UF Engineer Is Using $11M Research Award to Make Steel Manufacturing More Energy Efficient

Heat-treating steel during its manufacturing stage is an energy-intensive process where much of the energy is wasted through heat-loss due to outdated furnace designs and other system inefficiencies.

Backed by a nearly $11 million award from the Department of Energy, the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s Advanced Manufacturing Office, Michele Manuel, Ph.D., professor and chair of the UF Department of Materials Science & Engineering, is leading an industry-national laboratory-university consortium in developing an Induction-coupled Thermomagnetic Processing (ITMP) method to help solve that problem and help position the American steel industry as a world leader in alloy manufacturing.

“We are enthusiastic to partner with the Department of Energy’s Advanced Manufacturing Office to develop a high-impact manufacturing process to increase our global leadership in advanced manufacturing of metals and alloys. We’ve assembled an outstanding team of researchers and corporate partners to not only develop the systems and technology associated with the ITMP method but also the science,” said Dr. Manuel. “An undertaking of this magnitude requires drawing on multiple disciplines and talents to help make it happen, and it’s an honor to work with such talented colleagues across the country.”

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