Todd A. Palmer holds a joint appointment as a Professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics and Materials Science and Engineering and is the director of the Center for Innovative Sintered Products in the Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics at Penn State. Prior to assuming his current position, he was with the Applied Research Laboratory at Penn State from 2007 to 2017, where he rose to the rank of Senior Scientist. From 2000 to 2007, he was at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, Calif., where he was a metallurgist in the Materials Science and Technology Division. He earned his BS and MS degrees in Metals Science and Engineering and a PhD in Materials Science and Engineering (1999) from Pennsylvania State University. He also holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Pennsylvania State University.
Prof. Palmer is the author or coauthor of more than 100 articles and reports and holds four patents in the area of electron beam diagnostics. His current research interests involve the laser and electron beam additive manufacturing of metallic materials, characterization of phase transformations in structural materials using synchrotron-based in situ X-ray diffraction techniques, high energy density (electron and laser beam) welding and joining processes, and electron beam welding diagnostics. He is also actively involved in the larger research community and works with standards development organizations in the areas of high energy density beam processing, welding and joining, and additive manufacturing. Organizations to which he contributes include the following:
- Key Reader, Metallurgical and Materials Transactions
- Principal Reviewer, Welding Journal Research Supplement.
- Member, Editorial Board, Science and Technology of Welding and Joining
- Vice Chair, Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance Editorial Committee, ASM International
- Past Chair, American Welding Society C7 Committee on High Energy Beam Welding and Cutting (2013-Present)
- Past Chair, American Welding Society C7B Sub-Committee on Electron Beam Welding and Cutting (2006-Present)
- Vice-Chair, American Welding Society D20 Committee on Additive Manufacturing (2013-Present)
- Chair, Fellows Committee, American Welding Society
- Chair, Awards Committee, American Welding Society
Within Penn State, he is associated with the Penn State Intercollege Graduate Degree Program (IGDP) in Materials Science and Engineering (MatSE) where a multitude of perspectives and cross-disciplinary collaboration within research is highly valued. Graduate students in the IGDP in MatSE may work with faculty members from across Penn State. He is also the Penn State site director for the Manufacturing and Materials Joining Innovation Center (Ma2JIC), which is an Industry/University Collaborative Research Center (I/UCRC) sponsored by the National Science Foundation.
Our research lies at the nexus of materials processing, microstructural characterization, and materials properties and performance critical to the development of advanced manufacturing processes. Specific research areas include high energy density welding and joining, additive manufacturing, and particulate material processing, primarily in metallic material systems. The combination of these different fields underlies many emerging fabrication technologies and allows us to work at the frontiers of metal-based additive manufacturing, particulate materials processing, and computational modeling. Working in these different areas requires a highly interdisciplinary approach and allows us to work in close collaboration with a wide range of stakeholders across academia, government, and industry and take advantage of advanced characterization tools for the in situ study of these complex materials processing operations.
-Improving Reliability and Reducing Uncertainty in Production-Scale Laser and Electron Beam Welding
-Role of Boron Composition on the Laser Weldability of Austenitic Stainless Steels
-Investigating the Interaction Between Fatigue Response and Complex Inclusions in Additively Manufactured Austenitic Stainless Steels
-Impact of Beam Deflection on Porosity during Keyhole Mode Laser Welding of Aluminum Alloys
-Controlling Solidification and Selective Alloying Element Vaporization in the Additive Manufacturing of High Strength Aluminum alloys
- I.J. Wietecha-Reiman, A. Segall, X. Zhao, and T.A. Palmer, “Combining Fractal and Topological Analyses to Quantify Fracture Surfaces in Additively Manufactured Ti-6Al-4V”, International Journal of Fatigue, 166, 2023, 107232 (doi.org/10.1016/j.ijfatigue. 2022.107232).
- M. Z. Gao, B. Mondal, T. A. Palmer, W. Zhang, T. DebRoy, “Integrated Modeling of Cracking during Deep Penetration Laser Welding of Nickel Alloys”, in press Science and Technology of Welding and Joining, 2023 (doi.org/10.1080/13621718.2023.2207950).
- J.S. Zuback, A.D. Iams, F. Zhang, L.A. Giannuzzi, and T.A. Palmer, “Stable Nitride Precipitation in Additively Manufactured Nickel Superalloys”, Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 910, 2022, 164918 (doi.org/10.1016/j.jallcom.2022.164918).
- A. D. Iams, M. Z. Gao, A. Shetty, and T.A. Palmer, “Influence of Particle Size on Powder Rheology and Effects on Mass Flow During Directed Energy Deposition Additive Manufacturing”, Powder Technology, 396, 2022, 316-326 (doi.org/10.1016/j.powtec.2021.10.059).
- S. Nayir, J.S. Keist, and T.A. Palmer, “Role of changes in heat input on microstructure and mechanical properties of additively manufactured Ti-6Al-4V fabricated by Directed Energy Deposition”, Materials Science and Engineering A, 822, 2021, 141541 (doi.org/10.1016/j.msea.2021.141541).
- A.D. Iams, J.S. Keist, L.A. Giannuzzi, and T.A. Palmer, “Role of Oxygen Composition on the Formation of Oxide Inclusions in an Additively Manufactured Super Duplex Stainless Steel”, Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A, 52, 2021, 3401-3412 (doi.org/10.1007/s11661-021-06311-8).
- D.J. Shaffer, A.E. Wilson-Heid, J.S. Keist, A.M. Beese, and T.A. Palmer, “Impact of Retained Austenite on the Aging Response of Additively Manufactured 17-4 PH Grade Stainless Steel”, Materials Science and Engineering A, 817, 2021, 141363 (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msea.2021.141363).
- M. Z. Gao, B. Ludwig, and T.A. Palmer, “Impact of atomization gas on characteristics of austenitic stainless steel powder feedstocks for additive manufacturing”, Powder Technology, 383, 2021, 30-42 (doi.org/10.1016/j.powtec.2020.12.005).
- J.S. Zuback, G.L. Knapp, T.A. Palmer, and T. DebRoy, “Deposit Geometry and Oxygen Concentration Spatial Variations due to Composition Change in Printed Functionally Graded Components”, International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 164, 2021, 120526 (doi.org/10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2020.120526).
- B.J. Simmonds, E.J. Garboczi, T.A. Palmer, and P.A. Williams, “Dynamic Laser Absorptance Measured in a Geometrically Characterized Stainless Steel Powder”, Physical Review Applied, 13, 2020, 024057 (doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevApplied.13.024057).
-Fellow of ASM International (2022)
-Fellow of the American Welding Society (2018)
-McKay-Helm Award, American Welding Society (2010 and 2017)
-Adams Memorial Membership Award, American Welding Society (2015)
-A.F Davis Silver Medal Award, American Welding Society (2007 and 2008)
-Prof. Koichi Masubuchi Award, American Welding Society (2006)
-William Sparagen Memorial Award, American Welding Society (2004)
-Geoffrey Belton Award, The Iron and Steel Society (2000)