Establishing a pervasive Integrated Computational Materials Engineering (ICME) environment requires model-based definition of materials and processes in a historically ad hoc and disconnected research environment, which in turn demands a significant paradigm shift in both capability and culture. Commercial software and other tools developed in isolation from their actual users and use context have had a poor track record of supporting the complex computation and data flows that are essential to the practice of ICME. In fact, the increasing obsolescent and artificial separation of scientist from software developer actively impedes progress in creating communities of practice that share the burden of software and infrastructure development in order to reach pragmatic science and engineering driven goals.

A presentation will be delivered on efforts to establish such a community of practice within a large materials research laboratory in order to develop an Integrated Collaborative Environment (ICE) that aids in materials and process discovery. The central challenge to implementing an integrated and federated system is in balancing the conflicting needs of insuring long term viability by utilizing software design best practices such as separation of concerns and component driven architectures, with immediacy of user needs for simple, flexible, autonomous and secure information management. Additionally, system behaviors modeled after an optimized research process must not impede the ability of practitioners to perform mission critical research. Key elements and design choices of the emerging ICE system will be presented in the context of a requirements-driven use case that represents the larger needs for tool staging, workflow integration, material provenance, and laboratory management.

Mr. Matthew Jacobsen is the project manager and technical lead for the development and acquisition of enterprise scientific toolsets for the Materials and Manufacturing Directorate (RX) of the Air Force Research Laboratory. Prior to leading RX-wide efforts such as the Integrated Collaborative Environment (ICE), he served as a systems developer and analyst for a variety of software platforms, including financial and portfolio management, scientific process management, and data analysis. Mr. Jacobsen holds a BS in Management Information Systems, and an MS in Logistics and Supply Chain Management, both from Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio.

Dr. Charles Ward leads efforts in Integrated Computational Materials Science and Engineering at the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Materials and Manufacturing Directorate. He is an Adjunct Faculty member of Materials Engineering at the University of Dayton and is also Editor of TMS’s Integrating Materials and Manufacturing Innovation journal. His professional career has spanned 28 years, serving in several roles in research, engineering, and management. His research has focused on the microstructure-property relationships in titanium and titanium aluminide alloys. He has served as manager for the Air Force's basic research program in metals and then as an engineer on the F-35 propulsion program. He also served as staff officer to the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, and then Air Force liaison for materials research and development in Europe. Previous to his current position, he served as Chief of the Metals, Ceramics and Nondestructive Evaluation Division of the Materials and Manufacturing Directorate. Dr. Ward received his PhD in Materials Science and Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University and is a Fellow of ASM International and an active member of TMS.

Jacobsen, Ward

Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH 45433

Researchers should cite this work as follows:

• Matthew D Jacobsen; Charles Ward (2014), "Creating a Materials Innovation Infrastructure," https://help.hubzero.org/resources/1231.

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