Oshkosh has announced that the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has awarded research funding to the joint-venture team on which Oshkosh is a member.

The Technology Innovation Program (TIP) funding is projected to be nearly $5 million over a five-year duration. With the team providing in-kind contribution of engineering resources, the project's total value is approximately $10 million.

The goal of this project is to produce lighter weight metal castings of aluminum and magnesium that will have the strength of cast steel for commercial-scale production.

Through NIST's funding of this project, Oshkosh and its partners can explore the use of nanocomposites beyond their current use in simple, uncomplicated moldings into larger, more complex metal castings. The work will expand on laboratory tests conducted by the team's project leader, the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

This research will hopefully generate benefits in defense and commercial truck manufacturing, enable transformative changes in multiple industries, directly address the critical national needs of reducing oil dependency, lower greenhouse gas emissions and help maintain U.S. leadership in manufacturing.

Other members of the research team include Eck Industries, Inc. of Manitowoc, Wis., Nanostructured and Amorphous Materials, Inc. of Houston, Texas and the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) of Madison, Wis.

The team proposed its research on transformational casting technology for the fabrication of ultra-high performance lightweight aluminum and magnesium nanocomposites under the category of practical application of advanced materials including nanomaterials, advanced alloys and composites in manufacturing.

The TIP competition seeks to support, promote and accelerate innovation in the United States through high-risk, high-reward research in areas of critical national need.

Entries were selected based on merit via a multidisciplinary peer-review process. NIST is a nonregulatory agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce that promotes U.S. innovation and industrial competiveness by advancing measurement science, standards and technology in ways that enhance economic security and improve our quality of life.