Dr Ing. Jeroen De Backer is Technical Director and co-founder of StirLight. He has worked on friction stir welding for over 15 years, including MSc and PhD research on the process, and is the named author of StirLight’s technical content on joining process selection, cold plate manufacture and weld repair.
Credentials
- PhD in Production Technology, University West, and MSc research in friction stir welding.
- Over 15 years of applied friction stir welding experience across research and industrial delivery.
- Lead coordinator and principal investigator on national and EU-funded research projects.
- Author of more than 20 peer-reviewed scientific papers; regular contributor at international friction stir welding conferences. Profiles: ORCID 0000-0001-9553-7131 and Google Scholar.
- Chartered-level engineering practice in weld procedure development, including work referencing ISO 25239 for friction stir welding of aluminium.
Areas of technical focus
- Replacing fusion and furnace-based joining routes (TIG, MIG, vacuum and controlled-atmosphere brazing) where distortion, porosity or scrap limit yield.
- Liquid cold plate and heat exchanger manufacture, including leak-tight closure welds in aluminium.
- Repair of parts that failed on the incumbent route, including friction stir deposition for crack and defect repair.
- Dissimilar joining, including aluminium to copper.
- Thick-section copper and nickel-base superalloys.
- In-process monitoring and weld quality assurance.
Technical enquiries Reach Jeroen through the StirLight contact page or info@stirlight.com.