RAPID + TCT is North America’s largest and most important additive manufacturing event: join us this fall as the AM community convenes in Chicago from September 13-15! We can’t wait to provide the invaluable and much-needed face-to-face opportunities between buyers and sellers, unsurpassed educational content and direct access to the industry’s most-respected experts.
As you explore RAPID + TCT’s comprehensive education lineup, you’ll notice prevalent themes centered around Evaluation, Adoption and Optimization. When you attend, you’ll hear real-life examples of how industry leaders are implementing additive manufacturing and review case studies on how the technology is transforming traditional manufacturing. Explore innovative solutions, network with peers and discover new applications to help plan and execute your additive manufacturing strategy, from evaluation to adoption to optimization.
Hear the industry's foremost experts speak on the latest processes, applications and research over 3 days as they spotlight AM:
- Classrooms: 70+ Conference Presentations in 4 Classrooms
- Medical AM Classroom: 14 Medical Additive Manufacturing Presentations
- Main Stage: 3 High-Level Keynote Presentations and 11 Thought Leadership Panels
70+ Conference Presentations
Advance your additive manufacturing knowledge in presentations centered around Evaluation, Adoption and Optimization.
150+ Leading Speakers
Hear the industry's foremost experts speak on the latest processes, applications and research.
Evaluation Conference Presentations
If you’re an industry newcomer struggling to assess the capabilities and limitations of AM and 3D printing, seeking AM guidance or if you are in process of evaluating if AM is a viable solution for your business strategies, join presentations focused on Evaluation to help you start developing your own comprehensive technology roadmap. Evaluation presentations include influential speakers that will offer advice on analyzing business cases for AM. Highlights include:
Michael Rosplock, Enerpac, will provide a simple process to follow for building a resilient business case to integrate additive manufacturing into your operations.
Andrei Vakulenko, Artec 3D, and Michael Raphael, Direct Dimensions Inc., share the benefits and uses of 3D scanning for quality control.
View Evaluation Conference Presentations
Adoption Conference Presentations
In recent years, the utilization of AM and 3D printing has increased significantly across many different industries. The presentations focused on Adoption have been designed to provide delegates with an in-depth understanding of how those industries have successfully implemented the technology to drive innovation and business growth. This pathway is for attendees or professionals who have already invested in AM and want to discover more ways to leverage the technology within their organizations. Industry specific highlights include:
- Aerospace: Dan Braley, Boeing Global Services, will walk you through the AM technologies that are prevalent within the aerospace and defense industry for spares and repairs applications with hybrid AM and cold spray technologies. Sean Henson, Ascent Aerospace, will discuss the current state of large-format additive manufacturing and its specific impact on the aerospace tooling market. Kenneth Church, PhD, nScrypt Inc., outlines how precision printing in space and/or the desert brings new challenges.
- Automotive: Jon Walker, EOS, will discuss direct part printing and advanced automotive tooling.
- Consumer Products: Join Gabriel Schlumberger, Fitz Frames Inc., and Michael Shorr, DyeMansion, to learn how AM is impacting eyewear.
- Defense: Hear how the U.S. Army is utilizing AM for autonomous ground vehicles.
Optimization Conference Presentations
Presentations within Optimization are the perfect place for manufacturing companies and professionals who have advanced knowledge of the market and are ready to take the next step on their AM journey. Here, presenters will demonstrate how to maximize the performance, efficiency and profitability of mature AM installations and help identify new business models. Presenters will also provide in-depth coverage of the industry’s growth by showcasing new and emerging technologies, methods, materials, continuous improvement of AM applications and illustrate future trends to assist in strategic planning.
One of the new topics introduced to the program this year is sustainability, a key driver for optimizing AM technology today. Speakers who specialize in this field, including Qian Zhang, PhD, Underwriters Laboratories Inc., will focus on particle and VOC emissions from various 3D printing technologies and print materials, especially when used in environments like schools, offices and residences. You’ll also learn about the environmental benefits of AM and how it can help reduce energy-intensive manufacturing processes and minimize resource consumption from Mike Vasquez, PhD, 3Degrees LLC.
Peter Le and Eric Fodran, PhD, Northrop Grumman, will highlight a cross-functional effort by Northrop’s Manufacturing Technology, Materials & Processes and Structures Engineering area that worked to mature the AM electron-beam, powder-bed fusion (EB-PBF) technology, specifically for Ti-6Al-4V, to a point in which it is ready for utilization in a production setting.
Brett Stucker, PhD, ANSYS, explores additive simulation with a particular focus on capabilities under development that will become widely available over the next 1-3 years.
Mark Mirotznik, PhD, from the University of Delaware, offers a promising solution for the rapidly growing field of AM as he presents some of the university's experiences with ceramic AM using material jetting technology.
View Optimization Conference Presentations
Medical Additive Manufacturing Conference Presentations
Medical/biomedical is one of the fastest-growing application areas of additive manufacturing. Join in-depth conference presentations covering design and manufacture of personalized implants, dental devices, tissues and more using a variety of additive technologies. Medical manufacturing is growing with several segments including orthopedic devices, instrumentation, implantable devices, patient-matched devices and point-of-care manufacturing.
Moreover, visitors who wish to evaluate 3D printing for medical applications will hear from Amy Alexander, Mayo Clinic, on point-of-care and how 3D-printed anatomic guides are manufactured in the clinic’s Saint Mary’s Hospital, just five floors above the operating rooms.
The topic of healthcare will appear again as Djordje Jaksic, University of Michigan, summarizes some of the unique ways the university has leveraged additive manufacturing in its medical simulation education.
Join expert speakers from LifeNabled, Walter Reed Military Medical Center, Rady Children's Hospital-San Diego, VA Health Services, Medical Sensor Systems and more.
View Medical Additive Manufacturing Presentations
Visionary Keynotes
RAPID + TCT keynote presentations feature industry-leading speakers highlighting real-world examples of additive manufacturing opportunities and challenges. You’ll learn about how 3D technologies are transforming a wide variety of industries and what you can do to stay ahead of the competition.
Our three visionary speakers — Melissa Orme, PhD, The Boeing Co., Terry Wohlers, Dr. h.c., FSME, Wohlers Associates Inc. and Mark Wehde, Mayo Clinic — will provide unique perspectives on how additive is disrupting the aerospace industry, AM’s impact on startups and the overall economy, and how this technology is changing the healthcare industry. You won’t want to miss these three keynotes!
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Thought Leadership Panels
Our Thought Leadership Panels will bring together some of the most well-known names in additive manufacturing to discuss industry trends, the impact of marketplace demands on AM and AM advancements.
Join speakers from global leaders in manufacturing including General Motors, GE Additive, Mayo Clinic, Boeing, U.S. Army, Ford Motor Co., Northrop Grumman, Honeywell Aerospace, Joe Gibbs Racing, Stellantis N.V., Jabil, the Department of Defense and many more in 10 Thought Leadership Panels as they come together to discuss topics including Breakthrough to AM, Supply Chain Transformation, Production Readiness of AM, Design Workflow, From Selection to Market and more!
View Thought Leadership Panels
A Conference Program Tailored to your Needs
Maximize your time at RAPID + TCT and customize a schedule that fits your needs. Regardless of whether you choose to focus on Evaluation, Adoption, Optimization or Medical presentations at RAPID + TCT, you’ll walk away more informed and more prepared than ever before. If you want to position your company for success in additive manufacturing, then you need to attend the RAPID + TCT Conference. We can’t wait to see you in Chicago!
Hear from the industry’s brightest minds on how additive manufacturing can provide many benefits:
- Reduce time to market
- Revolutionize your product design
- Reduce tooling costs and lead time
- Create stronger, lighter, and more complex parts
- Reduce material costs and waste
- Produce low- and mid-volume end-user parts and components
- Produce and distribute parts on-demand
- Simplify your supply chain
RAPID + TCT Conference Advisors
Ted Anderson, Industrialization Leader, GE Additive
Ted Anderson is the Industrialization Leader for GE Additive. His team is focused on helping customers get their additive manufacturing applications to production. Prior to joining GE Additive, he spent 5 years with GE Aviation and was involved in the LEAP fuel nozzle, the GE9X TiAl blade, the 50% printed tech demonstration engine, the Catalyst turboprop engine and various R&D projects. He is also a certifying agent at GE for the laser and electron beam technologies and a special process auditor. Previous to joining GE, he worked as a contractor at NASA’s MSFC managing the Rapid Prototyping Lab working on a wide variety of R&D programs on multiple additive manufacturing platforms. Prior to being a contractor to NASA, he was the second Arcam employee in North America working field service and applications for the EBM technology. Ted holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Wisonsin – Platteville, a M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Georgia Tech and an M.B.A from the University of Alabama in Huntsville. He received his Additive Manufacturing Certification from SME in 2013 at the RAPID conference in Pittsburgh. He is a 2017 AMUG DINO award recipient and has lead the aerospace, transportation and DoD track for AMUG since 2015.
Kevin L. Ayers, Additive Manufacturing Specialist, Danfoss Power Solutions
In 1983, Ayers graduated from the University of Illinois College of Engineering and joined the FBI as a design engineer. In the late 1980s, he began working with the early additive manufacturing technologies in conjunction with DARPA. In 1993, Ayers spearheaded an effort within the FBI to use the additive manufacturing processes not only in prototyping but as a tool for the manufacturing of systems to be used as final product for FBI applications. To date, the FBI has manufactured over 20,000 parts using the additive manufacturing processes in the 20 years many of which are still in service today. He then joined SME as the industry manager over additive manufacturing for two years. Ayers then worked for Danfoss putting AM into 63 factories in 22 countries worldwide with applications in training, operations tooling and end-component manufacturing. He has made 32 presentations at conferences nationally and internationally speaking on topics from additive manufacturing, tooling and additive manufacturing design. Ayers has served as a technical and event advisor for SME’s RAPID + TCT event, AMUG and is a recipient of the SLA Dinosaur Award. SME Member Since 2017
Eric Barnes, Northrop Grumman Fellow, Additive Manufacturing & Emerging Programs
Eric Barnes is currently a Northrop Grumman Fellow responsible for the Aerospace System Sector Additive Manufacturing (AM) Technology portfolio and integration of Additive Manufacturing across Northrop Grumman Corporation. Mr. Barnes has led the development, implementation and strategy for polymer and metallic additive manufacturing on multiple air and space programs. Eric has over 30 years’ experience in materials, processes and Manufacturing research and development, implementation, design, and production support. Prior to his current role, Eric was the Sector Manager of Air Vehicle Materials and Processes Engineering, including materials research and development.
Eric has received three additive manufacturing patents and has six AM patents pending.
Mr. Barnes has managed many DoD contracts from AFRL, DARPA, ONR, Army Research Labs and NASA in the areas of additive manufacturing, coatings, polymer composites, automation, drilling, and metals. In addition to the aforementioned R&D programs, Eric has worked on the F/A-18 E/F, B-2, F-35, NASA Reusable Launch Vehicle, Tri-Service Standoff Attack Missile, Targets, among others.
Dan Braley, Associate Technical Fellow – Additive Manufacturing Technical Focal & Initiatives Lead, Boeing Global Services
Dan Braley is a Boeing Associate Technical Fellow and the Boeing Global Services Additive Manufacturing Technical Focal & Initiatives Leader. This includes sustainment of all Boeing military, commercial, and derivative aircraft platforms through use of Additive Manufacturing technologies. Dan has greater than 15 years of aerospace program and R&D experience in Additive Manufacturing, technical program management, materials and process engineering, composites, electromagnetic product development, and manufacturing technology development. Dan currently holds 17 patents with many more pending. He received his BS and MS degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Florida State University, and an MS in Engineering Management from Drexel University.
Rex Brown, Principal Engineer, National Nuclear Security Administration, DOE
Rex Brown is a principal mechanical engineer working in the advanced technology development department at the Department of Energy’s National Security Campus, managed by Honeywell. He has been actively involved with additive manufacturing since 1992, serving on ASTM’s Committee F42 on Additive Manufacturing Technologies, the NCMS Rare Parts Team, and SME’s Direct Digital Manufacturing Tech Group. Brown’s focus over the years includes stereolithography, fuse deposition modeling, and 3D printing for rapid prototyping. His present work is in research and production application of metals additive manufacturing.
Zayna Connor, ZMC Consulting, Inc.
Zayna Connor, ZMC Consulting, Inc., is an independent consultant. She is active in the AFS committee activities, AFS consortium research projects, ASTM Additive Manufacturing committee and American Society of Materials, Past Chair of the Technical Books Committee. Zayna received her BS in Metallurgical Engineering from Missouri S&T and her PhD in Materials Science & Engineering from Northwestern University. Her dissertation on the quantitative analysis of fatigue cracks in riveted joints using scanning acoustic microscopy was under the direction of Prof. Morris Fine. She is a National Science Foundation Fellow and an Amelia Earhart fellow. Zayna has spent more than 30 years working in materials, castings, forgings extrusions and rolled products. She has helped develop casting suppliers in China, Poland, Turkey, Italy, US, Mexico, England, and Canada. She was the R&D manager for non-heat treat alloys at Alcan Rolled Products. She has helped on the supplier side to solve customer problems and on the customer side to help solve supplier problems.
Dr. April Cooke, Senior Process Engineer, Seurat Technologies
April earned a Doctorate in Mechanical Engineering from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Her decade-plus of additive manufacturing experience includes postdoctoral appointments at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Engineering R&D Manager at 3D Systems, Advanced Manufacturing Process Engineer at the Commonwealth Center for Advanced Manufacturing, and Additive Manufacturing Specialist at TRUMPF, Inc. In 2013, April received the International Outstanding Young Researcher in Freeform and Additive Manufacturing Award, which is given out annually at the Solid Freeform Fabrication Symposium. Currently, April is a Senior Process Engineer with Seurat Technologies.
Denis Cormier, Earl W. Brinkman Professor, Rochester Institute of Technology
Dr. Denis Cormier is the Earl W. Brinkman Professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the Rochester Institute of Technology where he also serves as director of the Additive Manufacturing and Multifunctional Printing (AMPrint) Center. He has worked in the area of additive manufacturing for 20 years with a specific focus on aerospace materials and applications of metal additive manufacturing. Most recently, his research has focused on multi-material functional printing processes and materials.
Vesna Cota, Additive Manufacturing Design & Development Specialist, Tyco Electronics Canada
Vesna Cota is an additive manufacturing design and development specialist for Tyco Electronics Canada. Cota launched her personal endeavor of teaching additive manufacturing technologies as a feature speaker at NRC-IRAP in the industrial design and technology forum in 1998, and continued sharing through speaking, writing, presentations and workshops. She has taught additive manufacturing courses for the Magna Inc. Management Training Program and the Industrial Research Development Institute Product Development Program, among others. Cota is passionate about propagating the awareness of additive manufacturing technologies and their proper applications. As an executive officer of Toronto Chapter 26, she organized a year-long additive manufacturing program in 1998-99, for which SME honored her with its President’s Award. In 2005, Cota became an SME master-level Additive Manufacturing Certificate holder. She received her degree in architecture from the University of Zagreb. She has been an RTAM member since 1995.
Carl Dekker, President, Met-L-Flo, Inc
Carl K. Dekker serves as the President of Met-L-Flo Inc., a growing service center for additive manufacturing in Sugar Grove, IL. He has been actively involved in research and product development using current technologies and innovative methods. Dekker has provided training and installations at Abbott Laboratories, Delphi, Motorola and numerous other locations. His work has been published in industry journals including Prototyping Technology, Rapid Prototyping Report, Time Compression Technologies, and the Wohlers Report (2003-8,13-14). A past chair of SME’s Additive Manufacturing Community, Dekker is the current chair of ASTM’s Committee F42 on Additive Manufacturing Technologies and the current chair of SME’s Direct Digital Manufacturing Tech Group. Dekker teaches the Rapid Technologies and Additive Manufacturing Technologies Certificate Programs and also remains active in the Bright Minds Program as a member and former co-chair. He holds a Master Certificate in Rapid Prototyping and is a proud recipient of the SLA Dinosaur Award.
Abbey Delaney, Marketing Manager, BigRep America, Inc.
Abbey Delaney joined BigRep in 2018, bringing more than 15 years of marketing experience and more than 6 years in additive. Now as the Marketing Manager for North America, Abbey is responsible for creating marketing strategy, developing partner marketing programs, overseeing tradeshows, implementing lead gen campaigns and growing the brand. Prior to joining BigRep, Abbey was with Materialise as the marketing manager and also has experience in the automotive and commercial truck market, managing projects from data analysis and market research to graphic design and corporate branding. Abbey holds a Bachelors and Master of Arts degree from Saginaw Valley State University.
Eric Fodran, PhD, Additive Manufacturing & Emerging Programs, Senior Staff Engineer
Dr. Fodran is a metallurgical and manufacturing engineer within the Manufacturing Technology Innovation group at Northrop Grumman. He has been supporting R&D efforts within the Manufacturing Technology Innovation organization as well as Advanced Materials & Process Development organizations for the past 15 years on several aircraft platforms including F-35, F-18, B-2, T-38, as well as future air and space systems. His focus has been predominantly in the areas of additive manufacturing, structural materials fabrication and processing methods, as well as corrosion prevention and high temperature thermal protection systems.
His practical experience has also been based in lunar rover metallic materials while at the NASA Jet Propulsion Facility, and his previous R&D background has been in a diverse spectrum of processes and materials including: elevated temperature aluminum based alloys and intermetallics, rapid solidification processing methods, and amorphous bulk materials for structural application.
Dr. Fodran’s educational background includes completion of his undergraduate degree in Materials Science from California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo, and a Ph.D. also in Materials Science from the University of Florida.
Boris Fritz, Adjunct Professor, University of Southern California USC
Boris Fritz is an adjunct Professor at University of Southern California, in the department of Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering, as well as at Loyola Marymount University in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. He is currently teaching courses in Additive Manufacturing since 2015. He is also a Team Member of the Bubble Base of NASA’s 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge for Deep Space Exploration. He retired from Northrop Grumman Aerospace, formerly working in the Additive Mfg Technology & Development Department & in charge of the Rapid Manufacturing Lab for 22 years until October, 2013. In 2003 he was Chair of SME’s Additive Manufacturing Community as well as chair of the RAPID conference. He has three patents & has published numerous research papers on 3D Printing since 1991. He also founded and chaired the Nanomanufacturing Tech Group of SME, as well as having been on SME’s Manufacturing Enterprise Council. In 1998 he received the Outstanding Engineering Achievement Merit Award of the Engineers’ Council of California.
Eliana Fu, PhD, Industry Manager, Aerospace & Medical, Trumpf USA
Eliana Fu, PhD, was educated at Imperial College, University of London with a master’s degree and doctorate in materials science. Fu also performed postdoctoral research at Loughborough University and Clemson University. After working extensively in the traditional manufacturing world with TWI then TIMET and SpaceX, she turned her attention to additive manufacturing at SpaceX and then with Relativity Space as senior engineer: additive technologies. Fu then joined TRUMPF as industry manager, aerospace and medical. She served as an advisor to Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti’s Advanced Manufacturing Committee. Fu is also a Women in 3D Printing ambassador for Las Vegas and is involved with many other volunteer STEM activities for middle school kids. She has written a book based on her experiences as a female engineer at SpaceX.
Giles Gaskell, Commercial Business Manager for Structured Light Scanning, Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence
Giles Gaskell has been working in the field of noncontact scanning for reverse engineering and inspection since 1997 and worked with many of Europe’s most prestigious design, engineering and manufacturing companies before moving to the USA in 2004. Gaskell is a recognized subject-matter expert and communicator in the field of 3D metrology and 3D scanning. He is a RAPID + TCT conference advisor for SME and a presenter of educational workshops at AMUG and RAPID + TCT’s conference for over 10 years. Gaskell is also an advisor to ASME for 3D scanning. He is now a commercial business manager for structured light scanning at Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence.
Charles Gilman, Mechanical Engineer, Self-Employed Consultant
Charles Gilman has been working in Additive Manufacturing for 25 years. Prior to his current role, Mr. Gilman held positions with GE Global Research’s Model-Based Manufacturing Laboratory, the US Air Force Manufacturing Technology Directorate, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and STEP Tools, Inc. Mr. Gilman’s technical interests also include Computational Geometry, Model-Based Manufacturing, and Smart Manufacturing.
Todd Grimm, President, T. A. Grimm & Associates
Todd Grimm is 31-year veteran of the additive manufacturing/3D printing industry. From his work as a consultant, writer, author, speaker, editor and advisor, he was named as one of The TCT Magazine’s 20 most influential in the additive manufacturing (AM) industry and has been twice nominated for the TCT Hall of Fame. Todd is president and founder of T. A. Grimm & Associates, an additive manufacturing consulting and communications company that was established in 2002. He has also served as an independent director on the board of directors of ARC Group Worldwide (OTCM: ARCW). From 1990 to 2002, he held various positions in two additive manufacturing service bureaus. For the past 25 years, Todd has served as an advisor for the RAPID + TCT conference. He has taken the stage at the conference dozens of times as a keynote speaker, featured speaker, presenter, emcee, workshop leader and knowledge bar expert. Presently, Todd is a columnist for Mechanical Engineering magazine, a publication of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. From 2011 through 2020, he served as a columnist for publications including Engineering.com, 3D Printing Industry and TCT Magazine. Todd is also the author of User’s Guide to Rapid Prototyping, which was published by SME. Todd currently serves as the AM Industry Advisor for the Additive Manufacturing Users Group (AMUG), and from 2012 through 2021, he served as a director on the group’s board. He has also served as chairman of SME’s RTAM community.
Ed Herderick, PhD, Additive Technologies Leader, Director Additive Manufacturing, College of Engineering, Ohio State University
Dr. Edward D. Herderick is a recognized leader in the commercialization of manufacturing technologies. He currently serves as the Director of Additive at The Ohio State University Center for Design and Manufacturing Excellence. He previously was the Global Sales Leader for GE Inspection Technologies and also served as the Additive Technologies Leader for GE Corporate Supply Chain and Operations. Earlier, he was Director of R&D at additive startup rp+m and was Director of the Additive Manufacturing Consortium operated by the Edison Welding Institute. The guiding thread in his career has been industrialization and implementation of complex materials intensive manufacturing methods including additive manufacturing, coatings, joining, and inspection techniques. A materials scientist by training, he received his PhD in MSE from The Ohio State University. Dr. Herderick currently serves as the Industrial Editor for the Journal of the Minerals, Metals, and Materials Society, a TMS Foundation Board Trustee, and has testified before the US House of Representatives on the impact of additive manufacturing of metals.
Larry J. Holmes, Assistant Director of Delaware Digital Design and Manufacturing Institute (3DMI), University of Delaware
Mr. Larry (LJ) R. Holmes, Jr. is the Assistant Director of the newly formed Delaware Digital Design and Manufacturing Institute (3DMI) at the University of Delaware. The mission of this academic institute is to create an interdisciplinary forum for bringing materials, processing and manufacturing together by digital design and additive manufacturing. Mr. Holmes left federal service in 2018 after 15 years at the US Army Research Laboratory (ARL). His final posting at ARL was the Director of Research Partnerships and Communication for the ARL Center for Agile Materials Manufacturing Science (CAMMS). He was also the Lead for ARLs Hybrid Manufacturing research portfolio, including the management of materials and manufacturing science programs related to multi-material processing technologies for functional/multi-functional devices. Mr. Holmes has held the responsibility of Principal Investigator for Additive Manufacturing materials and technology development within the Manufacturing Science and Technology Branch (MSTB) at ARL, as well as the Lead for lab operations for the Micro-Compositronics and Rapid Operations (MiCRO) laboratory within the Composites and Hybrid Materials Branch (CHMB) at ARL. Mr. Holmes earned his BS in Aerospace Engineering from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in 2002, and earned his MS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2009. He is currently enrolled in the Mechanical Engineering PhD program at the University of Texas at El Paso. Mr. Holmes is the founder of the Army Additive Manufacturing Community of Practice, a founding member of the APG inter-agency Additive Manufacturing Working Group, has been a Government advisor on several DoD funded programs, both nationally and internationally. Mr. Holmes manages facilities and teams that create material and manufacturing solutions that are changing the landscape of the DoD manufacturing industrial base while also educating manufacturing engineers of the future.
Sheku Kamara, Dean of Applied Research, Milwaukee School of Engineering
Sheku Kamara is the Dean of Applied Research at Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) and oversees the activities of the Applied Technology CenterTM (ATC). The ATC uses MSOE faculty, staff and student expertise to solve technological problems confronting business and industry. He has been involved with additive manufacturing since 1996 and was director of the Rapid Prototyping Consortium at MSOE. Kamara holds the RTAM Master Level Certificate on additive manufacturing from SME and was named a Laser Sintering DINO (Distinguished INnovator Operator Award) from the Additive Manufacturing Users Group (AMUG), for his contributions to the technology and industry. Kamara has served as a technical advisor to the RAPID conference since 2004 and is a past chair of the Additive Manufacturing Users Group (AMUG).
David Leigh, Chief Operating Officer, EOS North America
David Leigh, Chief Operating Officer, EOS North America, oversees the development of a new, high-level engineering service division in North America. In his role, David leads a team of additive manufacturing experts with a focus on enhancing engineering services as well as further advancing EOS’ R&D capabilities. Most notably, he supports commercialization of the Integra P 400, EOS North America’s polymer platform designed to meet demand for 3D printing serial production in the North American market. Prior to EOS, David served as president and CEO of Vulcan Labs, a technology start-up and spin-off of Stratasys, Inc. focused on process and materials development in the production applications of powder bed fusion, which was acquired by EOS NA in December 2018. David brings more than 30 years of experience in the AM industry, starting at industry pioneer DTM, a pioneer in selective laser sintering, and eventually co-founding Harvest Technologies, a leading selective laser sintering company now known as Stratasys Direct Manufacturing. Following the acquisition, David served as Senior Vice President of Emerging Technologies at Stratasys before transitioning into his role at Vulcan Labs and subsequently EOS. In addition to a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Texas at Austin, David also holds a Master of Science in Engineering and a PhD in Materials Science and Engineering from his alma mater. In his free time, David is actively involved in his community and his profession, serving on multiple boards.
Brian Levy, Design Engineer, Joe Gibbs Racing
Brian Levy is a design engineer with Joe Gibbs Racing, a NASCAR Sprint Cup team, and has been involved with additive manufacturing technologies since attending Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute for his BSME degree. In addition to overseeing all of Joe Gibbs Racing’s additive manufacturing resources, which includes both FDM and PolyJet systems, Brian is also continuously working on developing applications of the technology to improve the designs of various parts and subsystems on the car. Brian has been featured in and has assisted with numerous case studies, articles, and white papers on additive manufacturing. This is Brian’s fourth consecutive year serving as a technical advisor for the RAPID + TCT conference.
Michael Nikodinovski, Mechanical Engineer & AM Technical Lead, U.S. ARMY – Combat Capabilities Development Command (CCDC) – Ground Vehicle Systems Center (GVSC)
Michael Nikodinovski is a Mechanical Engineer and the AM Technical Lead at the U.S. ARMY – Combat Capabilities Development Command (CCDC) – Ground Vehicle Systems Center (GVSC), located in Warren, MI. He holds a B.S & M.S in Mechanical Engineering from Lawrence Technological University. Mr. Nikodinovski works in the fields of manufacturing engineering, providing support for the broad GVSC mission. Michael’s core research is on AM, with a focus on sustainment reduction related technologies. He serves as one of GVSC’s AM Subject Matter Expert and is founding member of the Army’s AM Community of Practice. Along with his colleagues throughout CCDC, Michael is tasked with growing the Army’s AM competency and transition the technology to the warfighter.
Michael Raphael, President & Chief Engineer, Direct Dimensions, Inc
Michael Raphael founded Direct Dimensions, Inc. (DDI) in 1995 as an engineering company to provide a “one-stop shop” for 3D technical services, product representation, sales, and support for all types of 3D scanning, imaging, and measurement solutions. Over the past 20 years, DDI has expanded significantly to use the most comprehensive array of 3D scanning technologies and digital modeling solutions for the widest range of applications and industries. Today Direct Dimensions employs over 25 technical and professional staff and performs hundreds of 3D scanning and modeling projects every year using widest variety of 3D solutions with special emphasis on high accuracy 3D scanning solutions. Michael graduated from Virginia Tech with BS degree in Engineering Science and Mechanics in 1985, followed by a Masters of Engineering Administration from George Washington University in 1990.
Brandon Ribic, Technology Director, America Makes
Brandon Ribic was named Technology Director of America Makes on October 1, 2019. Driven by the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM), America Makes is the national accelerator for AM and the first of eight Manufacturing Innovation Institutes (MIIs) established and managed by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) as public-private partnerships. America Makes is also a member of the Manufacturing USA® (MFG USA) network, which seeks to secure U.S. global leadership in advanced manufacturing. Previously, Dr. Ribic served as a Joining Engineer within the Rolls-Royce Corporation Materials Technology Center. In this capacity, Dr. Ribic led the Materials Technology Center efforts in additive manufacturing (AM) process modeling and in-situ process monitoring. Specifically, he has spent more than six years researching and developing welding and AM processes for various titanium and nickel superalloy gas turbine engine components. Dr. Ribic has led and participated in multiple Metals Affordability Initiative projects focused on AM of nickel superalloys during the last three years. He also successfully developed, qualified, and productionized (TRL 7) the first ever CMSX-4 AM repair for Rolls-Royce. Additionally, Dr. Ribic represented Rolls-Royce on the America Makes Governance Board and was co-chair of the America Makes Roadmap Advisory Group (RMAG), a committee whose goal is to collaborate with the America Makes Technology Director and provide a holistic perspective, representing multiple industries, applications, and customers for the maturation and implementation of the National Additive Manufacturing and 3D Printing Roadmap and Investment Strategy. Prior to joining Rolls-Royce, Dr. Ribic served as Plant Metallurgist and Quality Assurance Manager at McConway & Torley, LLC, a Trinity Industries, Inc. company. Brandon earned his doctoral degree in Materials Science and Engineering in 2011 from the Pennsylvania State University under the advisement of Prof. T. DebRoy. Dr. Ribic has several patents pending in the area of laser AM. He is also a member of the American Welding Society (AWS) Graduate Fellowship, co-chair of the AWS High Energy Beam Welding and Cutting committee, and chair of the AWS Laser Hybrid Welding subcommittee.
Thomas Sorovetz, Fastener Engineer, Stellantis N.V.
Thomas Sorovetz has been with Stellantis N.V., formerly FCA LLC, for more than 30 years, with 24 years as supervisor of vehicle engineering development, Additive Manufacturing development, wood, plastic, CNC and carbon-fiber shops. He has over 30 years of experience in automotive design and engineering and more than 24 years of experience in AM. Sorovetz’s affiliation with SME includes 25 years as a RAPID + TCT conference advisor, former member of SME’s AM Technical Community Leadership Committee and an executive board member for AMUG for over 25 years. In 2007, he was voted by his industry peers as one of the Top 25 Most Influential People in Rapid Product Development and Rapid Manufacturing by “TCT Magazine.”
Brennon White, Additive Manufacturing Applications Engineer, GM Additive Design & Manufacturing Group
Brennon White (BSME, CAMF) is an Additive Manufacturing Applications Engineer working on interior applications for the General Motors- Additive Design & Manufacturing group. The group focus is on advancing additive manufacturing technologies with applications from manufacturing equipment to accelerated product development and low volume production implementation.
Brennon is responsible for developing GM’s additive manufacturing educational infrastructure, and supporting development of the Additive manufacturing industrialization process. He also supports organizations like SME where he has been a Technical Advisor, and Session Chair, for the Business and Economics Track for the Since 2013.
Brennon has 24 years of experience in automotive Interior product design and advanced development. He holds 18+ patents, and has taken product from innovation through production launch. This gives him a view of the entire automotive manufacturing ecosystem. His passion for the last decade has been to use this knowledge to advance and adapt the field of additive manufacturing to support automotive needs.