David R Salem

David Salem

Director CAPE/Professor
(605) 394-5271
Office: CAPE/TDL CBE/CBEC 2202D
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Brief Bio

Dr. Salem is a professor in the Department of Materials and Metallurgical Engineering, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, and Department of Nanoscience and Biomedical Engineering. His primary role at South Dakota Mines, which he joined in 2010, is leadership of the Composites and Polymer Engineering Laboratory (CAPE Lab) and the Composite and Nanocomposite Advanced Manufacturing Center (CNAM Center). After earning his Ph.D. from the University of Manchester in the U.K., Dr. Salem joined TRI/Princeton in New Jersey as a postdoctoral fellow, and worked there for several as a Senior Scientist before serving as TRI's director of research from 1995-2002. Dr. Salem also has numerous years of experience in the private sector, including a multinational chemical company, and R&D leadership positions at two venture-backed start-up companies involved in the development of nanofiber and nanocomposite products.



Research Expertise
Dr. Salem's research centers on process-structure property relationships in polymers, composites and nanocomposites. Areas of focus include multiscale reinforcement and functionalization of polymers; strain-induced molecular ordering and crystallization in polymer films and fibers; low-cost processes for advanced composite and nanocomposite manufacturing; lightweight, high strength/stiffness/impact-resistant composites; engineering nanocomposite structures and properties by self-assembly strategies; protective (energy-absorbing) materials (e.g. functionally graded syntactic foams); energy storage materials (e.g. nanocomposite electrodes and polymer flexoelectricity); micro- and nano-channeled polymer composites; and polymers from microbes. Dr. Salem has much experience working at the academic-industrial interface, and a large portion of his research is funded by industrial contracts, consortia, and industrial/government partnerships, and includes significant scale-up/technology-transfer activities.
Teaching
Courses taught by Dr. Salem are in the area of processing and structure formation of polymers and composites. Since joining Mines, he has developed and taught courses on Composites Manufacturing (CBE/MET/MES 489/589) and Advanced Processing and Nanoengineering of Polymers (CBE/MES/NANO 475/575).