Collaborators and visiting scholars

Dr. James Paramore

Dr. James D. Paramore has researched advanced processing, extraction, and mechanical behavior of metal alloys since 2005. He has a Ph.D. in Metallurgical Engineering from the University of Utah, an M.S. in Materials Science and Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a B.S in Metallurgical Engineering from the University of Utah. Dr. Paramore has been a member of the Lightweight and Specialty Metals Branch of the United States Army Research Laboratory in various roles since 2011. Additionally, he has served as adjunct faculty at the University of Utah, where he developed and taught the first class on additive manufacturing (AM) offered by that school. A significant portion of Dr. Paramore’s research has been on the production of high-performance structural alloys with unique mechanical properties and/or improved production efficiency. In particular, he has investigated bottom-up production of bulk nanocrystalline and ultrafine-grained tungsten. Additionally, he has studied the mechanisms of plasticity in tungsten and its alloys. During his master’s studies, he researched the extraction of iron or titanium from their respective ores via molten oxide electrolysis (MOE), with the intent of reducing the carbon footprint of iron or the cost of titanium. Later, Dr. Paramore co-invented a hydrogen-assisted sintering process for producing titanium alloys with high-performance mechanical properties (static and fatigue) via economical powder metallurgical techniques. Recently, his research has focused on applying his powder metallurgical expertise to the world of metal AM. Specifically, he developed a chemically-assisted heat treatment that significantly improves the mechanical properties and isotropy of titanium alloy components produced via powder bed fusion, directed energy deposition, or other AM processes. Additionally, Dr. Paramore has focused on the development of more robust, forward-deployable, and material-flexible AM processes and associated feedstocks for producing metal components without the use of a high-energy beam.

Dr. James Paramore (jaymz PEAR-uh-more)
Visiting Materials Scientist - United States Army Research Laboratory

University of Utah
135 South 1460 East Room 412
Salt Lake City, UT 84112
james.paramore@utah.edu
Office: (801)581-3264
Fax: (801)581-4937
Mobile: (801)637-0797

Dr. Hyrum D. Lefler

Hyrum was raised in southern Utah, where he earned his first bachelor’s degree (BA Statesmanship), and worked as a construction foreman on residential and commercial projects before becoming a manager at an internet marketing company, and also serving as Mayor of the Town of Leeds, UT. After these experiences, Hyrum decided to return to school to pursue a career in engineering. During his time as an undergraduate at the University of Utah, he worked as an intern for Rio Tinto (May 2012 – March 2014) on their Chalcopyrite Heap Leach Project at the Bingham Canyon. He graduated, with Honors, in May of 2015.

During his senior year Hyrum worked for Dr. Fang as an Undergraduate Research assistant on the HAMR project (Hydrogen Assisted Magnesium Reduction), which is funded by ARPA-E of the Department of Energy, and after graduation he was accepted to graduate school at the University of Utah, where he continues to work on the HAMR project. His focus is on removal of impurities from Ti-slag, the mechanisms and kinetics (including modeling) of direct reduction in the HAMR process, and techno-economic analysis of the HAMR process for optimization and comparison purposes as it moves towards scale-up to commercialization.

In his spare time, Hyrum enjoys writing fiction, reading, hiking, camping, and playing the piano. He and his wife Tessa have six children, and love spending time together as a family.

Dr. Ying Zhang

Dr. Ying Zhang is an Associate Professor in the Institute of Process Engineering of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (IPE-CAS).  Her main research interests and expertise are in the areas of hydrometallurgy, titanium metallurgy, applied inorganic chemistry, synthesis of metallic powders, and energy efficient clean production of metals. From February 2014 to November 2016, she was a Senior Research Associate in the Department of Metallurgical Engineering of the University of Utah. During her tenure at the University of Utah, she played a key role and made critical and major contributions to the development of the hydrogen assisted magnesiothermic reduction (HAMR) process for production of Ti primary metal from TiO₂ and deoxygenation of Ti powder.  Her groundbreaking research on the destabilization of Ti-O system by hydrogen was published in the Journal of American Chemical Society (JACS). She is also one of the co-inventors and a key contributor to development of the GSD process for production of spherical Ti alloy powder for additive manufacturing (3D printing) of Ti. She is currently funded by Natural Science Foundation of China to continue fundamental as well as engineering research of the HAMR process. Prof. Zhang and Prof. Fang continue to collaborate closely in all aspects of Ti metallurgy.

Dr. Ying Zhang obtained her Bachelor’s degree from the Central South University (2006) in China, and her Ph.D degree from IPE-CAS in 2011. Her doctoral dissertation research was conducted under the supervision of Prof. Yi Zhang and Prof. Shili Zheng in IPE-CAS, Beijing. She was an Assistant professor in IPE-CAS from 2011 to 2015. Dr. Zhang has authored or co-authored more than 40 publications in peer reviewed journals. She is also the inventor or co-inventor of 4 US Patents, and more than 20 Chinese patents.

Outside work, she is a great folk singer and an excellent chef of Hunan cuisine.

Dr. Matt Dunstan

Matt Dunstan was born and raised in Ypsilanti, Michigan and came to the University of Utah in 2011 to study Metallurgical Engineering. During his undergraduate studies Matt joined Dr. Fang’s research team working on the titanium hydrogen sintering phase transformation (HSPT) project and was immediately attracted to the researching scene. As an undergraduate researcher Matt was able to present his work on the compaction characteristics of TiH2 powders at the 2014 Powder Metallurgy World Conference in Orlando, Florida. Matt was as an intern for the small turbine engine company Williams International in Walled Lake, Michigan during the summer of 2013. During this internship Matt gained valuable experience in industry that has changed the course of his career pursuits.

After graduating in 2014 Matt stayed with Dr. Fang’s research group in pursuit of a PhD. Specifically Matt is studying the microstructural and mechanical characteristics of the HSPT process.

Outside of research Matt loves to spend time with his wife and three children.

Prof. Chengshang (Shawn) Zhou

Chengshang (Shawn) Zhou is now associate professor at Central South University (CSU) Changsha, China. He used to work in Fang’s group during 2011-2016, and received his Ph.D in Metallurgical Engineering from the University of Utah. His Ph.D project included developing advanced magnesium based hydrides, as well as building and testing single cell thermal battery prototype. He has a B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering from Wuhan University of Technology (WUT), and a M.E. in Materials Science from Central South University in China.

His current research interests related to hydrogen storage material, metal hydrides and thermal energy storage, titanium alloy and composite. He has authored and co-authored 25 peer-reviewed papers. He serves as peer reviewer for international journals including Nano Energy, Scientific Reports, Journal of Physics Chemistry, Materials & Design, RSC Advance, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy etc. Chengshang received Garr Cutler Energy Prize from the University of Utah, and Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Self-financed Students Abroad. His homepage can be found:

http://faculty.csu.edu.cn/chengshangzhou/en/index.htm

During his spare time, he loves hiking, skiing, travelling, cooking, and classic country music.

Dr. Brady Butler

Dr. Brady G. Butler is a research metallurgist at the US Army Research Laboratory (ARL) with over fifteen years of experience in processing and characterization of non-ferrous alloys, with an emphasis on powder processing and consolidation. Dr. Butler received a B.S. and M.S degree in Metallurgical Engineering from the University of Utah and a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from Johns Hopkins University. He has been a researcher at the US Army Research Laboratory since 2008, and has led several powder metallurgical research programs for depleted uranium replacement, engineered nanostructured materials, and high-performance powder metallurgical titanium. In recent years, Dr. Butler has developed a number of processing and characterization tools to improve the performance and reliability of additively manufactured titanium for Army applications.

Professor Wenyuan Zhang

Wenyan Zhang comes from Xi’an, China. He received his Ph. D. degree in Central South University (2011). He started his work career in Northwest Institute for Nor-ferrous metal Research as an engineer, then as a senior researcher. Since 2015, he worked in Northwest University as a professor. His main research interests are porous materials and nor-ferrous metals. Currently, he is working and studying at Professor Fang’s Group as a visiting scholar.