QuesTek Innovations LLC supports the creation of the Materials Genome Initiative announced Friday by President Obama, and the further application of computational methods, tools and fundamental databases to rapidly design, develop and commercialize superior new materials.
QuesTek's pioneering role in the field of computational materials design has been recognized by the National Research Council of the National Academies, and other leading organizations. QuesTek gratefully acknowledges the past contracts that it has received from many U.S. governmental agencies (such as the Department of Energy, Department of Defense, DARPA, NASA, NSF, and others) to develop and apply its Materials by Design computational material design technology and its Accelerated Insertion of Materials (AIM) capabilities. This has resulted in four new computationally-designed, high-performance materials now produced and sold by leading U.S.-based specialty steel producers, more than ten other new materials in QuesTek's design and development pipeline, and numerous material design tools and databases being developed and practically applied.
QuesTek's record of rapid, efficient material design and development is illustrated for example in ultra-tough, ultra-high-strength Ferrium M54 steel, which was successfully produced in a full-scale ingot less than 24 months after the material property and performance design goals were set, and also in corrosion-resistant, ultra-high-strength Ferrium S53 steel, which is in service in aircraft landing gear systems and other applications without toxic cadmium plating (typically required to reduce corrosion on conventionally-used 300M steel). QuesTek designed S53 in part with funding from SERDP, a DoD environmental science and technology program that is executed in partnership with DOE and EPA. SERDP has estimated that QuesTek's design and development of S53 saved approximately $50 million.
Charlie Kuehmann, President and CEO of QuesTek, commented: "We support the Materials Genome Initiative and efforts to further address end-user-driven needs with rapid integrated computational materials design capabilities. This initiative can build upon past successes such as Ferrium C61, C64, M54 and S53 alloys, now sold to customers worldwide by U.S.-based alloy producers under their licenses from QuesTek."
The full text of the President's address can be found at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/06/24/remarks-president-carnegie-mellon-universitys-national-robotics-engineer