Technology

The foundation of our Materials by Design® technology is our systems-based and physics-based ICME design framework that considers various interactions between chemistry, processing, microstructure and properties in order to achieve desired material performance. As illustrated below, we apply mechanistic models to fundamental material parameters in order to rapidly explore and optimize material space and develop robust designs. We couple our technology with a comprehensive stage gate design and development process, which in part leverages Accelerated Insertion of Materials (AIM) and other advanced development tools.

Our technology was born out of the career-long research of Dr. Gregory B. Olson, our Chief Science Officer and co-founder, and refined in part by participants in the Steel Research Group and other colleagues in industry and academia. On-going advancements by our staff have further bridged the gap between mechanistic models and fundamental parameters, in order to create QuesTek’s truly Integrated Computational Materials Design (iCMD™).

Applying Cutting-Edge Science to Real-World Design

Our technology applies the latest computational material science results and tools to successful, real-world material engineering design and development, creating disruptive fundamental paradigm shifts:

FROM		TO
Discovery-based Efforts Empirical Approaches Analytical Reductionism Looking-Up Materials	→ → → →	Design-based Efforts Mechanistic/Predictive Approaches Holistic System-based Synthesis and Optimization Integrating Material Design and Product Design

Rapid, Valuable Results

Our technology uses numerical implementation of quantitative scientific knowledge and the validation of model prediction by iterative evaluation of a limited number of material prototypes. While other approaches to material invention (such as trial-and-error, design of experiments, combinatorial techniques, neural networks, etc.) can also yield important and valuable results, QuesTek’s Materials by Design computational, mechanistic technology typically permits far more rapid and valuable inventions. We estimate that we reduce material design and development times by as much as 50+% and costs by 70+% versus more traditional approaches.

Awards and Honors

QuesTek’s technology and business has received numerous awards and honors, including being highlighted in 2008 by the U.S. National Research Council as one of only a few commercial examples of firms utilizing Integrated Computational Materials Engineering (ICME) for integrated manufacturing, materials and component design.