Research Engineer Project

HARON O. GEKONDE

**** *********** *****, **** **********, MI 48322

Mobile 734-***-****, E-mail: *******@*******.***

EDUCATION

PhD, Materials Science and Engineering

McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario - June 1998

SUMMARY OF PROFESSIONAL WORK EXPERIENCE

Eight years of experience in R&D of PVD, CVD and sputtering processes for thin film coating deposition on cutting tools and for wear and corrosion protection of aerospace and automotive components.

Eight years of experience in corrosion testing of coatings and components to establish expected life and reliability under corrosive environment.

More than ten years supervisory experience in metallurgical laboratory analysis and failure analysis of coatings, automotive components, castings, and steel components.

More than ten years of experienced in heat treatment and surface modification processes.

More than seventeen years of experience in materials R&D, material characterization and defining critical performance standards for materials.

More than years of R&D expertise in Machining, Tribology, Fiction & Wear Mechanisms, Corrosion protection and structure-property relationships.

More than ten years of experience in new material development and applications for automotive.

More than ten years of experience in projects involving primary metal melting (foundry), casting and heat treating of materials including gray cast iron, ductile iron and compacted graphite cast irons.

More than fifteen years of experience in testing and metallurgical characterization of ferrous and non-ferrous alloys.

More than fifteen years of experience in verification/performance testing of materials and components to ensure expected performance/reliability.

More than fifteen years of experience in failure analysis of components to identify failure modes and root cause.

Experienced in interfacing with clients, developing and qualifying suppliers to integrate new materials with product and process development for improving product quality.

Excellent knowledge in optical and SEM metallography and fractography of materials and components.

Proficient with applications of XRF and TEM of materials.

Experienced in DOE, DFMEA, PFMEA, APQP for product and process optimization.

Excellent interpersonal, communication, analytical, organization, and team-work skills.

PROFESSIONAL WORK EXPERIENCE AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Materials Science Specialist - Iljin Corporation - Novi, MI Jan. 2019 to Present

Providing technical expertise on bearing materials and metallurgy including applications of coatings to bearings.

I research, design, and run tests to advance understanding and knowledge of bearing and ball ramp materials and metallurgy.

Provide advanced bearing damage analysis including microstructure analysis.

Complete competitor assessments as they relate to material science and metallurgy.

Provide input to Product and Technology roadmaps.

Responsible for establishing methods and processes for capturing materials knowledge and sharing across the organization.

Assisting with developing business processes for developing and launching new products and processes.

Providing technical support for product and process development projects.

I provide input and support to Heat Treat process development and improvement projects.

Providing technical support for Customer inquiries.

Providing technical support to supplier assessment and qualification process.

Keeping current on trends in materials science technology and processes.

Research Engineer - Federal-Mogul Corporation - Plymouth, MI Feb. 2008 to Dec. 2018

Managed the metallurgical laboratory and failure analysis of cast, machined and coated automotive components.

Responsible for new material and casting process development and improvement activities including, foundry casting, heat treatment and defect troubleshooting in Federal-Mogul North American foundries.

Developed a new cast iron for second piston rings that helped in cost savings of more than 15%. The new material is now under application in Federal-Mogul’s major heavy and medium duty piston ring applications at Cummins North America, Cummins China, and Ford North America.

Developed a high strength cast iron for cylinder liners which helped to solve an application problem.

Developed a process for static casting of compacted graphite cast iron for heavy duty cylinder liners that increased revenue by more than 1 million dollars through cost savings.

Created specifications for new materials and applications through experimental verification of structure-property-performance relationships as well as manufacturing process requirements.

Specified criteria for purchase of heat treat and nitriding furnaces and supporting and troubleshooting all heat treat and nitriding processes for North America and Mexico.

Responsible for supplier quality development, specifying and sourcing of new materials for new applications.

Participated in APQP, PPAP and PFMEA teams for major automotive projects.

Senior Development Engineer - IonBond, LLC - Madison Heights, MI Dec. 1999 to Jan 2008

Used PVD, CVD and Sputtering systems for coating deposition in developing and testing new coatings for automotive, aerospace, and medical components and other applications including coatings for metal forming and cutting tools for the automobile and aerospace industries.

Responsible for the laboratory characterization and validation testing of new coatings.

Created specifications for new coatings, wrote work instructions for new coating processes and provided training to the company’s manufacturing and sales personnel.

Transferred new processes with training to the company’s manufacturing locations worldwide.

Participated in recommending improved PVD system designs that helped in developing new generation coatings that improved cutting tool life by more than 50% of the competition coatings.

Managed cutting tool testing, coating deposition and materials failure analysis of coatings used for cutting tools, forming tools and automotive components.

Automotive Project Engineer - KS Centoco Ltd - Windsor, Ontario, Canada Jan. 1998 to Nov. 1999

Provided materials input in the design, materials selection, fabrication, testing, and failure analysis of die cast and plastic injection molded automobile steering wheel frames.

Interfaced with clients and vendors to qualify and integrate new materials with product and process development to improve quality.

Coordinated product design, process development, R&D, quality assurance, manufacturing and suppliers.

Developed new techniques for measuring paint coating thickness. Wrote work instructions and trained technical staff about coated foam products used in steering wheels.

Analyzed failures of steering wheels and reported results to Daimler Chrysler’s Warranty Center.

Research Assistant - McMaster University - Hamilton, Ontario, Canada Sep. 1992 to Dec. 1997

Analyzed structure-property-application relationships of materials using optical, SEM and TEM.

Performed analysis of minute elemental concentrations in alloys using ICP-MS, INAA and SIMS.

Analyzed a machining quality problem and increased sales by $500,000 for a client company.

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE)

American Society of Materials (ASM)

American Foundry Society (AFS)

PATENTS

Patent No: US 9,873,928 B2 - High Strength Cast Iron for Cylinder Liners, Jan 23, 2018

Patent No. US 9,316,313 B2 - High Modulus Wear Resistant Gray Cast Iron for Piston Ring Applications, April 2016.

PUBLICATIONS

1.H.O. Gekonde, R. Aharonov, M. Raducan and A. Serbanescu, “Properties and Cutting Performance of AlTiN, AlCrSiN, AlCrTiN and TiCrN Multi-layer Coatings by Cathodic Arc Deposition”, Surface and Coatings Technology, 2006.

2.S.V.Subramanian, H.O.Gekonde. G.Zhu and X.Zhang, Role of Microstructural softening events in metal cutting, Proc. Of 5th Int. workshop on Model of machining operations, West Lafayette, In, U.S.A., May 20-21, 2002, Ed. R. Stevenson and I.S.Jawahir, p.47-52

3.H. O. Gekonde and S.V. Subramanian, “Tribology of tool-chip interface and tool wear mechanisms”, Surface and Coatings technology 149 (2002) 151-160.

4.S.V. Subramanian, H.O. Gekonde, X. Zhang, and J. Gao: "Inclusion Engineering of Steels for High Speed Machining", CIM Bulletin, June 1998, pp. 107-115.

5.S.V.Subramanian, H.O.Gekonde, X. Zhang and J.Gao, Design of Steels for High Speed machining, Journal of Iron and Steel Making Vol.26 No.5, 1999, pp. 333-337.

6.Subramianian, S.V., Gekonde, H.O., and Gao, J., Metallurgical aspects of chip morphology control in machining of steel, Proceedings of 41th MWSP Conference, ISS, 37, 1999, p.367.

7.H.O. Gekonde, Ph.D. Thesis, Influence of Dynamic behaviour of materials on machinability, McMaster University, 1998.

8.H.O. Gekonde and S.V. Subramanian: "Tool Wear and Surface Finish in High Speed Machining of Steel", Proc. 39th MWSP Conf., ISS, Vol.XXXV, 1998, pp.733-747

9.S.V. Subramanian, H.O. Gekonde and J. Gao, "Microstructural Engineering for Hard Turning", 40th Mechanical Working and Steel Processing Conference, ISS, Vol. XXXVI, 1998, pp. 707-713.

10.H.O.Gekonde and S.V.Subramanian, Influence of Phase Transformation on Tool Crater Wear, 1st French and German Conference on High Speed Machining, ed. A.Morinari, D.Dudzinski and H.Schulz, Published by University of Metz, June 1997, pp.49-62.

11.H.O.Gekonde and S.V.Subramanian, Mechanism of Tool Crater Wear, 13th Symposium on Engineering Applications of Mechanics: Manufacturing Science and Engineering, CSME Forum, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, May 7-9, 1996.

12.S.V.Subramanian, K.Ramanuchajar, S.Ingle, and H.O.Gekonde, Integrated Approach to Chip Formation and Tool Wear Mechanisms, 13th Symposium on Engineering Applications of Mechanics: Manufacturing Science and Engineering, CSME Forum, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, May 7-9, 1996.

13.H.O.Gekonde and S.V.Subramanian, High Speed Machining of Ductile Iron, AFS Transactions, 99th Casting Congress, Kansas City, Missouri, April 23-26, (1995) pp 309-317.

14.H.O.Gekonde and J.K.Musuva, The Effect of Magnesium on the Microstructure and Toughness of Spheroidal-Graphite Cast irons, Proc. Inter. Conf. on Mechanics of Solids and Structures, Nanyang T

Contact this candidate