AMUG
Robert Ducey, Nicholas Jacobson, and Max Haot to lead AMUG 2023 keynote line-up
The Additive Manufacturing Users Group (AMUG) has unveiled its 2023 keynote speakers with a line-up that promises to showcase the impact of additive manufacturing collaboration, alongside applications in medical, space and beyond.
Taking place in Chicago on March 19-23, 2023, co-presenters Robert Ducey of LAIKA Studios and Nicholas Jacobson of the University of Colorado’s Anschutz Medical Campus, will kick off the main stage proceedings with a presentation that Jordan Weston, AMUG director, Education & Conference, said “illustrates what the AMUG Conference is all about.”
'Collaborations Between an Animator, an Architect, and a Surgeon: The Keys to Impactful Innovation in Medicine', will tell the story of how Ducey and Jacobson met during the 2019 AMUG Conference and began an unlikely collaboration that has resulted in innovative designs for paediatric epilepsy, cardiology, and cleft palate.
In a joint statement, Ducey and Jacobson said, “We connected over a little-known 3D modelling and printing technique called bitmap printing. We have leveraged our unique workflows and toolsets from that connection to develop new and exciting applications for 3D bitmap printing in medicine.
“Throughout our talk, we hope to inspire people to think outside the silos of their fields and search for new ideas through untraditional collaborations. The key to a great innovation might be sitting right next to you.”
Ducey is technical supervisor for the Rapid Prototyping department at LAIKA, the animation studio known for stop-motion films such as Coraline and Kubo and the Two Strings. With over 25 years of experience in visual effects and animation, Ducey's work with additive manufacturing began with Coraline where the studio pioneered the use of 3D printing to produce 20,000 facial animations for its stop motion characters. That number grew to 102,000 3D printed faces in its most recent film Missing Link back in 2019. Ducey has since been involved in the further development and expansion of the process, which received a Scientific and Engineering Award from the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences in 2016.
Nicholas Jacobson, a member of the translational research faculty at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, is trained as both an architect and computational designer. Having worked with over 50 surgeons in operating rooms to understand the opportunities for new and creative designs in complex surgeries, Jacobson's work involves the development of novel solutions that leverage computational methods from fields including architecture, animation, fashion, regenerative medicine, and structural engineering. Jacobson’s medical work focuses on patient-specific needs in diagnostics, prosthetics, and implants, while as an architect, Jacobson has designed buildings for aerospace, residential, music, and medical uses.
Rounding out the keynote line-up is Max Haot, founder and CEO of new space company Launcher. Hoat will share an overview of additive manufacturing adoption within Launcher’s E-2 liquid rocket engine and the Orbiter space tug programs. The E-2 is a closed-cycle, high-performance rocket engine that contains multiple AM-produced, copper-alloy components. The engine can boost a 150 kg payload into low Earth orbit (LEO) using the company’s Launcher Light vehicle, which is scheduled for launch in 2024.
Haot founded Launcher in 2017 to develop the world’s most efficient rockets and transfer vehicles for delivery of small satellites to orbit. Before Launcher, Haot was the founder and CEO of Mevo, a live-streaming camera maker which was acquired by Logitech in 2021, and Livestream, a live-streaming video software as a service (SaaS) acquired by IAC/Vimeo in 2017.
These keynotes are the latest addition to AMUG 2023's main stage line-up which already includes a fireside chat with Diana Kalisz, this year's recipient of the annual AMUG Innovators Award. Elsewhere across the four-day conference line-up, attendees will be able to choose from nearly 200 presentations, panel discussions, workshops, and hands-on training sessions.
