Niko is an Additive Manufacturing Engineer at Vermont State University's Advanced Manufacturing Center, where he began working in 2023. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from UMass Amherst, where his passion for additive manufacturing was sparked after building a home 3D printer. His foundational knowledge in additive manufacturing was developed at UMass, where he gained practical experience in the Institute for Applied Life Sciences ADDFab lab, a key resource for his professional growth. This initial interest quickly evolved into a professional career focused on industrial additive manufacturing. Although Niko specializes in the laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) process, his practical experience extends to various other technologies, including Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM), Selective Laser Sintering (SLS), Stereolithography (SLA), binder-jet (BJAM), and PolyJet. Niko is equally enthusiastic about hands-on work with advanced manufacturing equipment as he is about the engineering process, finding fulfillment in the creativity that additive manufacturing allows.