The Materials and Manufacturing for Aerospace and Extremes Laboratory (MMAX Lab), led by Professor Daniel Oropeza, is focused on advancing materials and manufacturing science and technology, with particular interest in aerospace platforms and applications in extreme environments.
In the MMAX Lab, we aim to understand the influence of manufacturing processes on material microstructure and performance, with the purpose of informing process optimization and developing novel techniques to control material behavior.
2023 MMAX Lab members
Our approach couples fundamentals from material science and mechanical engineering, spanning the study of material synthesis and characterization, machine and equipment design, and manufacturing process fundamentals. For this, we use and continue to develop state-of-the-art synthesis and manufacturing testbeds, including systems for metal atomization, inkjet-based ceramic processing, and powder bed fusion additive manufacturing.
In performing our multidisciplinary work, which extends from fundamental principles to applications, we engage with a diverse set of public and private sponsors and collaborators.
Research
News
LLNL Early Career UC Faculty Initiative Award
Prof. Oropeza has been awarded the LLNL Early Career UC Faculty Initiative award. This award will fund our work in near-net-shape processing of ultra-high temperature ceramics and provide key interactions with LLNL.
Thank you to the LLNL Award Selection Committee for their support and we look forward to a sustained collaboration between UCSB and LLNL!
More details here.
Global Young Investigator Award
Prof. Oropeza has been named the 2025 Global Young Investigator for the American Ceramics Society (ACerS) Engineering Ceramics Division (ECD).
Thank you to the ECD Global Young Investigator Award Selection Committee for their support and to ACerS for the honor.
ONR Research Grant Award
Prof. Oropeza has been awarded a grant from the Office of Naval Research for work on "Predictive Ultrasonic Atomization for Small-Batch, High-Yield Metal Powder Synthesis". We look forward to developing a predictive framework to correlate metal powder characteristics with ultrasonic atomization process parameters and providing research opportunities to undergraduates and graduates at UCSB.
We would like to thank Mr. Anthony Smith, Dr. Charles Fisher, and Dr. Jennifer Wolk for their guidance and support of our work.
OR Early-Stage STEM Seed Award
Prof. Oropeza has been awarded a seed grant from the Office of Research for work on "Manipulation of Fluid-Surface Dynamics via Additive Manufacturing of Micro-Scale Features". We look forward to developing a processing framework for powder bed fusion additive manufacturing to engineer surface and sub-surface microstructures through tailored parameter development.
We would like to thank Dr. Maria Napoli and the UCSB Office of Research for their support and guidance.
Lucas wins the NASA Space Technology Graduate Research Opportunities Fellowship!
Lucas Erich has been awarded the NASA Space Technology Graduate Research Opportunities (NSTGRO) Fellowship for his proposed work on the "Exploration of powder synthesis and additive manufacturing of refractory metal alloys for space nuclear propulsion." A validation of hard work in the fall during fellowship season. We look forward to the partnership between the MMAX Lab and NASA as a result of Lucas' fellowship.
Congratulations, Lucas!
CNSI Challenge Grant Award
Prof. Oropeza has been awarded a Challenge Grant from the California NanoSystems Institute to explore "Establishing UC M2ADE: The University Consortium for Materials and Manufacturing in Aerospace, Defense, and Energy." We look forward to discussing the genesis of a consortium in California with potential partners as we aim to develop a large-scale program to exploit nano-scale phenomena for next-generation aerospace, defense, and energy applications.
We believe that the high concentration of exemplary academic institutions and potential industry partners in California provide fertile ground for a regional consortium aligned under a common vision. Specifically focused on coupling nano-structure to macro-scale performance through collaborative efforts on novel synthesis, processing, and characterization, UC M2ADE will provide targeted benefits to members and further accelerate the development and implementation of novel materials in aerospace, defense, and energy.
We would like to thank Dr. Tal Margalith and CNSI for their support and guidance.
MMAX Lab Spring Outing
The MMAX Lab celebrated some birthdays and the start of the new year with an outing at Summerland Winery. Thanks to everyone for their contributions so far!
SSMN Seed Grant Award
Prof. Oropeza has been awarded the Sloan Scholars Mentoring Network 2023 Seed Grant, made possible through the generous support of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. The award is made for our project on "Nanoparticle material jetting for millimeter-scale functional ceramics".
Thank you to the SSMN and Alfred P. Sloan Foundation for their support.
More details here.