Daniel Oropeza is currently a NASA Postdoctoral Fellow working in the Materials Development and Manufacturing Technology Group (357H). He is interested in exploring the correlation between process parameter selection in additive manufacturing, part microstructure, and component properties to enable the next generation of structural and functional components for spacecraft.
He received his PhD from MIT where he worked on the design of custom additive manufacturing equipment and the characterization of ceramic components fabricated via additive manufacturing.
As an NPP, he is exploring metal additive manufacturing to fabricate tailored metallic components with tailored composition and microstructure.
Education:
- PhD in Mechanical Engineering, MIT (2021)
- MS in Aeronautics and Astronautics, Stanford University (2014)
- BS in Aerospace Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin (2012)
Research Interests:
- Additive manufacturing
- Metallurgy
- Ceramic materials
- Failure analysis
Professional Experience:
- Postdoctoral Fellow, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (2021-Present)
- Research Engineer, Lockheed Martin (2014-2016)
Selected Awards:
- NASA Postdoctoral Program (NPP) Fellowship Award (2021)
- NASA Space Technology Research Fellow (2017-2021)
Selected Publications:
- Daniel Oropeza, A John Hart. “Reactive binder jet additive manufacturing for microstructural control and dimensional stability of ceramic materials”. Additive Manufacturing (2021). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addma.2021.102448
- Daniel Oropeza, Ryan W Penny, Daniel Gilbert, A John Hart. “Mechanized spreading of ceramic powder layers for additive manufacturing characterized by transmission x-ray imaging: Influence of powder feedstock and spreading parameters on powder layer density”. Powder Technology (2022). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.powtec.2021.117053
- Daniel Oropeza, A John Hart. “A laboratory-scale binder jet additive manufacturing testbed for process exploration and material development”. The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology (2021).https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00170-021-07123-1
- Daniel Oropeza, Douglas C Hofmann, Kyle Williams, Samad Firdosy, Punnathat Bordeenithikasem, Maximillian Sokoluk, Maximilian Liese, Jingke Liu, Xiaochun Li. “Welding and additive manufacturing with nanoparticle-enhanced aluminum 7075 wire”. Journal of Alloys and Compounds (2020). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jallcom.2020.154987
Address:
4800 Oak Grove Dr
Pasadena, CA 91109