David L. McDowell
The Carter N. Paden, Jr. Distinguished Chair in Metals Processing at Georgia Tech
This Chair was made possible through a generous endowment by a GT alumnus with a lifelong career in metals processing, Mr. Carter N. Paden, Jr. of Chatanooga, TN. Mr. Paden is the retired Chairman and Founder of SW Centrifugal, Inc. David L. McDowell, Regents' Professor at Georgia Tech, holds the Paden Chair.
The focus of the Paden Chair is on the synergistic relation between emerging computational simulation tools for metals processing and mechanical behavior of materials at various length scales, state-of-the-art mechanical testing and characterization tools within the GT Mechanical Properties Research Laboratory (MPRL), and integrating these tools and simulation methods with systems-based design strategies for improved material performance.
Primary goals of the Paden Chair are to:
- Draw on the MPRL to emphasize collaborative programs to contribute to fundamental new understanding of deformation, fatigue and fracture studies of wrought and cast metal alloys
- Enhance and support a vigorous multidisciplinary program for research and education in state-of-the-art aspects of metals process-structure-property-performance relations, focusing on basic research in emerging technologies
- Enhance course offerings related to kinetics, metals processing, structure-property relations and of emerging emphasis areas such as microstructure-sensitive modeling of structure-property relations of wrought and cast alloys
- Develop and apply new concepts and methods for multiscale analysis and design of materials, considering the multiple scales and mechanisms of behavior
