Laser Cladding Services (LCS) of Houston announced it has hired Eswar Yarrapareddy, PhD, as laser-cladding development engineer. In his new position, Yarrapareddy supervises the development of laser-cladding processes using CO2, diode, and fiber lasers to apply a variety of coating materials used in the energy industry. With more than six years of industrial and research experience in laser materials processing, metallurgy and materials science, he has worked extensively in process optimization and control of laser cladding and e-beam direct metal deposition and developed nano-based surface coatings resistant to slurry erosion by laser cladding. Yarrapareddy previously served as a research assistant at Southern Methodist University and at the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology. He also assisted in the failure analysis and quality assurance of offshore drilling structures and methods as a project engineer for Jindall Drilling & Industries Ltd. in Mumbai, India. His work has been published in several national and international journals and he serves as a technical reviewer for the Journal of Surfaces and Coatings Technology. Yarrapareddy earned his BS in metallurgical engineering from JNT University in India, his MS in material science and engineering from South Dakota School of Mines & Technology and his PhD in mechanical engineering from Southern Methodist University. He is a member of The Minerals, Metals, and Materials Society, The American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the American Society of Materials and received the 2006 Arthur F. Focke LeaderShape award from ASM International.