John E. Barnes

John E. Barnes serves as Adjunct Professor in Additive Manufacturing at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT), Adjunct Professor in Materials Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, and Adjunct Senior Research Fellow at Monash University. His career uniquely integrates industrial aerospace engineering with academic research, specializing in transitioning laboratory innovations to production environments for defense platforms.

His educational background includes:

• MS in Metallurgical Engineering, Purdue University (1994)
• BS in Materials Science & Engineering, Purdue University (1992)

Dr. Barnes' research focuses on Additive Manufacturing and Materials Engineering, with deep expertise in Titanium Processing for aerospace applications. He has implemented critical technologies on the F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II programs, addressing challenges in low Technology Readiness Level (TRL) development and certification pathways. His work emphasizes process optimization for metal additive manufacturing and metallurgical innovation in high-performance alloys.

He pioneered major initiatives including the CSIRO Titanium Challenge to advance Australian manufacturing capabilities, the Lab22 Centre for Additive Innovation as a state-of-the-art research facility, and the Australian Additive Manufacturing Initiative to accelerate industry adoption. His leadership consistently transforms underperforming teams and expands international partnerships through strategic navigation of technical, business, and political landscapes.

Dr. Barnes excels at building cross-sector consortiums between industry, government, and academia, ensuring seamless coordination between researchers, executives, and officials for complex technology development projects.