University of Akron startup makes a tougher titanium

A recent University of Akron doctoral graduate and his professor have made what they say is a major breakthrough in materials science that doesn’t involve polymers — for which the university is known — but titanium.

Brandon Strahin, who just defended his dissertation on the technology, has come up with a method for coating titanium with a thin oxide layer that makes components made from the material tougher, able to withstand impact and even be self-lubricating, Strahin and Gary Doll, the UA’s Timken professor of surface engineering, said.

Strahin and Doll have formed Precision Surface Science, with Strahin as majority owner. The company has three patents pending on its new technology.

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Story excerpt provided by Crain’s Cleveland Business.

Written by Dan Shingler.

Originally published May 19, 2019.