Royce at Cambridge: Automated High-throughput Laboratory for Structural Materials in Extreme Environments

Speaker: Prof. Todd Hufnagel; Hopkins Extreme Materials Institute, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD

This talk may be offered remotely/ online, please register interest here

Abstract:

Materials exploration and discovery are being driven by advances in automated laboratories, which can generate the large quantities of data required by machine learning and AI-driven optimization algorithms. Many of the existing examples of automated laboratories emphasise functional properties of materials, which are relatively insensitive to microstructure. But the performance of materials in structural applications, particularly under extreme conditions such as shock, is dependent on mechanical properties and behaviors which are inherently linked to microstructure and microstructural length scales. This necessitates the development of automated laboratories with unique capabilities.

The AI for Materials Design Laboratory (AIMD-L) at Johns Hopkins University is an automated high-throughput facility for characterising microstructure and mechanical behavior of structural metals and ceramics intended for application in extreme environments, including high pressure, high strain rate, and high temperature. In this talk, I will discuss the general lab design and its implementation, with particular emphasis on the unique laser microflyer impact and x-ray characterization instruments, along with the data architecture and handling that provides the unifying backbone for lab operations and its integration with AI/ML models for materials exploration.