April 10th, 2026: Dr. James Mann: MANUFACTURING OF MATERIALS BY MACHINING-BASED DEFORMATION PROCESSING

In his talk, Manufacturing of Materials by Machining‑Based Deformation Processing, Dr. Mann will describe how machining can serve as a powerful platform for applying severe plastic deformation—high strain, high strain rate, and controlled millisecond‑scale thermal exposure—in a single pass. By tuning cutting geometry and kinematics, machining accesses strain levels on the order of ~10 and strain rates from ~10 to 10⁵ s⁻¹, enabling systematic mapping of deformation parameters to ultrafine‑grained, nanotwinned, and bimodal microstructures. The talk will highlight three machining‑based manufacturing routes: Hybrid Cutting–Extrusion (HCE) for producing continuous strip, foil, and wire; Modulation Assisted Machining (MAM) for generating engineered particulate feedstocks with controlled size and shape; and machining‑enabled nanostructuring of surfaces and subsurfaces during material removal. Together, these approaches establish a scalable framework for manufacturing metals with tailored geometry, microstructure, and texture, with promising applications in electrical machines, energy storage, and multifunctional composite systems.

Dr. James Mann is the Alva C. Todd Director of Industrial Technology and Management and a Research Professor of Mechanical, Materials, and Aerospace Engineering at Illinois Institute of Technology. He is also the President and co‑founder of M4 Sciences, an advanced manufacturing technology company recognized internationally for innovations in machining, materials processing, and deformation‑based manufacturing. Over a career spanning academia, major corporations, and entrepreneurial ventures, Dr. Mann has held technical and leadership roles across the aerospace, automotive, energy, and precision manufacturing sectors. He is widely known for pioneering Modulation Assisted Machining (MAM) and guiding its progression from fundamental university research to a globally deployed industrial technology that has transformed deep‑hole drilling and advanced material removal processes.