Marsden Fund Success
Dr Sarat Singamneni, Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering, has been awarded a Marsden Fund grant worth $956,000 to investigate controlled magnetic heterogeneity.
Dr Singamneni says magnets are fascinating, but complex to comprehend, and even more complicated to control. The methods used to make magnets are constrained, have not changed significantly in the past 50 years, and greatly limiting, as only magnets of uniform properties can be made.
The research explores the use of additive manufacturing or 3D printing to change this and develop methods to make magnets with controlled variation in critical responses. Magnets being the backbone to most electromagnetic systems, the immediate potential benefits will be improved functional efficiencies and optimum consumption of energy sources.
For the long term, the research outputs may offer a plethora of new opportunities in the design of specific electromagnetic systems. The research will take place over three years and provide Dr Singamneni an avenue to explore the challenges where the manufacturing science meets magnetism. He will lead the research with Assistant Investigators from the University of Auckland, Victoria University of Wellington, and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, USA.