ASCC expands ERDC Team with Gayton hire
ORONO, Maine ? The Advanced Structures and Composites Center (ASCC) is pleased to announce the recent hire of James Gayton as an engineer working with our U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) team.
Originally from Sabattus, Maine, Gayton studied mechanical engineering at the University of Maine. During his undergraduate time, he primarily focused on aerospace engineering, completing an internship at the NASA Ames Research Center during the summer of 2018 through the Maine Space Grant Consortium.
“James earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Mechanical Engineering here at UMaine, with his graduate work focused on numerical modeling of local heating for localized thermoforming of thermoplastic composites. James has recently transitioned to a staff research engineer position and will be pursuing his Ph.D. as we further develop the concept of localized thermoforming as a part of the ERDC program, said Cody Sheltra, R&D Program Manager of ERDC Projects and Gayton’s supervisor. “ Were lucky to have him on board to continue his work!”
His graduate work switched from aerospace to heat transfer modeling for continuous fiber-reinforced thermoplastic laminates with ERDC. He’ll continue his work in mechanics and heat transfer of thermoplastic laminates as a full-time member of our research team.
This work will help us understand more about the thermoforming and process modeling of continuous fiber-reinforced thermoplastic laminates, possibly leading to the development of new manufacturing methods for these materials.
ASCC has remained a leader in the advancement of the thermoforming – a manufacturing process that heats materials to a pliable forming temperature, places them into a mold, trims and cools the materials into a usable project – an industry with an innovative focus on continuous forming laminates and the development of greener and more sustainable materials.
Gayton’s work, Modeling of Local Heating in Thick Fiber Reinforced Thermoplastic Composites, will be presented at the 2022 Summer Heat Transfer Conference (SHTC) presented by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on July 11, 2022.
Outside of work and academics, Gayton enjoys spending time with his wife and daughter. He also enjoys getting active; whether it’s a scenic hike, hitting the gym, or playing baseball in the Pine Tree Men’s League during the summer for the Central Maine Green Wave.
Contact: Taylor Ward, taylor.ward@maine.edu