I am a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. My teaching and research are focused on discrete metal part manufacturing processes, and heat transfer as it applies to manufacturing processes. My goals are to: (1) educate/develop manufacturing engineers/workforce, and (2) build a scientific understanding of advanced manufacturing processes, develop physics-based models that can be used to improve and control these processes, and to transfer this fundamental knowledge to industry. In my lab we conduct research with a focus on where the tool meets the workpiece, whether that tool is a laser, mechanical cutting tool, friction stir tool, etc. Currently, my lab is conducting research on: friction stir welding and processing, placing sensors in the coatings of cutting tools for smart manufacturing, solid-state metal additive-subtractive manufacturing (including friction surfacing), and laser remelting surfaces for polishing, structuring, and hardening.
In addition to being an Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering I serve as the Director of the Manufacturing Systems Engineering Program at UW-Madison.
During the 2015-2016 academic year, I was on leave from UW-Madison and served as an ASME Foundation Swanson Fellow in the Advanced Manufacturing National Program Office (AMNPO) that is hosted by the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) in Gaithersburg, MD. You can see what the AMNPO does by going to http://manufacturing.gov.
While I work full-time at UW-Madison, I also have an appointment at TU Wien (Austria) as a Visiting Professor, funded by the Austrian Marshall Plan Foundation. This visiting professorship has me spending some time every year in Vienna building a strong research collaboration in advanced manufacturing research between TU Wien and UW-Madison.
Prof. Pfefferkorn on YouTube: https://youtu.be/I34jFTkOOqY
