Researchers from UNT's College of Engineering will collaborate with the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the largest U.S. Department of Energy science and energy laboratory, as part of a $1.5 million grant from the DOE to advance 3D printed materials for automotive body frames.

Principal investigators Wonbong Choi, a professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and the Department of Mechanical Engineering, and Yijie Jiang, an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, received more than $400,000 of the overall grant to develop the fabrication of a lightweight, 3D printed carbon fiber composite material equipped with embedded sensors for use in car structures.