This grant provides partial support to 26 US-based early-career scientists for attending the 13th International Conference on Numerical Methods in Industrial Forming Processes (NUMIFORM), 2019, to be held in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, June 23-27, 2019. NUMIFORM is a renowned international conference focusing on development and applications of numerical methods for "forming" (and related) advanced manufacturing processes. It occurs approximately every 3 years in Europe, North America, and Asia, and historically has received vibrant participation from leading researchers in industry, academia and national laboratories. In recent years it has attracted up to 200-350 participants from academic institutions. Currently, material forming is one of the most prevalent and economical family of large-scale manufacturing processes available, and computational techniques play a central role in their analyses. As such, the presence of early career scientists at NUMIFORM has a lasting positive impact on the nation's economic welfare and national security. Special effort will be made to extend the support to diverse and underrepresented student communities; thereby targeting their involvement, engagement and ultimate retention in manufacturing careers.
NUMIFORM 2019 is expected to include 6 plenary talks and 200 technical presentations (approximately 20 minutes each, arranged in over 14 symposia). A parallel program of exhibitors, short courses offered by software companies, and posters is also planned. The conference will consist of 3 full-days of technical presentations and 1 day of technical and/or social tours and will cover the latest trends in numerical modeling of material behavior, process modeling; metal, polymer and composite simulations; optimization and high-performance computing. All are modern technologies critical to US success and competitiveness in manufacturing. As computational techniques continue to become more pervasive for modeling, simulation and prediction of forming (and related) processes, participation in NUMIFORM will serve as a stepping-stone for next generation US-based engineers in leading the research on this important class of manufacturing technologies. This will catalyze the academic development of research personnel and equip them with knowledge of state-of-the-art methodologies. The conference will also provide ample opportunities for professional and personal contacts with renowned academic and industrial researchers, to identify new/future collaborations. Overall, the conference will strengthen the US manufacturing from the bottom-up, via education of young researchers through conference participation.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
