MILWAUKEE, Feb. 27, 2020 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The Additive Manufacturing Users Group (AMUG) today announced the recipients of its scholarships. Katherine (Kate) Schneidau, who is pursuing a master's degree in mechanical engineering at the University of Louisville, has been awarded the Guy E. Bourdeau Scholarship. Chris Kaminsky, Lakeshore Fab Lab manager at the Muskegon Community College, has been awarded the Randy Stevens Scholarship. With these recognitions, Mr. Kaminsky and Ms. Schneidau will engage with additive manufacturing (AM) users at the AMUG Conference, which will be held in Chicago, Illinois, from March 22-26, 2020.

The scholarships honor and recognize educational leaders, including one student and one teacher, that have a passion for AM. Brett Charlton, chair of the AMUG Scholarship Committee, said, "I'm so excited to announce that Ms. Schneidau and Mr. Kaminsky have accepted the scholarships and will attend AMUG 2020. Once again, the pool of applicants was strong, and their experiences were vast. I'm certainly in awe—the experiences of our 2020 applicants in AM are astonishing, and it bodes well for AM's future! The talent pool made it a challenge to select the right individuals, but both of our recipients are amazing and truly deserving of this honor."

Kate Schneidau is a mechanical engineering graduate student at the University of Louisville (Louisville, Kentucky) with an extreme passion for AM. Kate's first exposure to AM was through an engineering co-op at the U of L Rapid Prototyping Center where she learned system operation for Stereolithography (SL), Digital Light Processing (DLP®), Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF), Select Laser Sintering (SLS), Direct Metal Laser Melting (DMLM) and a few other additive technologies. Kate says, "Within my first month of work, I knew AM was the field I wanted to dedicate my career to."

As a graduate research assistant, Kate was able to share her learnings with others by training and mentoring new co-op engineers to operate the AM equipment. She assisted with metal AM training and served as the lead instructor for one class. She has used her hands-on experience to develop new process parameters for both plastic and metal materials, while also optimizing support structures in metal AM. In one of her projects, Kate developed a flexible recoater blade for use in the EOS M270 and M290 systems, which was a driving factor in her master's thesis titled "Understanding the build capabilities and limitations between rigid and flexible recoater blades." Through her research, Kate has noticed a trend in the lack of available resources on AM. She strongly believes that AM training and education need to be incorporated into higher-level education.

Kate stated, "In the future, I hope my work with AM training contributes to the creation of a technically competent workforce. Currently, knowledge is held by those who have been in the industry for years, as they have learned from practical experience. Yet, there is a growing demand for engineers and technicians with technical knowledge of AM processes right out of school. Thus, a program needs to be in place across the U.S. to facilitate industry needs." Kate seeks to be a driving force in the development of such a program and the resulting curriculum.

Chris Kaminsky is the lab manager at Lakeshore Fab Lab at Muskegon Community College (Muskegon, Michigan), which is an entrepreneurially focused makerspace working to give people access to technology and software that is typically out of reach for the general public. By night, Chris is an additive manufacturing evangelist working towards demystifying the complexities of 3D printing and design by making it accessible to everyone. To help do so, he co-founded the MI3D organization, which supports over 500 3D enthusiasts with local events. He is also involved in online communities, such as the 3D Printing Club (3DPC.tech), where discussions can range from basic concepts to advanced topics.

Chris is also an avid guest speaker about the transformational power of AM, be it to a group of K-12 students or tech-savvy adults at a Startup Weekend-style event. Entrepreneurial at heart, Chris also offers prototyping and design services through his company, Crisco Designs. His recent work experience includes application/mechanical engineering roles at General Motors, Burton Precision, Perception Engineering, and JR Automation.

Chris hopes to bring people together and empower communities by showcasing how innovative technologies, such as AM, can change lives. As the winner of the Randy Stevens Scholarship, he hopes to return from the AMUG Conference with knowledge from industry leaders across the world and then inspire his staff, volunteers, and community to develop transformative solutions.

The Guy E. Bourdeau Scholarship—founded by Guy's wife, Renee Bourdeau, and financially supported by Cimquest, Inc.—is awarded annually to one college student. The Randy Stevens Scholarship, founded by Randy's employer, In'Tech Industries, is awarded annually to one educator that emphasizes or focuses on additive manufacturing.

ABOUT ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING USERS GROUP (AMUG)
AMUG is an organization that educates and advances the uses and applications of additive manufacturing technologies. AMUG members include those with industrial additive manufacturing/3D printing technologies and materials used for professional purposes from companies such as 3D Systems, 3YOURMIND, BASF 3D Printing Solutions, Carbon, CATI, DMG MORI, DSM Additive Manufacturing, Dyndrite, EOS, Essentium, ExOne, Formlabs, GE Additive, HP Inc., Renishaw, SLM Solutions, Stratasys, and VELO3D AMUG meets annually to provide education and training through technical presentations on processes and new technologies. This information addresses the operation of additive manufacturing equipment and the applications that use the parts they make. Online at http://www.amug.com.

SOURCE AMUG