The U.S. Department of Defense awarded grants to three Purdue University research projects, including one led by a professor in materials engineering, in its 2021 DEPSCoR (Defense Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research) competition.

Janelle Wharry, associate professor of materials engineering

The grants, announced in May by the DoD, are designed to strengthen basic research in areas important to U.S. defense.

The three winning Purdue research proposals were selected by DoD subject matter experts from among 120 white papers that qualified for the competition. No other university received as many of the 2021 grants as did Purdue.

The MSE team, led by Janelle Wharry, will receive up to $600,000 over a three-year period for “tailoring fracture and fatigue performance through hierarchical porosity in Ti.” The nanotechnological project will synthesize porous titanium through novel processes, and evaluate its behavior with the goal of further strengthening lightweight titanium alloys, which are widely used in defense applications. Wharry, an associate professor, is working with co-PIs Nikhilesh Chawla, the Ransburg Professor of Materials Engineering, and Kenneth Sandhage, the Reilly Professor of Materials Engineering.

“The department’s research mission relies on an ecosystem of creative and insightful researchers in every state of the nation,” said Bindu Nair, director of the DoD’s Basic Research Office. “DEPSCoR enhances our science and engineering research capacity both now and in the long term, and increases the number of researchers pursing research in DoD-relevant areas. It is crucial that we build a research infrastructure that strategically uses the research capabilities found across the country.”

Source: Purdue receives 2021 DEPSCoR grants from Department of Defense