Professional Interests

• Industrial process analysis and problem solving
• Field application process development, analysis, and problem solving
• Materials compatibility in aircraft and missile systems
• High-speed dust and water impact failure analysis
• Paint and corrosion environmental failure analysis

Research Interests

• Structure-property relations of crystalline and amorphous materials
• Corrosion chemistry and corrosion prevention
• Thermochemistry and molecular modeling
• Mesoscale physics and chemistry of nanoscale aggregate systems
• Cosmochemistry and the origin of interstellar dust and cometary materials
• Physics and chemistry of diamond formation and application
• Syntheses of metastable or unusual compounds

Courses Taught

Materials Engineering II, Undergrad. Core, Mechanical Eng., Fall '00, '01, Winter '01
Thesis, Undergrad. Honors, Chemical Eng., Winter '99
Ceramic Materials, Grad. Core, Materials Eng., Fall '97
Dielectric Materials, Grad. Seminar, Materials Eng., Summer '97
Condensed Phases of Carbon, Grad. Elective, Materials Eng., Winter '96

Education

Ph.D., Solid State Science, Pennsylvania State University, 1990
M.S., Solid State Science, Pennsylvania State University, 1987
B.S., Geosciences, Pennsylvania State University, 1983

Affiliations

The Mineralogical Society of America
ASTM G2 Committee on Wear and Abrasion
Editorial Board of the ASTM Journal of Testing and Evaluation, 1996-2008

Selected Publications

Phelps, A. W., Sturgill, J. A., and Swartzbaugh, J. T. "Non-toxic corrosion-protection conversion coats based on rare earth elements" US Patent 7,407,711, 2008.

Sturgill, J. A., Phelps, A. W., and Swartzbaugh, J. T.
"Non-toxic corrosion-protection rinses and seals based on cobalt" US Patent 7,235,142, 2007.
 
Phelps, A. W., Sturgill, J. A., and Swartzbaugh, J. T.
"Non-toxic corrosion-protection pigments based on rare earth elements" US Patent 7,291,217, 2007.
 
Sturgill, J. A., Phelps, A. W., and Swartzbaugh, J. T.
"Non-toxic corrosion-protection conversion coats based on cobalt" US Patent 7,294,211, 2007.

Phelps, A. W., and Sturgill, J. A., “Corrosion-inhibiting coating” US Patent 6,818,313, 2004.

Phelps, A. W., Sturgill, J. A., and Swartzbaugh, J. T., “Recovery process for wastes containing hexavalent chromium” US Patent 6,833,124, 2004.

Phelps, A. W. "Materials selection for wear resistance," Chapter 41, Handbook of Materials Selection, M. Kutz, ed., Wiley, New York, 2002, p. 1275.

Phelps, A. W. "Diamond films," Chaper 42, Handbook of Materials Selection, M. Kutz, ed., Wiley, New York, 2002, p. 1287.

Phelps, A. W. and H. G. M. Hill, "Interstellar diamond analog synthesis and characterization," Meteoritics & Planetary Science, 36, 2001, p. A162.

Phelps, A. W., “Externally applied corrosion prevention compounds (CPC) and corrosion inhibitor compounds (CIC) - Engineering proof of concept investigation,” Final Report, U. S. Air Force Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center, contract no. F09603-95-D-0175, UDR-TR-2000-133, 2000.

Phelps, A. W. "Interstellar Diamond: I. Condensation and Nucleation," in Papers Presented to the 30th Annual Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, Houston, TX, Lunar and Planetary Science Institute, 1999.

Koziol, A. M. and A. W. Phelps, "Raman spectroscopic examination of the synthetic grossular-almandine system," Abstracts with Programs - Geological Society of America, Boulder, CO: Geological Society of America, 1998.

Phelps, A. W., “Raman spectroscopy and scanned probe microscopy of stainless steel precorrosion,” Final Report, CC Technologies, Dublin OH, 1998.