Dong Lin,  Associate Professor
School of Mechanical, Industrial, and Manufacturing Engineering
Oregon State University

Abstract
Aerogels exhibit unique properties, including ultra-low density, high and tunable porosity, a large surface area, low thermal conductivity, refractive index, and low dielectric constant. These properties make aerogels suitable for a wide range of applications, including energy storage and conversion, catalysis, sensors, and bioengineering. The vision of tailoring the macrostructure of aerogels to broaden their applications has sparked research into 3D printing of aerogels. Dr. Lin and his collaborators have introduced an innovative printing methodology called 3D Freeze Printing (3DFP). This method combines multi-nozzle inkjet/extrusion printing with freeze casting to create 3D printed aerogels with several key characteristics, such as continuous, boundary-free, controlled alignment of porosity and the ability to create truly 3D structures, e.g., objects with overhang features. A high-speed X-ray imaging technique has been applied to reveal the process dynamics in the 3DFP process. To date, the 3D printed aerogels have been successfully applied for Radomes for hypersonic vehicles, high-temperature ceramics, acoustic absorption, bone repair, energy storage, thermal insulation, chemical sensor, and chemical absorption.

Speaker Biography
Dong Lin is an associate professor at Oregon State University. He earned his Ph.D. in manufacturing from the School of Industrial Engineering at Purdue University in 2013. He yhen served as a research associate under the guidance of Professors R. Byron Pipes and Gary J. Cheng at Purdue until 2015. His current research is focused on machine learning and quality control in laser powder bed fusion, 3D printing of aerogels, bio-inspired manufacturing of metal-graphene composites, and 3D printing of continuous carbon fiber composites. He has authored 80 peer-reviewed journal articles, many of which have been published in prestigious journals, including Advanced Materials, Nature Communications, ACS Nano, Advanced Functional Materials, Nano Energy, Small, and Acta Materialia. Dr. Lin has led a collaborative effort resulting in the achievement of a Guinness World Record for producing the world's lightest material (0.5 mg/cm3) through 3D printing. His research outputs have garnered recognition from over 136,000 websites, including Science Daily, Materials Today, and MSN, as well as from the TV station KSNT. In recognition of his significant contributions to the advanced manufacturing field, Dr. Lin has received the NSF Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award, the Chao and Trigger Young Manufacturing Engineer Award, and the Outstanding Paper Award at the SME 49th North American Manufacturing Research Conference. He was selected to participate in the 2021 National Academy of Engineering European Union-U.S. Frontiers of Engineering Symposium and was elected as a full member of the Sigma Xi Scientific Research Honor Society. Dr. Lin also serves as an associate editor for the Journal of Manufacturing Processes.