This presentation introduces two transformative approaches to material processing: Additive Manufacturing-Assisted Spark Plasma Sintering (AM-SPS) and the novel Electro-Nano-Pulsing (ENP) technique. AM-SPS combines additive manufacturing with spark plasma sintering using a controllable interface strategy, enabling the fabrication of complex-shaped ceramic and carbide components. A multiphysics model supports the optimization of densification and microstructure control. Electro-Nano-Pulsing represents a brand new and unique processing paradigm that delivers unprecedented control over material microstructure. By applying ultra-intense nanopulse electric currents, ENP directly targets dislocations, grain boundaries, and interfaces. This allows for extraordinary grain-boundary engineering, creating materials with tailored grain topologies, exceptionally high dislocation densities, and novel structural features unattainable by conventional methods. Together, AM-SPS and ENP open new frontiers in the design of advanced materials for applications requiring superior strength, thermal stability, and structural precision.

Eugene Olevsky is the Dean and Distinguished Professor of the College of Engineering at San Diego State University. He holds two M.S. degrees - one in Mechanical Engineering and the other in Applied Mathematics - as well as a Ph.D. in Materials Engineering. Professor Olevsky is the author of more than 570 scientific publications and has delivered over 150 invited presentations worldwide. He has supervised more than 100 postdoctoral researchers, graduate students, and undergraduate scholars. He is a Fellow of The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society (TMS), the American Ceramic Society, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), and ASM International. He is also a Humboldt Fellow, a Fellow of the International Institute for the Science of Sintering, and an Academician of the World Academy of Ceramics. Prof. Olevsky’s primary research expertise lies in experimental and computational modeling of powder processing, with a focus on the sintering and additive manufacturing of novel ceramic, metallic, glass, and composite materials.