We are excited to announce our 2024 webinar list has been finalized.
To see the list of webinars click here.
News
CNDE announces the availability of one Graduate Research Assistantship (CNDE-GRA) appointment.
ASNT Iowa Section mentioned in the December 2024 ASNT Materials Evaluation Edition
The ASNT Iowa Section hosted Rick Lopez, NDT Compentcy Lead at John Deere and a CNDE board member at their October meeting. Mr. Lopez gave a presentation to the group titled “Heavy Off-Road Industrial NDT Application.” To read the article, click here.
CNDE Spotlight: Joseph Filbert
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.
CNDE Featured Researcher/Collaborator: John Aldrin
Name: John C. Aldrin
How long have you been at CNDE or collaborating with? My earliest collaborations involved working with Bruce Thompson on model-assisted probability of detection (MAPOD) evaluation working group, going back to 2001. Bruce was a great leader, while also so gracious with his time and experience. I got to really appreciate how CNDE is such a special organization within the NDE research community. Over the years, I have collaborated with Steve Holland on vibrothermography research, and more recently in 2023, with the encouragement of Reza Zoughi, I became an Affiliated Research Scientist to help reinvigorate work at CNDE on MAPOD. I feel honored to be part of this organization and help to continue the legacy of Bruce and Don Thompson.
Area(s) of expertise: My core areas of expertise or nondestructive evaluation modeling and simulation, data analysis, algorithms / artificial intelligence (AI) for indication classification and material characterization, and reliability assessment.
Who or what inspired you to pursue your career in NDE? I have been interested in acoustics and vibration, going back to a co-op engineering position at Whirlpool Corporation in the early 1990s. When I decided to leave Whirlpool and pursue a Ph.D., I contacted Jan Achenbach at Northwestern back in 1997. I didn’t realize how important his work was at the time; I just knew he did ultrasonics research, basically “high frequency acoustics”. Thankfully, he had a great project that I really enjoyed, and I have had a series of wonderful opportunities since to continue work in NDE field.
Briefly describe one of your technical contributions to the NDE field. As part of my graduate work at Northwestern University, I led the development of automated defect analysis algorithms incorporating neural networks for interpreting data from complex weep hole ultrasonic inspections. These algorithms were the first application of machine learning in NDE to be fully validated with a comprehensive POD study, demonstrating enhanced performance relative to human data review. Since this effort, I have been involved with a number of transition program of algorithms/AI to support NDT data review.
What advice would you give a researcher just starting out in the NDE field? Be open to getting out of your comfort zone, whether it is working outside your favorite research topic, NDE technique or material system. Nondestructive evaluation is a widely varying field with research topics shifting frequently. I’ve worked on NDE for metallics, polymer matrix composites, ceramic matrix composites, and even concrete. You can gain a great deal of insight by stepping outside your comfort zone and expanding your perspective, which can lead to novel technical solutions.
NDE Minor at Iowa State University
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
Sharing NDE Perspective with Iowa Youth
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 – Fall 2024 IAB Meeting
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
CNDE Booth at ASNT 2024 Engage Fall Conference and Tradeshow
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 Set to Receive her Ph.D. Degree
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.
ASNT Local Section of Iowa October Technical Talk
Rick Lopez, NDT Competency Lead for John Deere, recently presented at the Central Iowa chapter’s October meeting, attracting a robust audience of 26 attendees, including many undergraduate students. His talk, titled “Heavy Off-Road Industrial NDT Applications,” provided a comprehensive overview of the diverse inspection methods employed by manufacturers in the agriculture, construction, road building, and turf care sectors. Rick detailed various non-destructive testing (NDT) techniques, such as eddy current, magnetic particle, liquid penetrant, X-ray diffraction, ultrasound, and fluorescent penetrant, highlighting their applications, advantages, and limitations. He emphasized the importance of quickly identifying defects without the need for disassembly, which can be time-consuming. Following his engaging presentation, attendees enjoyed complimentary food and beverages while discussing the costs and time requirements associated with the different NDT methods. Additionally, several professors from CNDE conducted demonstrations of various NDT techniques to further enhance the learning experience. Overall, the event successfully combined valuable insights with practical demonstrations, fostering a deeper understanding of NDT practices.
ASNT Iowa Section Achieved a Bronze level President’s Award
The American Society of Nondestructive Testing (ASNT) Iowa Section achieved a Bronze level President’s Award for the 2023-2024 year. The award was last won in the 2021-2022 program year.
“The President’s Award program recognizes ASNT sections for outstanding section management performance. The program serves as a roadmap for successful section operation by allowing sections to track their yearly activities and progression. The President’s Award program has evolved since its inception in 1964, with the newest updates that started July 2022.”
Two former officers from the section will receive the award at the 2024 Annual Conference in Las Vegas, NV. Thank you to all officers who volunteered for the section over the last year:
Dr. Mohammad Tayeb Al Qaseer (Chair)
Brady Engle (Vice Chair)
Anna Case (Secretary)
Dr. Matthew Dvorsky (Treasurer)
Trent Moritz (Section Director)
Farzaneh Ahmadi (Section Director)
Joseph Filbert (Education Chair)
Kyle Rose (Membership Chair)
CNDE Faculty and Research Scientist receive Patent
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.“
CNDE Welcomes Dr. Junzhen Wang
CNDE welcomes Dr. Junzhen Wang as our newest Research Scientist. To read more about Dr. Wang’s research specialties, click here.
Farzaneh Ahmadi received prestigious Research Excellence Award from the Graduate College
Farzaneh Ahmadi, a Ph.D. student in the Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECpE) department, is the recipient of the Research Excellence Award presented by ISU’s Graduate College. This award is in recognition of her outstanding research accomplishments in a graduate program. Her research focus involves developing In-line nondestructive evaluation methods for polymer- and metal-based additive manufacturing (AM) processes under the direction of Dr. Reza Zoughi through the Center for Nondestructive Evaluation (CNDE).
The intent of this program is to recognize “the best of the best” graduating students. This award aims to recognize graduate students for outstanding research accomplishments as documented in their theses and dissertations. Students are expected to be academically superior and able to not only do the research but also to develop a well-written product.
CNDE Featured Researcher: Stephen Holland
Featured Researcher
Name: Stephen Holland
How long have you been at CNDE? Since 2002
Area(s) of expertise: Thermography, ultrasound, NDE data integration and digital twin
Who or what inspired you to pursue your career in NDE? I stumbled across laser ultrasonics as a student intern at Sandia Labs because it was a more interesting topic than boring virtual reality computer work. Back at university, I was inspired to continue after starting undergraduate research in Wolfgang Sachse’s lab. Five years later, I had my PhD and started at Iowa State.
Briefly describe one of your technical contributions to the NDE field. Discovery and explanation of the significance of a zero-group-velocity plate wave resonance that dominates air-coupled ultrasonic transmission, is fundamental to impact echo testing of civil structures, and also important in laser ultrasound.
What advice would you give a researcher just starting out in the NDE field? To study as much math and engineering physics as you can.