Associate Professor Dr. Ian Nettleship, joined the University of Pittsburgh’s Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science in 1992. Dr. Nettleship holds a PhD in Ceramics Science and Engineering from University of Leeds, UK, and received a BSc in Materials Science and Engineering from the same University. Prior to arriving at Pitt he carried out postdoctoral research in the Department of Engineering Materials of the University of California at Santa Barbara from 1988-1989 and the Department of Materials Science and Engineering of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign from 1989-1992. Prior to those appointments, Dr. Nettleship was a Teaching Fellow in the Ceramics Department at University of Leeds from 1987 until 1988.
Dr. Nettleship has two main areas of research. The first is the processing of macroporous ceramics for biomedical and environmental applications. The second, termed “microstructure mining,” involves creating and using microstructural information to support decision making for processing high reliability materials, a research interest which he has developed over the last decade. Until now materials research has tended to focus on new materials, often emphasizing underlying mechanisms and new physical understanding. While this results in an appreciation of the “ideal microstructure,” it often fails to provide information on the microstructural phenomena that control reliability, a topic that is of primary concern to those interested in manufacturing. Microstructure mining has been developed as a response to this circumstance. It is an interdisciplinary approach which considers material structures to be complex systems and combines new methods in quantitative microstructural analysis and materials informatics to address problems in processing for high reliability. In this method, digitized microstructural images are processed and assembled into databases that can be searched using existing database mining methods. The resulting correlations can be used for: (i) empirical process modeling, (ii) exploring new physical understanding of materials processing, and (iii) developing and testing of phenomenological models of microstructure evolution.
In addition to his laboratory work, Dr. Nettleship serves as the Undergraduate Coordinator for both the Materials Science and Engineering Program and the Engineering Physics Program, where he is responsible for administrating the programs, curriculum development, coordinating ABET accreditation, and student advising. His teaching interests include: ceramics processing, powder processing, and thermal and mechanical properties of materials. Dr. Nettleship is also the Faculty Advisor for the University student chapter of Engineers Without Borders.
As a result of his research interests, the findings of Dr. Nettleship’s work are available in several publications. Also, due to his contributions to his field, he has been the recipient of multiple awards. He is a member of the American Ceramics Society.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Ian Nettleship, PhD
Phone: (412) 624-9735
Email: nettles@pitt.edu