Smart and Advanced Materials Laboratory

In this research laboratory we develop and investigate advanced materials for:

o   Magnetic refrigeration

o   Smart actuators based on shape-memory

o   Spintronics applications (the future of faster and energy efficient electronics)

-          Collaborators include NASA, US National Laboratories, and laboratories around the world.

We also develop here wearable sensors for obstacle detection and alert system for safe mobility of low-vision individuals

Capabilities include also the state-of-the-art X-ray analysis system, funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Major Research Instrumentation award.

This laboratory investigates new materials for applications in automotive, aerospace, and biomedical engineering. Students and faculty develop the materials and study their physical and chemical behavior.

-          For example: Design, build, and test smart American football helmet, retrofitted with superelastic materials. The smart helmet addresses the need for better protection of players’ heads.

-          Capabilities include tube furnace for vacuum and protective environment heat treatment, high-temperature furnaces, optical microscopes, and hardness and micro-hardness testers. The home-made test rig for the helmet was designed and built in this lab.

Laboratory Rates (Click) 

This page is currently under construction. Please check back in Summer 2026

Laboratory Director: 

Dr. Pnina Ari-Gur, Professor

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, 

Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI 49008-5343

contact: pnina.ari-gur@wmich.edu