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Aaron C. Greco

Group Leader, Interfacial Mechanics & Materials

Biography

Aaron Greco is the Group Manager for Argonne National Laboratory’s Materials for Harsh Conditions group in the Applied materials division. he also serves as Principal Investigator on a project designed to improve the reliability of wind turbine drivetrains. The team accomplishes this through systemic investigation of field failures, such as surface contact failures of bearings and gears, and through laboratory testing of material and lubricant technologies to mitigate failures. Greco also supports research efforts to improve the fuel efficiency of vehicles through the development of various lubricant and surface treatment technologies to reduce frictional losses.

Greco has more than 10 years’ experience in the field of tribology and advanced surface engineering, specifically as it relates to vehicle and wind turbine drivetrains. His research interests include advanced surface treatments, nanoparticle lubricant additive technology and rolling contact fatigue. Greco recently completed a 15-month assignment at the U.S. Department of Energy headquarters within the Wind and Water Power Technology Office, where he provided technical management support to team leadership. Prior to joining Argonne, Greco was a Science and Technology Policy Fellow at the National Academies.

Awards, Honors and Memberships

  • Best Paper Award, Surface Engineering, Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers
  • Mirzayan Science and Technology Policy Fellowship, the National Academies
  • Poster Challenge Award for Communication Excellence, National Science Foundation IGERT
  • Applied Research Award, Northwestern University InNUvation group
  • Outstanding Conference Poster Award, Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers Annual Meeting

Publications and Patents

  • Journal articles: 10+
  • Conference papers: 10+
  • Conference Posters: 10+
  • Book Chapters: 1
  • Sidorenko, A., Houphouet-Boigny, C., Greco, A.C., Villavicencio, O., Hashemzadeh, M., McGrath, D.V., and Tsukruk, V.V. Langmuir monolayers from azobenzene-containing dendrons.” pp. 1487–1488. Proceedings of the American Chemical Society Conference, Washington, DC, 2000.
  • Tsukruk, V.V., Sidorenko, A., Zhai, X.W., and Greco, A. Hyperbranched polymer layers as multifunctional interfaces.” Langmuir, 2002, 18(9), 3408–3412.
  • Tsukruk, V.V., Sidorenko, A., Zhai, X.W., Peleshanko, S., Greco, A., and Shevchenko, V.V. Hyperbranched polyesters on solid surfaces”. Langmuir, 2001, 17(19), 5924–5931.
  • Greco, A.C., Ajayi, O.O., Erck, R.A., Johnson, J.A. and Fenske, G.R. Effect of Reinforcing Carbon Fiber Morphology on Tribological Behavior of PEEK Polymers.” pp. 955–956 Proceedings of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Conference 2005, Washington, D.C., 2005.
  • Greco, A., Raphaelson, S., Ehmann, K., and Wang, Q. Surface Texturing of Tribological Interfaces Using the Vibro-Mechanical Texturing Method.” ASME Journal of Manufacturing Science and Engineering, December 2009 (131).
  • Wang, Q., Ehmann, K., and Greco, A. Surface Texture by Vibro Machining.” Encyclopedia of Tribology, 2009.
  • Greco, A., Martini, A., Liu, Y., and Wang, Q. Fatigue Life of Textured Surfaces.” Tribology Transactions, 2010, 53(4).
  • Greco, A., Wang, Q., and Ehmann, K. Surface Micro-Texturing through Tertiary Tool Motion.” International Workshop on Microfactory Technology, Jeju Korea 2009 (proceedings).
  • Greco, A., Erck, R., Ajayi, O., and Fenske, G. Effect of Reinforcement Morphology on High-Speed Sliding Friction and Wear of PEEK Polymers.” Wear, 2011 271 (9-10).
  • Greco, A., Mistry, K., Sista, V., Eryilmaz, O., and Erdemir, A. Friction and Wear Behavior of Boron Based Surface Treatment and Nano-particle Lubricant Additives for Wind Turbine Gearbox Applications.” Wear, 2011, 271 (9-10).
  • Greco, A., Ajayi, O., and Erck, R. Micro-Scale Surface Texture Design for Improved Scuffing Resistance in Gear Applications,” ASME 11th International Power Transmission and Gearing Conference, 2011, 8 (579-584) (proceedings).
  • Errichello, R., Sheng, S., Keller, J., and Greco, A. Wind Turbine Tribology Seminar: A RecapProceedings of the Wind Turbine Tribology Seminar, Nov. 15-17, 2011. U.S. Dept. of Energy Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Wind and Water Power Program 2012.
  • Greco, A., Sheng, S., Keller, J., and Erdemir, A. Material Wear and Fatigue in Wind Turbine Systems.” Wear, 2013, doi: 10.1016/j.wear.2013.01.060.

Selected Professional Activities

  • Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers: IJTC Conference Planning Committee, Wind Energy Technical Committee chair, Surface Engineering Technical Committee chair, and Awards Committee member
  • Memberships: Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers (STLE), American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)
  • American Society for Metals/The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society (ASM/TMS), Key Reader for Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A

Education

  • B.S., Mechanical Engineering, Iowa State University, 2003
  • Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, Northwestern University, 2009