This grant provides funding to support a workshop on Frontiers of Additive Manufacturing Research and Education. The objective of this workshop is to provide a forum for disseminating information and sharing ideas about the frontiers of additive manufacturing research, education, and technology transfer. Additive manufacturing, also known as 3D printing, is a suite of computer automated technologies to fabricate three-dimensional structural and functional parts from metallic, plastic, ceramic, biological, and composite materials. The workshop will discuss the current state-of-the-art and future potential of additive manufacturing, analyze the gaps between the future potential and the current status, and identify what needs to be done in the areas of research, education, and technology transfer in order to close the gaps. This workshop is distinct from previous additive manufacturing related workshops in its objective and format. Besides the planned agenda to discuss the need for future additive manufacturing research and technology transfer efforts and to inspire educational innovations in this area, the workshop itself is largely educational in nature.
The workshop will help realize the full potential of additive manufacturing technology. The ideas coming from the workshop will be helpful to decision makers in setting priorities and strategies of research and education at government agencies, academic institutions, and industrial companies. The identified research and education needs will help close the gaps between the future potential and the current state-of-the-art of additive manufacturing technology. The workshop will increase the level of interest in manufacturing research in general and additive manufacturing in particular. It will foster the development of transformational approaches in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics education and in technology transfer models. The networking function of the workshop will allow establishing new collaborations among workshop participants.
