Collaborative Research/Workshop: Educational Needs and Opportunities in Additive Manufacturing; Arlington, Virginia; April 10-11, 2014

This Collaborative Research award supports the conduct of a workshop to engage participants from academia, industry, and government in discussions related to preparing and enhancing the Additive Manufacturing (AM) workforce through novel educational partnerships. While several workshops have been held to discuss advances in AM technology and research, there has not yet been a dedicated workshop to address the gaps in the workforce's AM knowledgebase. The workforce's limited knowledge of the capabilities of AM technologies is a critical barrier to widespread AM adoption. The intellectual merit of the workshop lies in developing novel educational partnerships to prepare and enhance the AM workforce. The workshop will identify synergies between existing AM efforts (e.g., those by America Makes, National Institute of Standards and Technology, and American Society for Testing and Materials) and funding opportunities to realize new educational partnerships to prepare and enhance the AM workforce.

Advancing the understanding, utilization, and adoption of Additive Manufacturing will require an interdisciplinary workforce that has the knowledgebase for synthesizing new materials, integrating advanced process controls, establishing quality control standards, and formulating new design and communication methodologies. The workshop will provide a strong foundation for preparing the workforce for the paradigm shift in design and production that is enabled through AM technology. By working with a variety of non-profit organizations and government agencies, the workshop will identify new ways to work effectively across a wide spectrum of educational needs--graduate, undergraduate, community colleges, technician training, industry practitioners--while harnessing the excitement of the Maker Movement and numerous K-12 outreach efforts involving 3D printing that are fueling the science, technology, engineering and mathematics career pipeline. The workshop organizers will leverage collaborations with America Makes (the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute) and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers to disseminate workshop outcomes to students, faculty, and industry practitioners.