This fall, QuesTek participated in five industry conferences spanning materials science, additive manufacturing, engineering simulation, and transportation. These events provided opportunities to share our latest research, exchange ideas with industry leaders, and explore how predictive materials engineering can help teams solve complex engineering challenges.
Advancing Predictive Materials Engineering
At the ASTM Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence’s ICAM 2026 in Orlando, Florida, Rupesh Kumar Mahendran presented Predictive Lifing Tool for Coupled Corrosion, Pitting and Fatigue Degradation.
The work combines phase-field corrosion modeling, crystal-plasticity simulations, and experimental data within an integrated computational materials engineering (ICME) framework. Demonstrated on AA7075-T6 aluminum and 17-4PH stainless steel, the approach connects microstructure, corrosion damage, cyclic loading, and fatigue life to improve predictions of material performance.
The research is being developed into a Corrosion-Fatigue Lifing Toolkit for QuesTek’s ICMD® platform, with the goal of helping engineers predict material life and accelerate qualification for demanding naval and aerospace applications.
Designing Alloys for Performance and Manufacturability
At Materials Science & Technology (MS&T26), Gary Whelan presented work on a printable, high-temperature nickel alloy designed to deliver performance comparable to Waspaloy while addressing its well-known additive manufacturing challenges.
Using QuesTek’s Materials by Design® technology to design composition and processing together, the research targets a compact co-precipitate structure that supports high-temperature strength, creep resistance, thermal stability, and printability.
This work demonstrates how predictive engineering can help address performance and manufacturability requirements from the earliest stages of alloy development.
Applying Emerging Technologies with Scientific Rigor
At ASM International’s IMAT 2026, Dr. Jason Sebastian joined leaders from NASA, Pratt & Whitney, AMD, and academia for an executive panel discussion on AI in materials science and engineering.
The discussion explored where AI is delivering practical value, where challenges remain, and how organizations can translate emerging capabilities into meaningful engineering outcomes.
For QuesTek, the focus remains on solving materials challenges through science-backed engineering. AI can complement established approaches where it adds value, but materials science, physics-based modeling, and trusted data remain foundational to understanding and predicting material behavior.
Connecting Materials Expertise with Engineering Simulation
QuesTek also participated in the Ansys Transportation Summit in Detroit, Michigan, and the CADFEM World Conference in Darmstadt, Germany.
Both events offered opportunities to engage with the engineering simulation community and explore how QuesTek’s ICMD® materials design and optimization software can complement established simulation workflows. By connecting materials knowledge with engineering tools, QuesTek helps teams better account for material behavior in their design and simulation decisions.
Keeping Innovation Moving
Across these events, one principle remained consistent: better engineering decisions start with a better understanding of materials.
Learn how QuesTek helps engineering teams solve materials challenges faster with ICMD®.