Directory

Donald A. Klosterman

Associate Professor; John F. and Leona D. Torley Chair in Composites Materials; Fellow – Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering (SAMPE)

Full-Time Faculty

School of Engineering: Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering

Bio

Dr. Don Klosterman has over 30 years experience in processing and characterization of advanced materials, including polymers, polymer matrix composites, ceramics, ceramic matrix composites, and nanocomposites. Also, his experience in additive manufacturing dates back to 1995 when he helped pioneer the use of Laminated Object Manufacturing (LOM) for producing monolithic ceramics, ceramic matrix composites, bioresorbable ceramics and polymer matrix composites (DARPA-funded). As a Senior Polymer Research Engineer at UDRI in the 2000s, he managed many sponsored R & D programs (including STTR and SBIR), and he set up and managed several research laboratories and production facilities. These included a 2000 square foot nanocomposite process pilot plant and a research facility for studying electron beam curing of composites. More recently he became involved in two alternative energy research projects, including the production of algae and the development of a full scale test rig for converting aluminum and water to hydrogen gas. Dr. Klosterman also worked for a brief time at WebCore Technologies Inc., where he helped develop sandwich core composite materials and associated vacuum infusion processes.

Dr. Klosterman is currently an associate professor in the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering at the University of Dayton. Over the past 20 years, Dr. Klosterman developed four graduate courses in Polymer Science and Engineering, which he teaches on an annual basis. He is currently conducting research on a variety of topics in collaboration with other UD faculty and UDRI staff members, including flame retardants for polymers and composites, aerospace adhesive formulation and testing, and torsional properties of heavily loaded thermoplastic matrix composites. He advises several undergraduate and graduate students in these areas, and he serves as laboratory safety officer for the Department’s research labs on the 5th floor of the Kettering Labs building.

Dr. Klosterman has been active in the Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering (SAMPE) over the past 30 years. He is co-chair of the annual SAMPE University Research Symposium, and he is the UD faculty adviser for the UD student chapter of SAMPE. He was installed as a Fellow in 2022.