Supervised by Prof. Vinayak Dravid and Dr. Jin Wang, Tao’s doctoral research at Northwestern University was focused on fabrication and characterization of nanostructured oxides. In 2010, Tao joined X-ray Science Division (XSD) at Argonne as a postdoc, working on developing coherent electron scattering (with Dr. J. Murray Gibson) and coherent x-ray scattering (with Dr. Jin Wang) techniques. During this period, he developed correlograph electron analysis technique for characterizing the atomic structures of amorphous materials, and x-ray coherent surface scattering imaging technique for resolving sample surface/interface structures. In 2012, he joined the Imaging Group of XSD as a staff scientist, developing and applying high-speed x-ray imaging/diffraction techniques for studying highly dynamic irreversible/non-repeatable material processes. He is currently leading a team working on in situ characterization of multiple additive manufacturing processes using high-speed x-ray techniques.

Research Interests

• Synchrotron x-ray imaging and scattering techniques
• Real-time monitoring and non-destructive evaluation of advanced manufacturing processes
• Material microstructure evolution under extreme conditions
• Highly dynamic processes in hard and soft condensed matters

Education

• Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 2009
• M.S. in Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China, 2004
• B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China, 2002

Selected Publications on Additive Manufacturing

• Synchrotron Radiation News, Volume 32, Issue 2, 2019
• Mohammad Hojjatzadeh, Niranjan Parab, Wentao Yan, Qilin Guo, Lianghua Xiong, Cang Zhao, Luis Escano, Minglei Qu, Xianghui Xiao, Kamel Fezzaa, Wesley Everhart, Tao Sun, Lianyi Chen, ​“Mechanisms of pore elimination during 3D printing of metals”, Nature Communications, 10, (2019) 3088
• Cang Zhao, Qilin Guo, Xuxiao Li, Niranjan Parab, Kamel Fezzaa, Wenda Tan, Lianyi Chen, Tao Sun, ​“Bulk-Explosion-Induced Metal Spattering During Laser Processing”, Physical Review X, 9, (2019) 021052
• Ross Cunningham*, Cang Zhao*, Niranjan Parab, Christopher Kantzos, Joseph Pauza, Kamel Fezzaa, Tao Sun, Anthony Rollett, ​“Keyhole threshold and morphology in laser melting revealed by ultrahigh-speed x-ray imaging”, Science, 363, (2019) 849 (*equal contribution)
• Nadia Kouraytem, Xuxiao Li, Ross Cunningham, Cang Zhao, Niranjan Parab, Tao Sun, Anthony D. Rollett, Ashley D. Spear, Wenda Tan, ​“Effect of laser-matter interaction on molten pool flow and keyhole dynamics”, Physical Review Applied, 11, (2019) 064054
• Qilin Guo, Cang Zhao, Minglei Qu, Lianghua Xiong, Luis I. Escano, S. Mohammad H. Hojjatzadeh, Niranjan D. Parab, Kamel Fezzaa, Wes Everhart, Tao Sun, Lianyi Chen, ​“Mechanisms of melt pool variation under constant input energy density in laser powder bed fusion additive manufacturing process”, Additive Manufacturing, 28, (2019) 600
• Niranjan Parab, John Barnes, Cang Zhao, Ross Cunningham, Kamel Fezzaa, Anthony Rollett, Tao Sun, ​“Real-time observation of binder jetting printing process using high-speed X-ray imaging”, Scientific Reports, 9, (2019) 2499
• Sarah Wolff, Hao Wu, Niranjan Parab, Cang Zhao, Kernel Ehmann, Tao Sun, Jian Cao, ​“In-situ high-speed X-ray imaging of piezo-driven directed energy deposition additive manufacturing”, Scientific Reports, 9, (2019) 962
• Niranjan Parab*, Cang Zhao*, Ross Cunningham, Luis Escano, Kamel Fezzaa, Wesley Everhart, Anthony Rollett, Lianyi Chen, Tao Sun, ​“Ultrafast x-ray imaging of laser metal additive manufacturing processes”, Journal of Synchrotron Radiation, 25, (2018) 1467-1477 (*equal contribution, top 20 most read paper of JSR in 2017-2018)
• Qilin Guo*, Cang Zhao*, Luis Escano, Zac Young, Lianghua Xiong, Kamel Fezzaa, Wes Everhart, Tao Sun, Lianyi Chen, ​“Transient dynamics of powder spattering in laser powder bed fusion additive manufacturing process revealed by in-situ high-speed high-energy x-ray imaging”, Acta Materialia, 151, (2018) 169 (*equal contribution)
• Cang Zhao, Kamel Fezzaa, Ross Cunningham, Haidan Wen, Francesco De Carlo, Lianyi Chen, Anthony Rollett, Tao Sun, ​“Real-time monitoring of laser powder bed fusion process using high-speed X-ray imaging and diffraction”, Scientific Reports, 7, (2017) 3602 (Top 100 in Materials Science of Sci. Rep. in 2017)