Keynote speakers from NASA and Scarbo Performance to discuss pushing boundaries in additive manufacturing.
The Additive Manufacturing Users Group (AMUG) Conference for 2025 is coming up at the end of March and the keynote speakers for this year have just been announced. Ryan Watkins, research engineer with NASA Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL), and Joe Scarbo, president of Scarbo Performance, will present their unique perspectives on additive manufacturing (AM).
Their discussions of past and present projects will aim to convey a message of how pragmatic decision-making coupled with innovation can push the boundaries of what is possible in AM.
Watkins’ keynote presentation will have the central theme of ‘linking design with additive manufacturing’ in the context of developing 3D printed, crushable structures for high-speed impact attenuation applications. He will discuss the unique context that required NASA to develop this new class of crushable structures, along with the manufacturing and design challenges of achieving this goal.
Joe Scarbo will take the stage to convey how, when, and why his company used additive manufacturing in its most recent performance vehicles. Under the Scarbo Vintage (SV) brand, his team has created the SV RSR, which raced in the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb as Ken Block’s Hoonipigasus, and the SV Rover, which ran in the Baja 1000.
Both SV vehicles contain numerous additively manufactured parts. Throughout his keynote presentation, Scarbo will present his thoughts on why additive manufacturing was—or was not—the right process based on his mechanical engineering, welding, machining, and racing pedigrees.
Rounding out the featured presentations on the AMUG Conference stage will be a panel discussion with industry leaders representing AMUG’s Diamond Sponsors and the Innovators Showcase. The keynotes and featured presentations will kickstart each day of the conference and set the tone for nearly 150 presentations, panel discussions, workshops, and hands-on training sessions.
Designed for novice and experienced additive manufacturing users, the AMUG Conference agenda topics range from technology basics to advanced applications to business considerations.
The conference will be held in Chicago, Illinois, from March 30 – April 3, 2025.
