Al-Si Alloys: Automotive, Aeronautical, and Aerospace Applications

Dr. Francisco C. Robles Hernandez has a BSc, a MSc. and a PhD in Materials Science and Engineering. He conducted his BSc and MSc at the Instituto Politecnico Nacional in Mexico City. After that he went to the University of Windsor to conduct his PhD. His PhD work is in the influence of electromagnetic stirring with or without vibration (ES or ESV) on Al-Si alloys, particularly hypereutectic. ES and ESV methods are applied during solidification as a means of soundness improvements and microstructure refinement and positive influence in mechanical properties and service characteristics. The work on Al-Si alloys had a direct focus on automotive applications. After completion of his PhD he moved to the Transportation Technology Center, Inc. as a Principal Investigator and a Chief Metallurgist. Later he relocated to the University of Houston as an Assistant Professor and he is currently an Associate Professor with tenure. He has authored more than 200 documents including conferences presentations, proceedings, books, patents, journal papers and industrial reports.
Dr. Martin Herrera conducted his BSc in Chemical Engineering at Mexican Army (Escuela Militar de Ingenieros-Universidad del Ejercito y Fuerza Aerea) in Mexico City. Then he made his MSc in Metallurgy Engineering Science at the Instituto Politecnico Nacional also in Mexico City. Later he studied his PhD in Materials Science and Engineering at Ecole Nationale Superieure des Mines de Paris in Paris, France. After graduating from his BSc, he worked for the Army at the Direccion General de Industria Militar where he held various positions including the Head and project leader of the Applied Research Center and Technology Development for the Mexican Military Industry. Once he retired from the Army he moved to Centro de Investigacion en Materiales Avanzados in Chihuahua Mexico as a full-time researcher. His current research consists on powder metallurgy of metallic alloys and composites, especially aluminum and magnesium base. Dr. Herrera has authored or co-authored around 120 publications including journal papers, proceedings, conference presentations, books, and basic science and technological projects. He has been thesis advisor of doctoral, master and bachelor students.
Dr. Robert Mackay began his formal education with a BSc in Physics at the University of Prince Edward Island, an MSc in Geophysics at Memorial University of Newfoundland and then a MEng in Metallurgical Engineering at McGill University, Montreal, Quebec. He then began his career in the metal casting industry at Oberdorfer Industries Limited, Syracuse, New York, as a product engineer and then moved to Haley Industries Limited, Haley, Ontario, as a process engineer with a focus on aerospace magnesium and aluminum castings. From there he started a Graduate Student Internship with Ford Motor Company while simultaneously working on a PhD degree in Materials Engineering at the University of Windsor. His area of focus in his PhD Dissertation was the improvement of High Cycle Fatigue (HCF) performance in cast aluminum engine blocks for the light truck segment. In 2003, after completing his PhD, he joined Nemak as a Metallurgical & Heat Treatment Specialist where he supervises a Metallurgical Laboratory technical team that supports alloy development, process optimization and defect/warranty characterization for several Nemak facilities in Canada, US and Mexico. Dr. Mackay is also a former Adjunct Professor at the Mechanical, Automotive and Materials Engineering Department at the University of Windsor. To date, Dr. Mackay has authored or co-authored nearly 60 publications from work stemming mainly for metal casting science and its application to product development and/or manufacturing. Dr. Mackay has served extensively in the Detroit-Windsor Chapter of the American Foundry Society (AFS) as a three term Chairman, one term as Vice Chairman, and finally a two time Board of Director Member.