2025 NOMINEE

Jennifer A. Lewis – AM Researcher and Materials Specialist

Jennifer A. Lewis is the Jianmin Yu Professor of Arts and Sciences, the Wyss Professor for Biologically Inspired Engineering in the Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, a core faculty member of the Wyss Institute, Bioengineering Chair, and Director of the NSF MRSEC at Harvard University.

Her research focuses on the digital manufacturing of soft materials and vascularized human tissues. Multiple startups are commercializing technology from her lab ranging from 3D printed electronics to kidney therapeutics. She is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, National Academy of Inventors, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and has received numerous awards for her work.

2025 NOMINEE 

Sheku Kamara - AM Researcher and Technical Advisor

Sheku Kamara is the Dean of Applied Research at the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) and has been involved in AM since 1996. He oversees the activities of MSOE’s Applied Technology Center (ATC) which is renowned for transferring technology to the marketplace and undertakes more than 200 industry-sponsored research projects every year.

Sheku is a technical advisor to the RAPID + TCT Conference and currently serves as the vice chair of SME’s AM Technical Community Leadership Committee. He is a past chair of the Additive Manufacturing Users Group (AMUG) and was named a DINO (Distinguished Innovator Operator Award) in 2010 for his contributions to laser sintering. In 2013, he managed the development of the Additive Manufacturing Body of Knowledge (AMBOK) and the Additive Manufacturing Certificate program for SME & America Makes.

Sheku holds the RTAM Master Level Certificate on AM from SME and is a 2008 recipient of the prestigious Karl O. Werwath Engineering Research Award from MSOE and in July 2021 Sheku co-authored a book on the Fundamentals of Additive Manufacturing for the Practitioner.

2025 NOMINEE 

Neil Hopkinson – Inventor of High Speed Sintering

Professor Neil Hopkinson spent 20 years in academia generating Intellectual Property that has been licensed widely. Neil’s High Speed Sintering patents, first filed in 2003, have generated £1Bn+ in revenues to licensees, with thousands of industrial grade machines sold globally.

In 2005 he was Lead Editor of “Rapid Manufacturing” (Wiley UK) the world’s first book dedicated to the use of Additive Manufacturing/3D Printing technologies for the production of end-use parts.

Neil left academia in 2016 to join Xaar plc as Director of 3D Printing where he formed a Joint Venture with Stratasys called Xaar 3D. In 2021 Xaar 3D was fully acquired by Stratasys, where Neil serves as Vice President for Additive Manufacturing Technology.

2025 NOMINEE 

Todd Grimm - AM Consultant, Writer and Speaker

A 33 year veteran of the additive manufacturing industry, Todd Grimm is well established as a prominent industry advisor who shares his knowledge widely, and truly understands the potential of AM.

Todd is the founder and president of T.A.Grimm & Associates, a technology consultancy who work with companies to help them achieve success in additive manufacturing. Todd is also an accomplished writer and speaker, sharing his extensive knowledge and educating the AM community at trade shows and in AM publications.

2025 NOMINEE 

Pat Warner - Application Specialist and Industry Advocate

After a 7-year Spell in Cryogenics, Pat started a career in Formula One in 1988 as the Benetton team’s first CNC machinist.  He became fascinated by additive manufacturing and was one of the early adopters of this technology in Formula One when the team acquired its first Stereolithography machine in 1998. Since then, the department and the applications have expanded rapidly from function fit prototypes to include on vehicle applications, production tooling, casting patterns and wind tunnel models. .

A long time advocate of additive technologies worldwide, Pat is also a recipient of a Dino award from the Additive Manufacturing Users Group.

2025 NOMINEE 

Wilhelm Meiners - Inventor of the PBF-LB/M process

In 1994 Wilhelm Meiners began what would become a long and prosperous career at Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology, Aachen, Germany. As a PHD student Wilhelm invented one of the most important metal additive manufacturing technologies - the Laser-Powder-Bed Fusion of Metals (PBF-LB/M) process.

Over the next 20+ years he continued to develop the process, it’s applications and machine technology. In many of these pioneering developments the basis of today’s most relevant applications were established. The fundamentals of this work made a significant contribution to the change from rapid prototyping to additive manufacturing. .

In 2018 Wilhelm left the world of academia to work in industry as an AM Expert at Trumpf Laser and Systemtechnik GmbH, before returning to Fraunhofer in 2023 as Chief Scientist Additive Manufacturing.