The U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Basic Energy Sciences recent
ly established the Center for Excellence in the Synthesis and Processi
ng of Advanced Materials. Projects at the center typically include sev
eral national laboratories, industrial partners, and universities; met
al forming is one of eight projects within the center. This article de
scribes the center's metal forming project, which emphasizes aluminum
alloy forming, particularly as applicable to the automotive industry.