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May 12, 2021

Team ARRIS: How Sana Elyas is Making a Material Difference

ARRIS R&D Program Manager Joins SAMPE's Executive Cabinet

ARRIS R&D Program Manager Sana Elyas was recently elected to a leadership role with the Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering (SAMPE) North America.

She joined ARRIS in 2019 with a strong background in developing robust, lightweight, high-performing structures for industry-leading companies. At the National Institute of Aviation Research (NIAR), she tested B-basis allowables (Toray 700G/3900 plain weave, carbon fiber thermoset prepreg and Newport NB321/7781 satin weave, fiberglass thermoset prepreg) for the Dreamliner program to drive the development of more flightworthy continuous fiber-reinforced polymers (FAA-funded project). Sana has also worked with NASA to build more dependable rocket motors, and with top automotive brands to develop higher-performing, scalable, and cost-effective vehicle technologies.

In this post, learn about Sana’s role at SAMPE, and how her expertise and experience are part of the ARRIS edge that empowers innovative companies to imagine, design, and manufacture in new and scalable ways.

Team ARRIS Interview

Congratulations on the new role! What will you be doing with SAMPE?

Thanks! It’s a big honor—I’m taking over from LaNetra Clayton Tate, a veteran composites innovator at NASA, as SAMPE’s parliamentarian. I’ll be helping to make sure that SAMPE follows its own bylaws, and that all SAMPE’s regional and local affiliates also adhere to the rules.

I’ll also be helping our incoming leadership team—SAMPE President Jerome Berg of Northrop Grumman, Executive Vice-President Scott Stephenson of CompositesWorld, Vice President Sarah Cox of NASA, Treasurer German Reyes-Villanueva of U-Michigan Dearborn, and immediate Past President Tim Shaughnessy of Rapid Cure Technologies—to draft and submit any revisions to the rules that might become necessary. We’re all peer-elected volunteers, so we’re determined to do what we can to support SAMPE’s mission.

Finally, I’ve been invited by Raj Manchanda, SAMPE’s new CTO, to serve as a founding member on his Technology Advisory Council. Raj is putting together a diverse group of leaders from multiple sectors to discuss tech trends and new opportunities and challenges for our industry. I’m really looking forward to what we will accomplish together and finding common ground with other industry leaders.

What is it that makes SAMPE’s work so important right now?

SAMPE is more than just an industry group—it’s a global society for professionals in the material and process engineering space. It’s also the only technical society that brings together specialists from all the different fields and subfields that make up materials and process engineering. That makes SAMPE a unique forum where scientists, engineers, and academics from all across the world can learn from one another and share best practices. Having that connection is especially important right now as we face global challenges ranging from climate change to the supply-chain disruption caused by COVID-19.

You’ve been working with SAMPE for a while now, right?

I’ve been working with SAMPE since I was a graduate student. I’m a Director of the Los Angeles chapter and a member of the Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion (DEI) committee, and last year I became the first Indian woman to win SAMPE’s global Young Professional Leadership Award. I believe in SAMPE’s mission and think we need this kind of collaboration more than ever right now. This is my way of paying it forward to help address current and future trends shaping the advanced composites industry in North America.

What do you think your ARRIS perspective can bring to the conversation?

I’ve spent my career trying to find the right balance of material, design, cost, and process. At ARRIS, we’re focused on critical challenges that interest me, such as developing advanced composite solutions for complex geometries by increasing part consolidation and multi-materials to meet performance requirements. Another example is leveraging continuous fiber composites to achieve increased stiffness or strength requirements. Sustainability and remanufacturing are a focus, too, because that matters most for emerging materials and processes today. The team has a deep sense of conviction that these changes add up to something bigger than ourselves.

As a problem solver, what are you most excited about at ARRIS? 

I’m proud to be working with experts at ARRIS who have a design edge that centers on going back to first principles and breaking down complex problems that can be solved elegantly using the new functionalities unlocked with Additive Molding. The great thing is that this isn’t a zero-sum game. When a lighter, tougher bracket for aerospace structures is created, for instance, planes fly further on less fuel—and that allows airline operators to cut their operating costs and reduce carbon emissions simultaneously. It’s better for the airline, better for their passengers, and better for the planet.

There’s a lot more to come from ARRIS. That’s exactly why we need organizations like SAMPE, where all stakeholders—from innovators like ARRIS to major aerospace, automotive, industrial, energy, and academia—can come together, share insights, and work together to build transformative solutions we need most.

Want to join the team and work with outstanding engineers like Sana?
Consider a career at ARRIS at arriscomposites.com/join-us and be part of a fast-growing team that’s transforming how products are imagined, designed, and manufactured.

Do you have any application challenge you want to work on with ARRIS?
Don’t hesitate to reach out (contact us). We work with top brands in consumer electronics and products, aerospace, transportation, healthcare, energy, construction, and industrial markets.

Team ARRIS Employee