David Forrest is now retired from federal service, presumably sunning himself on a beach somewhere. Previously, he was a Technology Manager at the Department of Energy's Advanced Manufacturing Office in Washington, DC where he developed original programming on Atomically Precise Manufacturing, covetic nanomaterials, Flash Processing, high performance gas separation materials (i.e., splitting air), and advanced material processes. The program on covetics with Argonne National Lab and National Energy Technology Lab Albany successfully solved key problems to deliver up to 50% improvement in the thermal and electrical conductivity of copper, aluminum, and steel; ongoing efforts continue to move the technology to commercialization in partnership with industry. The program in atomic precision is leading to unprecedented separation capabilities in membranes for low energy desalination, groundwater cleanup, and petrochemical separations. Atomically precise membrane systems for cheap removal of greenhouse gases from air are in the pipeline to be funded (yes, global warming can actually be solved, not just protested). Atomically precise catalysts are being developed for low temperature ammonia production, low energy hydrocarbon production, better cold water detergents, and so much more. Flash Processing is poised to provide cheap high strength cold stampable steel to automakers, improving energy efficiency fleet-wide by taking out over 100 pounds per car. Small but determined Global Research & Development, LLC is poised to deliver low cost, order of magnitude performance improvement in splitting air into oxygen and nitrogen at much lower temperatures than anything on the shelf for oxygen enriched air for power plants and (I hope someday) blast furnaces. Not bad for six years, eh? That was all me, orchestrating this symphony of projects that would not have happened otherwise. I also managed the High Performance Computing for Manufacturing program, and was Office Program Manager for SBIR.
I earned a doctorate degree in materials engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1993 and am a Fellow of ASM International. At the Department of Energy, I received an Energy Rock Star award in 2015, the Assistant Secretary Outstanding Impact Award in 2016, and the Assistant Secretary career service award in March 2019.
