Abstract

Advances in automation, computation, and global connectivity are enabling us to scale-up new products more quickly, and to accelerate the translation of new materials and processes to applications. In the coming years, continued population growth and resource pressures will drive compound interest in additive manufacturing for local and customized production, and in printed electronics for ubiquitous sensing, among other technologies. I believe these dynamics present important opportunities to perform fundamental yet practical research in emerging manufacturing processes, and to accelerate innovation via hands-on education. First, I will highlight two new and ongoing research projects in my group: relief printing of electronic inks using nanoporous stamps, which demonstrate 10-fold improved resolution over industrial flexography; and extrusion-based 3D printing at 10-fold greater throughput than current equipment. Second, I will describe our effort to create an open digital course on manufacturing processes which is based on the MIT core undergraduate manufacturing class (2.008), and will reflect on experiences teaching additive manufacturing to graduate students and industry audiences.