July 17, 2023
By Ashley Ritchie

Christopher J. Saldaña, Ring Family Professor and associate professor in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, has been selected to serve as the Director of the Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office (AMMTO) at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). He begins his role today, July 17.

Saldaña will be charged with executing AMMTO’s mission to inspire people and drive innovation to transform materials and manufacturing for America's energy future.

As the AMMTO Director, Saldaña will be responsible for addressing market challenges and identifying opportunities to advance energy-related manufacturing technologies and materials, as well as sustainable supply chains, to drive economic competitiveness and pursue a net zero emission economy. These efforts will capitalize on the latest scientific advances and accelerate the transition from innovation to commercialization.

“This is an incredible opportunity to support America's leadership in clean energy manufacturing technologies, materials, and supply chains,” said Saldaña. “I am very excited for the opportunity to work with the talented team at DOE and lead coordination across industry, academia, national laboratories, and other public agencies to bolster our nation's economic competitiveness and to achieve the goal of an equitable, clean energy and net zero emission economy.”

Saldaña joined Georgia Tech in 2014. Prior, he held the Harold and Inge Marcus Career Professorship at the Pennsylvania State University and worked as a research engineer at M4 Sciences Corporation. Saldaña has also previously held visiting affiliations/positions with the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory, the Indian Institute of Science, Technische Universität Dortmund, Autodesk, and Sandia National Laboratories.

Saldaña’s research interests are centered on the design, control, and qualification of advanced materials processing methods. Throughout his career, he has served as an advisor or co-advisor for 67 master’s and Ph.D. students and has authored 155 refereed journal articles and conference proceedings. He previously served as the principal investigator of the DOE-sponsored EPICS graduate traineeship program on cyber manufacturing systems at Georgia Tech.

Throughout his career, Saldaña has received several awards including an NSF CAREER award, the Robert J. Hocken SME Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineer Award, the Georgia Bio Innovation Award, and an R&D100 Technology Award. He serves as Associate Editor for the ASME Journal of Manufacturing Science and Engineering and serves on the editorial boards of Manufacturing Letters, Computer Aided Design and Applications, and the ASTM Journal of Smart and Sustainable Manufacturing.

He received a B.S. from Virginia Tech in 2004, and an M.S. and Ph.D. from Purdue University in 2006 and 2010, respectively.