Category: Uncategorized

Name: Joseph Filbert

Research area of interest: Microwave materials characterization, Additive manufacturing

Anticipated graduation date: January 2025.

Who or what inspired you to pursue your studies in NDE? During my undergrad I took EE311 Electromagnetic Fields & Waves with Dr. John Bowler. I really enjoyed the class andwas invited by Dr. Bowler to work in his lab at CNDE for the summer as an undergraduate research assistant. The summer at CNDE was a crash course in eddy current theory and inspections, which really introduced me to NDE. This was my first real experience with the beautiful mathematics that are used to model eddy current inspections, or more generally electromagnetics. After that summer, I was inspired to study electromagnetics and NDE.

Briefly describe something that you have learned or discovered during your time at CNDE that surprised you. Of the many things that have surprised me during my time at CNDE. I suppose the first that comes to mind is the number of opportunities available for undergraduate and graduate students in NDE. The are many scholarships, fellowships, and research assistantships available that make graduate school financially possible.

What are your future career plans? I am incredibly grateful to have been awarded the Rickover Fellowship in nuclear engineering, which has enabled me to pursue graduate school. As a part of my fellowship, I will continue to work for the Naval Nuclear Laboratory as an Electrical Engineer. My experiences at CNDE and with NDE will help me as I design and work on Navy projects in the future.

Joseph is a Rickover Fellow and recipient of the Patrica Werner Merten Memorial Scholarship.

The NDE minor is growing and expanding, with over forty students pursuing this minor and additional students joining every semester.  The NDE minor courses are now available online and in person.  Click here for the ISU schedule of classes. The offering of NDE courses has been structured to ensure students can take the desired courses as they pursue the minor.  These courses are taught by experienced and knowledgeable instructors who are experts in their fields.  The following are the NDE courses offered at ISU, along with the semester they are offered:  

• Mat E 3620 Principles of Nondestructive Evaluation is offered in the Fall and Spring semesters
• Mat E 4850X Penetrating Radar Methods in Nondestructive Evaluation (soon to be just Mat E 4850 in the upcoming course catalog) is offered during the Spring semester
• ARER 4800 Ultrasonic Nondestructive Evaluation is offered during the Fall semester
• EE/Mat E 4880 Eddy Current Nondestructive Evaluation is offered in the Fall semester in an odd-numbered year
• CCEE 4490 Structural Health Monitoring is offered every third semester beginning with Spring ’25.

For questions regarding the NDE minor, please contact:

Dr. David Eisenmann
ndeminor@iastate.edu

Scott Wendt, CNDE X-ray Research Scientist and Chair of the local American Society of Nondestructive Testing (ASNT) chapter, shares that the chapter is actively recruiting ISU students. Winning a bronze award allows the chapter to request funds from the national ASNT organization for recruiting and outreach activities.

The chapter plans to prepare an NDT demonstration for the State Science and Technology Fair of Iowa (SSTFI), held on March 27 and 28, 2025, at Hilton Coliseum. Volunteers from the chapter will take turns demonstrating how core NDE concepts are implemented in NDT testing. The demonstration’s audience will consist of students and their teachers.

2024-2025 Iowa Chapter Officers

Scott Wendt (Chair)
Brady Engle (Vice Chair)
Farzaneh Ahmadi (Secretary)
Dr. Matthew Dvorsky (Treasurer)
Trent Moritz (Section Director)
Evan Kluch (Section Director)
Joseph Filbert (Education Chair)
Kyle Rose (Membership Chair)

CNDE hosted its Fall 2024 Industrial Advisory Board (IAB) Meeting on November 12-14.

As usual, CNDE hosted a Pizza with Students event, during which our board members connected with students interested in working in the NDE community after graduation.

CNDE researchers presented updates on four research projects that started in August 2024 and two ongoing projects.  Team members for the MAPOD project also provided updates on this ongoing project.  Board members reviewed the project presentations and gave feedback on each project.

The Post-IAB Seminar was unique this year as it had two parts.  In the first part, Cara Leckey (NASA), Eric Lindgren (AFRL), and John Aldrin (Computational Tools) spoke about their perspectives on AI/ML in NDE.  In part two, Ripi Singh spoke on “Introduction to NDE 4.0: Why, What, and How.”  After each presentation, there was time for board members, staff, students, and visitors to participate in a Q&A session on each topic.

CNDE hosted an Academic and Industry Networking Event where NDE-focused students could connect with representatives from AFRL and GE Aerospace to discuss opportunities such as Internships, Co-op, and full-time Engineering positions available in their organizations.

IAB members from ASNT, AFRL, GE Aerospace, General Motors (GM), Honeywell Aerospace, IHI Corp., John Deere, NASA, Naval Nuclear Laboratory (NNL), Northrop Grumman, Pratt & Whitney, and Rolls-Royce were in attendance, as well as invited guests.

CNDE member Cara Leckey presenting on AI/ML in NDE.

On November 13, students connected with our members and guests during the Pizza with Students event at the Student Innovation Center.

Group photo

Dr. Reza Zoughi (CNDE Director), Mr. Dan Barnard, and Mr. Brady Engle (CNDE Research Scientists) attended the ASNT 2024 Engage Fall Conference and Tradeshow in Las Vegas on October 21-24. This year, for the first time, CNDE had a booth at the tradeshow showcasing CNDE and ISU’s educational and research activities related to nondestructive evaluation (NDE) to engage with attendees, provide insight, and answer attendees’ questions regarding CNDE and our capabilities. Dr. Reza Zoughi also presented an overview of CNDE and its activities to the conference attendees.

Dan Barnard (Left), Brady Engle (Right), and Reza Zoughi (Middle)

Conference attendees at CNDE’s booth

Anna Case, a Ph.D. candidate in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, will be awarded her Ph.D. degree during the December 2024 commencement ceremony.  In October 2024, Dr. Case defended her dissertation, “Millimeter Wave Evaluation of Thin Coatings.”

Dr. Case was the recipient of the O.D. and O.U. Trapp Graduate Fellowship in CNDE from 2020-2023. She submitted/published four journal publications and eight conference papers during this time. The work from “Millimeter Wave Thickness Evaluation of Thermal Barrier Coatings (TBCs) Using Open-Ended Waveguide Probes” was presented at ISU and awarded the Best Graduate Seminar Presentation Award by the Graduate Seminar Committee in the ECpE department. Subsequently, she was awarded a Professional Advancement Grant by the Graduate and Professional Student Senate (GPSS). Additionally, she received the Best Student Paper Award (1st place) at the IEEE International Instrumentation and Measurement Technology Conference in 2021 and (2nd place) in 2022.

Dr. Case has begun her career as a Senior NDE Engineer at Sandia National Labs in Albuquerque, NM, where she will be focused on computed tomography, eddy current, and microwave/millimeter wave inspections.

Dr. Tayeb Al Qaseer, Dr. Reza Zoughi, and Dr. Matt Dvorsky recently received a U.S. Patent No. 12,061,254, “Microwave Imaging Using a Radially-Polarized Probe.“

Name: Mingyang Lu

How long have you been at CNDE?  I began at CNDE in April 2023.

Area(s) of expertise:  Electromagnetic eddy current experiments and computational modeling.

Who or what inspired you to pursue your career in NDE?  I had an interest in electromagnetics as an undergraduate (before 2014) electrical and electronic major at the University of Manchester (#27 in QS World University Rankings) in the UK. During the last semester of my undergraduate, I joined a project from the Sensing Imaging and Signal Processing Group for the sensing-based dynamic control of robot carts. I heard one day that the Electromagnetic Sensing Group has actively engaged with industries, sustainably raised substantial funding from the British government, and in partnership with the internationally leading Research Centre for Nondestructive Evaluation (RCNDE) and industries. I came to join the Electromagnetic Sensing group in 2014 and completed my PhD in 2018.

In 2018, I worked as a postdoctoral researcher with the Electromagnetic Sensing Group, collaborating on projects with industry leaders like Frenk Van Den Berg from Tata Steel and Axel Rimnac from Primetals Technologies. Our work aims to address industrial challenges, such as electromagnetic eddy current inspection in Additive Manufacturing (AM): Electromagnetic non-destructive testing for inspecting the microstructure of high-performance ferritic steels and Advanced electromagnetic Sensors for Assessing Property scatter in high-value steels.

Before joining the CNDE, I authored around 60 publications in electromagnetic eddy current sensing and presented at prestigious conferences such as those organized by the British Institute of Non-Destructive Testing (BINDT), the European Federation for Non-Destructive Testing (ECNDT), and IEEE. Now, I feel very honored to be one of the CNDE researchers, and I believe CNDE is one of the best in the world.

Briefly describe one of your technical contributions to the NDE field.  One of the technical highlights that comes to my mind is my recent work in the CNDE, under the IAB-funded project targeting a building of high-precision eddy current inspection system. This work pioneered an automatic inspection design, in which a fast and precious dynamic control of sensor scanning coordinates is assured by leveraging the robot arm or linear steppers with instrumentations. This development facilitates the eddy current NDE inspection with an enhanced signal-to-noise ratio and versatile capabilities, especially for the imaging of small defects (less than 20 microns) or detection of subsurface defects underneath coatings.

What advice would you give a researcher just starting out in the NDE field?  Focus on deeply understanding core concepts, avoiding rushing into superficial approaches. Allocate ample time for thorough analysis, drawing insights from first principles. Seek supportive work environments like CNDE, fostering collaboration and innovation. Stay updated on the latest advancements through literature, conferences, and networking. Embrace continuous learning for long-term success and impactful contributions to the field.

CNDE hosted its Spring 2024 Industrial Advisory Board (IAB) Meeting on April 15-17.

CNDE researchers presented updates on five research projects that started in August 2023.  Board members reviewed the project presentations and gave feedback on each project.

Also presented were nine proposals from CNDE researchers on various topics selected by our members for potential funding.

J.T. (Toby) Case for The Aerospace Corporation presented the post-IAB seminar on “Portable Open-Configuration Computed Tomography.”

IAB members from ASNT, ATI, Boeing, Cummins, GE Aerospace, General Motors, Honeywell Aerospace, IHI Corporation, John Deere, NASA Langley, Naval Nuclear Laboratory (NNL), Northrop Grumman, Pratt & Whitney, Rolls-Royce, and the US Air Force were in attendance, as were five invited guests from other industries.

The careers of five CNDE scientists and staff members were celebrated during the IAB Meeting on April 15.

From left: Dave Utrata – 30 years, Ron Roberts – 35 years, Cheryl Sansgaard – 45 years, Scott Wendt – 30 years, and Dan Barnard – 28 years.

Graduate students and faculty members from ECpE, IMSE, and ME showcased their research projects on April 15.

On April 16, students were able to connect with our members and guests during the Pizza with Students event at the Student Innovation Center.

Thank you to all who were able to attend!

CNDE Director Dr. Reza Zoughi is the subject of SCOPE AT WORK profile in the April 2024 ASNT Materials Evaluation edition.  Click here to read more.

CNDE participated in this year’s 2024 State Science & Technology Fair of Iowa on April 4 and 5.  This two-day fair, organized by Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, was for students in grades 6 – 12 and provided a space to showcase their research projects.  Students also got the chance to meet with professionals in all areas of science and technology.

CNDE welcomed 16 students to visit our labs and meet with our researchers.  The tour topics included Terahertz, Ultrasonics, Microwave, Eddy Current, and X-ray Radiography.  This was a great opportunity to introduce students to NDE at a young age.

CNDE also sponsored several cash prize awards for top NDE-related research projects.  Two NDE Minor students graciously volunteered their time to judge these projects and accompany fair students on the CNDE tour.

Eddy Current Lab Tour

Microwave Lab Tour

Terahertz Lab Tour

Ultrasound Lab Tour

X-Ray Lab Tour

Group photo

The American Society of Nondestructive Testing (ASNT) Iowa section hosted a technical talk on Thursday, April 4th. Six members of the Ames Fire Department spoke about thermography applications in firefighting, including somewhat recent cases involving the detection of faulty wiring and the detection of corn syrup and propane leaks after a train derailment. Twenty students in attendance were able to use a FLIR camera with a refresh rate of 60 Hz, which one of the firefighters said was not fast enough to sweep through rooms quickly. Several students were awarded one-year ASNT student membership. As a thank you to the crew for their time, the ASNT officers awarded them a $100 pizza gift card.

The February issue of Materials Evaluation (ME) just published an article announcing the strategic partnership between ASNT and CNDE.  We are happy to announce that Neal Couture, the Chief Executive Officer of ASNT, will attend the Spring IAB meeting and outline future courses of action/plans intended to enhance this strategic partnership.

Katie Brinker former CNDE graduate student, currently Senior Nondestructive Evaluation Engineer at Pratt & Whitney, will be speaking at the IEEE HKN event on the “Realities of a Research Engineer” panel. This panel is focused on making the transition from being a graduate student to working in industry and what it’s like to have an industry career.  The IEEE Instrumentation and Measurement Society will also have a panelist in the “Level Up – Leverage your IEEE Technical Society Membership to Advance your Career” panel.

Pathways to Industry is a 3-day online conference geared towards students and young professionals.  There are technical talks, professional development sessions, a recruitment fair (which includes both companies and graduate schools), and networking sessions.  The conference is open to everyone, not just HKN or IEEE members, and registration will open up at the start of the conference on February 21.