“When I first told some of my extended family I was going to be a metallurgist, they said, ‘Oh, what’s the weather going to be like tomorrow?’" To alleviate any misunderstandings, “I generally tell people that I work with the processing, manufacturing and properties of metal that go into everything around you," says Rust. “You haven’t gone through a day without having been affected by a metallurgist because you sat on something or drove in something that had metal in it. I work with making sure all those things work the way they’re supposed to. I help decide what materials go into them and how you’re going to make those materials."

Under the direction of Rajiv Mishra, assistant professor of metallurgical engineering, Rust and five other students are researching ways to strengthen metals during manufacturing. He spends his mornings in classes and his afternoons in the basement of McNutt Hall, conducting mechanical tests and microscope analysis. Much of his time off campus is spent reading to keep up with new information and going to conferences and meetings to learn more about a metallurgical process known as friction-stir processing.

According to Rust, manufacturers can use friction-stir processing of cast-aluminum alloys to change the properties of metals in specific, high-stress areas of a component rather than changing the entire component to accommodate one small area. Manufacturers use this method to strengthen key areas, thereby avoiding the need and expense of making the entire part out of a stronger material. “We can make (the part) out of a lower strength material, and then come back and do some fairly inexpensive processing to locally change the structure to give it the higher properties," says Rust.

Friction-stir processing of cast alloys has been around for only two or three years, and Rust and his team members are among a very few people in the world to study the method. Rust was also involved in this research as an undergraduate at UMR, and he received funding as a National Science Foundation graduate research fellow. He plans to complete his master’s degree in metallurgical engineering in August 2004 and pursue a Ph.D. in materials science.

Already, Rust and his colleagues have surpassed their goals for this project. “Metal properties are based on the microstructure. This process actually refines the microstructure and increases the strength and ductility. Our project was based on getting a 50 percent increase in ductility for the cast alloy. We’re actually looking at a 300 to 1000 percent increase. … We’re way past out three-year goal for the project after one year."

Rust’s team has worked directly with Rockwell Scientific through Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and General Motors to develop applications for this research such as modification of engine block castings, wheels for aircraft and cars, and aircraft wings. “There are many aerospace and automotive applications," says Rust. “We’re hoping to have applications for this across many industries."