Meredith Heilig, Phd Email & Phone Number

Denver, Colorado, United States

Lakewood, Colorado, United States

Evaluated and summarized market trends within additive manufacturing industry to develop effective pitch for fundraising and strategic networking. Raised $100K pre-seed funds for startup efforts. Won $250K Advanced Industries grant from State of Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade. Established investor relationship and guided company in technical transfer of core intellectual property in self-terminating etching processes for 3D-printed metal components. Managed technical projects for developing and demonstrating solutions to various customers for aerospace, space, defense, and nuclear applications.

Managed and conducted research on self-terminating etching processes for 3D-printed metals and established the chemical basis of a low-temperature dissolution technique for post-processing rocket propulsion components. Mentored graduate students in the areas of corrosion science, metallurgical phase transformations, metallographic techniques, technical writing, and project management. Instructed undergraduate students in semester course on fundamentals of Engineered Materials.

Boulder, Co

Generated 294% metallurgical lab revenue by assessing customer needs and developing multi-discipline capabilities focused on technical excellence. Provided metallurgical and materials consultation with clients of various industries including manufacturing, aerospace, chemical, refining, petrochemical, and power generation. Managed the Boulder Materials laboratory to ensure equipment was operational, calibrations were current, and laboratory quality system met industry and client standards. Planned and implemented improved laboratory capabilities. Trained and managed entry-level metallurgical engineers in failure analysis project execution. Evaluated potential new projects by determining required analyses, schedule, and costs to perform project and meet customer schedules. Fulfilled project management and coordination needs for metallurgical or materials projects including authorship of proposals and reports, determining budget requirements, and review of metallurgical/materials work to ensure high quality services within the Advanced Engineering Group.Emphasis of most work involved root cause analysis of failed components or systems, i.e., relating failures to manufacturing and service history, environmental exposures, component geometry and loading, and material properties related to microstructural characteristics. Evaluated structural integrity of welds and clad materials, specializing in carbon steels, stainless steels, and superalloys. Other work included fitness-for-service (FFS) evaluations per API 579 using Signal FFS software.

Aurora, Colorado

Performed as the primary consulting scientist for metallurgical projects and lead investigator for failure analysis assignments. Jobs were based in a wide variety of industries including oil and gas, renewable energy, chemical processing, biomedical, agricultural, automotive, electrical, and municipal. This role performed and executed a wide array of mechanical and metallurgical testing methods and made extensive use of light optical microscopy (LOM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Determining the primary mechanism of issue and/or the root cause of failure demanded the correct application and analysis of data acquired through fractography, metallography, and physical testing. Projects usually involved the analysis of component design and application, interpretation and execution of testing practice specifications (e.g., ASTM, API, ASME, AWS, etc.), and the determination of solutions to avoid future failures. Additional roles included serving as an unbiased witness in legal proceedings for metallurgical and materials-related product failures and advising clients in matters of product development, supplier improvement, code requirements, and best practices.

Longmont, Co

Ran materials research program centered on evaluating the use of non-oxide ceramics in bioreforming reactor application. Primary duties include management of multi-company, multi-disciplinary teams, maintenance of large project budget, designing mechanical and environmental test methods, and reporting recommendations based on analysis of results. Additional tasks include leading reconstruction, fractography, and stress analysis of large components in root cause failure analysis teams, performing creep calculations for lifetime estimation of metallic components, and implementing non-destructive monitoring systems and testing methods.

Golden, Co

Developed novel atmospheric metal casting practice aimed to improve economic viability of nitrogen-rich stainless steels for down-hole drilling applications. Designed and conducted experiments for optimization and production of nitrogen-retaining austenitic stainless steel alloys. Evaluated mechanical properties and corrosion resistance of cast specimens. Instructed graduate students in foundry procedures and organized foundry operations. Maintained and operated coreless induction furnaces and analytical instrumentation including differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) and LECO instruments.

Dortmund Area, Germany

Investigated impacts of microstructural changes resulting from cerium additions made to magnesium alloys. Evaluated effects on stress corrosion cracking resistance; designed electrochemical-mechanical test equipment for the in situ monitoring of corrosion rates during slow strain rate tensile testing. Designed experiments and analyzed data using XPS, SEM, TEM, DSC, and electrochemical impedance methods. Reported results in written documents and oral presentations.

Fort Wayne, Indiana

Served as technical advisor for special projects including the application of metal-producing coatings to recycled ferrous metals, development of block iron from industrial wastes, evaluation of degalvanization process for shredded steel scrap, design of experiments to study metal recovery in ferrous slag, and reporting legislation of foundry air emission regulations. Served as technical support to foundry customers and sales personnel by conducting root cause analysis of casting failures, developing material blends for cost reduction, investigating quality issues and implementing preventive/corrective actions, and representing team at industry conferences. Additional positions held: Metallurgist (Foundry Sales Group), Quality Lab Technician (Non-Ferrous Operations), and Intern (Ferrous Operations).

Ph.D., Metallurgical And Materials Engineering

M.S., Metallurgical And Materials Engineering

B.S., Mechanical Engineering