowinning and

electrorefining, environmental, etc. Freeport-McMoRan is very pleased with Guikuan Yue’s

effort and is planning to donate a number of major equipments to help establish the Electrochemistry and

Extractive Metallurgy lab at UTEP, as well as share some major research facilities (e.g. mineralogy characterization)

in their technology centers, to enhance copper research

and training of students.

Left: Guikuan Yue and senior undergraduates visiting Freeport-McMoRan El Paso facility. Right: Guikuan Yue visiting the TC Sanchez Facility in Safford (Arizona), and Gabe Bowman, Chief Engineer, is introducing the copper column leach facility.

Printing Nano Engineering Lab Explores Partnership with Carnegie Mellon University

The Printing Nano Engineering (PNE) lab of the department directed by Namsoo Peter Kim, Associate Professor, is exploring the creation of a partnership with

Carnegie Mellon University, specifically, The

NextManufacturing Center. The NextManufacturing Center is one of the world’s leading research centers for

additive manufacturing (AM), commonly known as 3-D printing. The center leverages knowledge from across

disciplines to develop a dual graduate program, combining design optimization, materials selection and

characterization, process parameter mapping, software development, final part inspection, and qualification.

3D Printed Food (Ice cream, Churro, Chocolate, Yogurt, Strawberry Jelly) using the IoT 3D Printer at UTEP.

An exchange of students during the summer of 2017 was the first step in this project of cooperation between

UTEP and CMU. Matthew P. Zielewski, Ph.D. student in the

Materials Science and Engineering (MASE) program at UTEP with a B.A. and M.A. in Physics, did an internship at

CMU. His current research involves understanding how porosity forms in three-dimensional printed objects. The

research looks at characterizing metallic powders to identify reasons why pores form in the final structure.

Some of the factors to look at when analyzing powder are: density, oxidation on surface, irregularities, etc. The key

points to identify are the size and grouping of pores in

relation to print direction and height, as well as identify if there is any powder that did not melt during printing. In

addition, Jose Veintimilla, who recently graduated from CMU with B.A. in Mechanical Engineering, worked at UTEP’s PNE lab during the summer. Jose was working on IoT (Internet of Things) enabled 3D printer with clay and


SEM image of 3D printed Inconel at CMU.


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ceramic designs that are strongest and least susceptible

to shrinking. PNE members cooperated with him using edible food. Understanding how the internal design affects

the final performance of the product should allow for high viscosity printing to be optimized. UTEP and CMU are

working on establishing an official relationship in the future through research, allowing students and faculty to

work together towards the advancement of Additive Manufacturing knowledge at CMU and UTEP.

Faculty and Research News: Turning Research into Values The Beat Must Go On! An estimated 80,000,000

American adults (one in three) have one or more types of cardiovascular diseases (CVD); 7,900,000 have a history

of myocardial infarction (American Heart Association).

Thus, in every 34 seconds, someone in the United States has a myocardial infarction or a heart attack, accounting

for 1.5 million cases annually in the United States alone. Myocardial infarction (MI) is the irreversible necrosis of

heart muscle, due to prolonged ischemia which leads to cardiac arrest due to arrhythmia. If not resuscitated within

24 hours after the occurrence of MI events, the tissue damage is irreparable.

Binata Joddar, Assistant Professor, is trying to solve

this problem by fabricating cardiac tissue or simply a piece of the heart wall on a dish in the lab. Joddar heads and

runs the Inspired Materials and Stem Cell Based Tissue Engineering Research laboratory (IMSTEL) at UTEP. One

day, Joddar hopes to be able to engineer human cardiac tissue in a dish which will be vascularized and will

resemble native cardiac tissue in its electrophysiology. Such lab engineered tissues can then be implanted directly

in vivo or exploited in vitro for screening of drug related

cardiotoxicity. Joddar holds a PhD in Bioengineering from Clemson University, following which she gained significant

stem cell expertise during her post-doc training years in Riken and CiRA (Kyoto), Japan. Combining her expertise

of working with naturally derived biomaterials and stem cell therapy, she hopes to achieve her goals of building a

cardiac tissue on a chip in the future.

Stem cell therapy is a promising approach for myocardial infarction repair, and the use of stem cells to

repair a damaged heart is now mainstream in current cardiac research. Unfortunately, so far direct injection of

stem cells into the fibrotic area of infarcted hearts has met with limited success, probably due to the low retention

and survival of stem cells in the necrotic areas, together with the limited cardiogenic differentiation and functional

integration of delivered cells within the host heart tissue.

Joddar’s group will address these limitations with a new strategy, to design and optimize a tissue-engineered

cardiac patch for delivering autologous adult human stem cell derived cardiac and vascular cells strategically layered

and aligned within hydrogel scaffolds to repair the damaged myocardium.

Recently, the work of Shweta Anil Kumar (PhD

student in MASE program and working with Binata Joddar), has shown a pathway wherein 3D ‘bioprinting’ is being

used to fabricate cell sheets containing human stem cells seeded in a density mimicking in vivo tissues. After

printing, the structures are stabilized using post-crosslinking mechanisms and cultured in an incubator until

they degrade in vitro. To their surprise, these structures

are extremely stable on being tested for at least 5 days. Furthermore, the cells incorporated within these

structures are viable and cross-communicate with each other by forming networks as they normally behave in vivo.

Now her group is in the process of expanding this outcome by printing monolayer of tissues with one single cell type

and then combining those monolayers to form a composite multilayered structure as seen in the heart wall,

where many different types of cells namely,

cardiomyocytes, endothelial cells and smooth muscle cells happily co-exist and function at the same time. However,

there are several challenges to do this, as pointed by Binata Joddar, “First we need a bioreactor to keep our

engineered thick heart tissues alive and functioning in vitro. Second, we must compare the engineered tissue

structure and anatomy with native heart tissues for which they are in the process of initiating an animal study where

MI or heart attack will be induced on rodent heart walls

and tissue will be collected to assess the end points of MI and compare and contrast the structure with in vivo

tissues.” Binata Joddar acknowledges NIH for supporting the research effort toward this end.


Graduate student, Shweta Anil Kumar, conducting a bio printing experiment. Also, seen are high school students/summer interns, Ms. Avnika Tandon and Mr. Estevan Mesa in Inspired Materials and Stem Cell Based Tissue Engineering Research laboratory (IMSTEL).

Binata Joddar and her team visiting local high schools as part of outreach activities.


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Grain boundary migration (indicated with arrows) in

superplastic microalloyed steel.

Ultrafine-grained Austenitic Stainless Steel Endoscopy

Treatment Coil (Courtesy: Komatsuzaki, Japan)

Shape Memory Polymers by Additive

Manufacturing: Expanding the usefulness and applicability of additive manufacturing through materials

development has been the mission of David Roberson, Associate Professor in the Department. With strong focus

on thermoplastics, Roberson’s research group has sought to expand the materials pallet available for the 3D printing

technology of Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM), which is currently the most ubiquitous 3D printing platform and

typically relies on common polymeric materials such as

acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) and polylactic acid (PLA). New 3D printable polymeric systems with enhanced

electromagnetic, elastic, and shape memory properties are just a few of Roberson’s achievements.

A view of David Roberson’s lab

The most recent thrust of David Roberson’s research is the characterization of phases in the novel blend

systems created in his lab. “The idea is to create a body of information related to polymer phases analogous to

those found in the metals world,” said David Roberson.

Using equipment procured through a Defense University Research Instrumentation Program (DURIP) grant, David

Roberson seeks to understand the manifestation and characteristics of individual polymer phases.

“Characterization of the polymer phases and understanding their behavior at print raster interfaces will

benefit both polymer engineering and additive manufacturing,” said David Roberson. “The idea is to

create a situation where phase behavior at the interface

can be manipulated to mitigate problems with additive manufacturing such as mechanical property anisotropy.”

The Novel Phase Reversion Concept to Process Nanocrystalline Austenitic Alloys Extended to

Microalloyed Steels with Low Temperature Superplasticity and Adopted to Fabricate

Biomedical Devices: In recent years, Devesh Misra’s group has pioneered the phase reversion concept to

obtain high strength-high ductility combination in nanograined (NG) austenitic alloys. The innovative concept involves severe cold deformation (~60-80%) of

metastable (FCC) austenite (γ) to strain-induced body-

centered cubic (BCC) martensite (α’). Upon annealing at low temperature for short duration, martensite transforms

back to austenite via a diffusional-reversion mechanism, without affecting the texture.

Motivated by the success of the approach, the

innovative concept was extended to microalloyed steels to

obtain NG structure that was characterized by low temperature superplasticity. The experimental reports on

superplasticity at low temperatures (<0.5Tm) are rare, and this is particularly true with low carbon microalloyed steels.

Grain boundary migration occurred during plastic deformation, an attribute of grain boundary sliding

associated with superplasticity, a significant finding in microalloyed steels.

The approach was considered suitable to fabricate ultrafine-grained stainless steel endoscopy treatment tool

(diameter less than 0.7 mm) by modifying the process (repeated plastic deformation instead of one-step).


A schematic representation of the phase reverted

transformation concept to obtain nanograined

structure.

Shape memory polymer developed in David Roberson’s laboratory.


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Multiaxial Forging of Mg-2Zn-2Gd Alloy Leads to

Grain Refinement to Submicron Regime: Magnesium alloys have attracted significant attention for use in the

automotive industry and for biomedical applications. The primary advantages of magnesium alloys from the

perspective of automotive and biomedical applications are low density and good mechanical properties. The barrier

that restricts the use of forged Mg and its alloys is limited formability because of limited number of active slip planes

during deformation of hcp close packed crystal structures.

As-cast and annealed samples were multiaxially forged (MAF) by Pramanshu Trivedi and colleagues, for a total

number of two passes with a true strain of ~2/pass. Using only two passes, multiaxial forging successfully reduced

the average grain size to less than ~1 µm. The mechanical properties of as-cast, annealed, and multiaxially forged (2 pass) Mg-2Zn-2Gd alloy were yield strength – 227 MPa and elongation of 30%. This combination of properties are excellent for the lean alloy.

The study of nanoscale deformation behavior indicated that in the ultrafine-grained alloy extensive dislocation slip was an active deformation mechanism, while in the coarse-grained counterpart, mechanical twinning occurred, implying that the grain structure strongly influences the deformation mechanism.

Titanium Alloy Porous Implants and Trials The data suggests that metal orthopedic joint replacement

(hip or knee joints) and bone plate surgeries now number in the millions worldwide annually, with knee joint

replacement surgeries in the US alone numbering more than 300,000 annually. Most hip and knee implants are

fabricated from wrought or cast bar stock by CNC, CAD-

driven machining, or powder metallurgy (PM) production methodologies: including HIP and powder injection

molding of near-net-shape components. Most of these millions of joint replacements, bone plates, etc. are

generic, mass-produced components which do not work well with patients having an abnormal or unusual anatomy.

In these situations, custom-designed implant components are preferred or required. This is also particularly true for

cranioplasty especially where component to be fabricated

to follow the overall skull curvature. A further challenge in implant component fabrication is the necessity to

manufacture complex shapes, including thin-walled sections, where cutting operations can take a long time

owing to significant material removal; up to 80% of bar stock from which knee implants are fabricated is

converted to metal chips or scrap material. In this context, additive manufacturing (AM) utilizing

laser or electron beam melting reduces the need for

tooling such as molds and jigs, although AM can fabricate more optimized and complex patterns than metal and

alloy casting; especially applicable in automotive, aerospace, electronic and medical/biomedical (including

dental) product manufacturing. Complex monolithic geometries involving little or no joining operations accommodating rapid design changes enable flexible

production and mass customization strategies using AM

technologies involving laser and electron beam processing of pre-alloyed powder beds by incremental (layer)

manufacturing. Devesh Misra’s group together with Larry Murr and

Krishna Nune is collaborating with the Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Department

of Orthopedics, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China to evaluate the performance of

titanium alloy structures with different unit cells in terms

of impact loading, fatigue, and biological functions.

A variety of open-cellular titanium alloy (Ti-6Al-4V)

implants, both reticular mesh and foam structures were successfully fabricated using electron beam melting (EBM).

These structures allow for the elimination of stress shielding by adjusting the porosity (or density) to produce

an elastic modulus (or stiffness) to match that of both soft (trabecular) and hard (cortical) bone. Three-dimensional

porous structures had the added benefits of promoting

cell-cell contact, cell-matrix interactions, and the possibility of obtaining an efficient blood vessel ingrowth

and enhanced oxygen, nutrient and waste flow. They were made bioactive via micro-arc oxidation (referred as plasma

electrolytic oxidation) to form a thin layer of bioactive titania on the surface and through the growth of titania

nanotubes via an electrochemical process. An outcome of the study addressed the challenges associated with the

treatment of segmental bone defects and bone-

remodeling and provided a foundation for practical application of bioactive 3D printed interconnected porous

architecture. Animal (sheep) and human trials for electron beam

melted (EBM)-fabricated, and patient-specific titanium-alloy implants are being conducted. The results, while

preliminary, support the concept and development of

successful, porous, engineered “living” implants. To our understanding, human trials of other manufactured orthopedic appliances have been performed by the U.S. Army Medical Center.


3D bioactive mesh structure and expression of fibronectin protein (green) and distribution of osteoblasts (blue).


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Selected Publications: During the academic year 2016-17, a record number of more than 50 peer-reviewed papers were published by the students and faculty. The citations of published research were high at about 1500 in 2016. 1. N. Tasmin, A. Kumar, and B. Joddar, Attenuation of the in vitro neurotoxicity of 316L SS by graphene oxide surface

coating, Materials Science and Engineering: C, 73, 788-797 (2017).

2. M. Yanez, J. Rincon, A. Dones, C. De Maria, R. Gonzales, T. Boland, In vivo assessment of printed microvasculature in a

bilayer skin graft to treat full-thickness wounds, Tissue Engineering Part A, 21, 224-233 (2015).

3. S. Hong, C. Sanchez, H. Du, and N. S. Kim, Fabrication of 3D printed metal structures by use of high-viscosity Cu paste

and a screw extruder, Journal of Electronic Materials, 44, 836-841 (2015).

4. D.A. Roberson, A.R. Torrado Perez, C.M. Shemelya, A. Rivera, E. MacDonald, and R.B. Wicker, Comparison of stress

concentrator fabrication for 3D printed polymeric izod impact test specimens, Additive Manufacturing, 7, 1-11 (2015).

5. N. Esparza, V. Rangel, A. Gutierrez, B. Arellano, and S.K. Varma, A comparison of the effects of Cr and Al additions on

the oxidation behaviour of alloys from the Nb-Cr-Si system, Materials at High Temperatures, 33, 105-114 (2016).

6. S.W. Stafford and L. Trueba, Fatigue cracking of a 3.4 MW electric motor shaft, Journal of Failure Analysis and Prevention,

15, 211-218 (2015).

7. N. Jia, Y.F. Shen, J.W. Liang, X.W. Feng, H.B. Wang, and R.D.K. Misra, Nanoscale spheroidized cementite induced

ultrahigh strength-ductility combination in innovatively processed ultrafine-grained low alloy medium-carbon steel,

Scientific Reports – Nature, 7:2679, 1-9 (2017).

8. R.G. Guan, Y.F. Shen, Z.Y. Zhao, and R.D.K. Misra, Nanoscale precipitates strengthened lanthanum-bearing Mg-3Sn-1Mn

alloys through continuous rheo-rolling, Scientific Reports-Nature, 6:23154, 1-15 (2016).

9. S. Liu, V.S.A. Challa, V.V. Natarajan, and R.D.K. Misra, Significant influence of carbon and niobium on the precipitation

behavior and microstructural evolution and their consequent impact on mechanical properties in microalloyed steels,

Materials Science and Engineering A, 683, 70-82 (2017).

10. S. Liu, Z. Xiong, H. Guo, C.J. Shang, and R.D.K. Misra, The significance of multi-step partitioning: processing-structure-

property relationship in governing high strength-high ductility combination in medium-manganese steels, Acta Materialia,

124, 159-172 (2017).

11. Y.F. Shen, N. Jia, R.D.K. Misra, and L. Zuo, Softening behavior by excessive twinning and adiabatic heating at high strain

rate in a Fe- 20Mn-0.6C TWIP steel, Acta Materialia, 103, 229-242 (2016).

12. K.C. Nune, R.D.K. Misra, S.J. Li, Y.L. Hao, and W. Zhang, The functional response of bioactive titania modified three-

dimensional Ti-6Al-4V Mesh structure toward providing a favorable pathway for intercellular communication and

osteoincorporation, Journal of Biomedical Materials Research A, 104A, 2488-2501 (2016).

13. K. Wang, K.C. Nune, and R.D.K. Misra, The functional response of alginate-gelatin- nanocrystalline cellulose injectable

hydrogels toward delivery of cells and bioactive molecules, Acta Biomaterialia, 36, 143-151 (2016).

14. L.E. Murr, Frontiers of 3D printing/additive manufacturing: from human organs to aircraft fabrication, Journal of Materials

Science & Technology, 32, 987-995 (2016).

15. L. E. Murr, and W. L. Johnson, 3D metal droplet printing development and advanced materials additive manufacturing,

Journal of Materials Research & Technology, 6, 77-89 (2017).

Illustrated here is the surgical planning and results for

a customized Ti-6Al-4V pelvic tumor and acetabulum reconstruction and prosthesis design by EBM fabrication

for a 35-year old male. The prosthesis was designed to eliminate stress shielding and optimize bone cell ingrowth

using an open-cellular structure.

On the left is the illustration of (A) reconstructed 3D pelvic tumor model, (B) the virtual model of acetabular prosthesis, simulated resection in a safe margin and prosthesis reconstruction with fastening screws, (C) anterior of the custom-made Ti-alloy acetabular prosthesis by EBM, (D) the superior aspect of the prosthesis, (E) implantation and fixation of the prosthesis aided by computer-aided navigation system, (F) X-ray film showing good alignment after 18 months postoperatively.

(Courtesy of X. K. Li and Z. Guo, Department of

Orthopedics, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China)

(Reference: S. J. Li, X. K. Li, W. T. Hou, K. C. Nune, R. D.

K. Misra, V. L. Correa-Rodriguez, Z. Guo, Y. L. Hao, R. Yang, and L. E. Murr, Fabrication of open-cellular (porous)

titanium alloy implants: osseointegration, vascularization and preliminary human trials, Special Issue, Advances in

Metallic Biomaterials, China Science Materials (DOI:10.1007/s40843-017-9063-6).



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The students and faculty are engaged in cutting edge original and interdisciplinary research. While pursuing research, students become competent in logical thinking and acquire experience and skills in using advanced scientific instrumentation. They become trained in a manner such that they can keep their career options open and have the ability to switch career tracks at the beginning of and throughout their professional lives.

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For further information, please contact: Professor Devesh Misra, Chair, Department of Metallurgical, Materials and Biomedical Engineering, Engineering Building, Room M-201, 500 West University Avenue, El Paso, TX 79968-0521 Tel: (915) 747-8679; Fax: (915) 747-8036, Email: [email protected]

Materials Processing and Manufacturing

Polymers and their Nanocomposites

Nanomaterials and Nanostructures

Functional Materials

Biomaterials and Biomedical Devices

Structural Metallic Materials

Metallurgical,

Materials, and

Biomedical Engineering


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