Mihaela Vlasea’s, high achievements were recognized by SME.org. The awards are centered on research and management efforts around manufacturing processes, environmental sustainability, additive manufacturing, smart manufacturing, medical device manufacturing, nanomanufacturing, biomedical manufacturing, metalworking fluids, civil and environmental engineering, and advanced materials.
The Mechanical and Mechatronics Professor and Associate Research Director of the prestigious Multi-Scale Additive Manufacturing Lab (MSAM), is one of only fifteen winners in North America.
"Our 2020 Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineers are a diverse group of highly successful young manufacturing practitioners whose careers have already made considerable inroads in manufacturing technologies, operations and processes," said Sandra L. Bouckley, FSME, P.Eng., executive director and CEO, SME.
Vlasea was also the advisor for a team of MME students winning the 2019 Digital Manufacturing Challenge. Student Team Members, Gitanjali Shanbhag and Lisa Brock for the winning design: The Copper Cooler: Heat Sink for CPUs. The University of Waterloo team investigated the redesign of a heat sink for cooling central processing units (CPUs). The new heat sink features an organic, branched fin design revolved around a circular base which is situated on top of the CPU. It will be part of an assembly with a fan mounted above the heat sink to facilitate forced convection, making it an active heat sink system.
When COVID-19 hit, Vlasea and a team of dedicated technical staff and co-op students immediately jumped into action developing personalized 3D-printed mask components for front line health-care providers as well as patients who regularly visit medical facilities for treatments such as dialysis and chemotherapy.
Earlier this year, Vlasea was the recipient of the UW Outstanding Performance Award. BarnesGroup describes her as an “Influential woman in additive manufacturing you should know”. Among many accolades Vlasea is a prolific researcher and was featured University of Waterloo Engineer Builds 3D Printer for Bone and Joint Replacements and 'A natural step': RCMP looks to 3D printing as part of new wave of crime-solving technology. In 2014, alongside inventors, Ehsan Toyserkani, Yaser Shanjani, created a patent, systems and methods for additive manufacturing of heterogeneous porous structures and structures made therefrom.
Mihaela Vlasea is a Canadian engineer who is a Professor with the Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering at the University of Waterloo. She obtained her undergrad at uWaterloo in 2008 and her doctorate in 2014. Her research expertise research focuses on innovative design, process optimization and adoption of new materials for powder bed fusion and powder bed binder jetting additive manufacturing processes. The research goals are to bridge the technological gaps necessary to improve part quality, process repeatability and reliability.