Steven J. Harmon Scholarship

A Ph.D. candidate in materials science at the Colorado School of Mines

William Garrett

Garrett earned a bachelor’s degree in materials science and engineering in 2003 and a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering in 2004, both from Washington State University. His experience includes a research and development position at Powdermet in Cleveland, OH, where he worked for three and a half years. After that, he began pursuing his Ph.D. at Colorado School of Mines.

His Ph.D. project is the development of aluminum-titanium carbide metal matrix composite die casting alloys. It is a goal with these alloys to match the mechanical and wear properties of cast iron and use them to manufacture lightweight, wear-resistant and structural vehicle components such as engine blocks and armor plating. The titanium carbide component of the composite material is added to an aluminum melt as pelletized titanium and carbon powders which are ignited by the heat of the aluminum melt. The intense heat from the titanium carbide reaction can be used to keep the melt hot, prior to a semi-solid die casting operation. The semi-solid slurry is then cast into billet shapes, which may then be tested for die casting performance at any number of industry-partner die casting foundries.

“My hope in finishing a Ph.D. in materials science is two-fold: I would like to develop better research and development skills and learn a new-to-me industrial process such as metalcasting,” said Garrett.

The recipient of the Steven J. Harmon Memorial Scholarship must be a United States or Canadian citizen, an enrolled student with a minimum GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale, and must be accepted into a graduate engineering program at a U.S. accredited college or university. Preference is given to students in the programs of mechanical engineering, metallurgical engineering, industrial and systems engineering and electrical engineering.