Key Note Speakers
Turbine Engine-Power Key Note
Srikanth (Sri) Kottilingham
Consulting Engineer – Welding/Brazing/Additive
Materials and Processes Engineering Department
GE Gas Power (Gas Turbines)
Greenville, South Carolina
Sri was born August 25th in Tamil Nadu, India. He attended PSG College of Technology, India and graduated with a B.S. Degree in Metallurgical Engineering in 1991. He graduated from Indian Institute of Technology, Chennai, India in 1995 with an M.S. Degree in Metallurgical Engineering (Welding). He graduated from Auburn University, Auburn, AL in 2001 with PhD in Materials Engineering (Welding).
Sri has 26 years of industrial experience with 23 years in the power industry. Sri began his General Electric career in 2005. His passion includes establishing strategic roadmaps, investigating of various joining methods for gas turbine component applications and establishing welding/brazing/additive ecosystems for manufacturing of high value gas turbine components. Currently working on Fusion and Non-Fusion based Additive Manufacturing process and materials development. He has contributed to more than 150 issued patents.
Additive Manufacturing/ Academia Key Note
Dr. Karen A. Thole is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at The Pennsylvania State University where she also previously served as the Department Head. Dr. Thole’s expertise is in heat transfer, additive manufacturing, and instrumentation development. She directs the Steady Thermal Aero Research (START) Lab where experimental and computational studies are conducted to advance aviation sustainability and power generation through highly efficient turbines. She is a Fellow of ASME and AIAA. Her work has been recognized by ASME’s R. Tom Sawyer, George Westinghouse Gold, Edwin F. Church and Heat Transfer Memorial Awards. From AIAA, she has been awarded AIAA’s Air Breathing Propulsion and Thermophysics Awards. Dr. Thole received her BSME and MSME from the University of Illinois and her Ph.D. from the University of Texas.
Space Engine Key Note
Dr. Lord is the Director for the core Materials & Processes team at Blue Origin. His team of engineers, specialists, and technicians is responsible for the entire materials life cycle (from research through development, qualification, flight operations, and forensics) for Blue Origin's entire fleet of propulsion systems and flight vehicles. Dr. Lord joined Blue Origin in 2017, where he was initially tasked with leading the development of oxygen-compatible alloys. Prior to Blue Origin, Dr. Lord was Lead Engineer for Welding & Cladding Development for GE Global Research and Senior Materials Engineer for the Naval Nuclear Laboratory (formerly Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory), where he supported advanced welding process development and environmentally-assisted crack growth rate testing of structural alloys.
Dr. Lord completed his PhD in Materials Science at Colorado School of Mines; his undergraduate studies were in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering at the University of New Orleans and the United States Naval Academy. Prior to his academic pursuits, he served 7 years of active duty in the U.S. Navy, including serving as a submarine nuclear reactor operator on USS Henry M. Jackson (SSBN 730).
He currently serves on the Alumni Advisory Board for the Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering at Colorado School of Mines, and serves as the corporate Laser Safety Officer for Blue Origin.
Additive Manufacturing- Aerospace Key Note
Mike leads the Advanced Manufacturing team at the RTX Research Center in East Hartford, CT. The Research Center supports the RTX businesses, including Pratt & Whitney, Collins Aerospace, and Raytheon. His team focuses on a range of topics, from automation of cutting/grinding/deburring/finishing, welding/joining/repair, cold spray, advanced machining development, and large format metal additive manufacturing.
Mike completed his PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Florida, in addition to BS and MS degrees in Materials Science from Michigan Technological University. His prior areas of research include high strain rate experimental methods and functionally graded materials. Current focus areas include cold spray process, materials, and equipment, in addition to wire-feed AM techniques. Recent AM topics include multi-material, functionally graded materials, and custom alloys.