The Additive Manufacturing Users Group (AMUG) has announced that Carl Deckard, inventor of Selective Laser Sintering (SLS), will receive its Innovators Award at the 2017 AMUG Conference, to be held in Chicago, Illinois, March 19 – 23, 2017.

The AMUG Innovators Award is presented to individuals who have cultivated innovative ideas that in turn have advanced the Additive Manufacturing industry. Previous recipients include technology creators Chuck Hull and Scott Crump, founders of 3D Systems Corporation and Stratasys, Ltd., respectively.

Deckard, who is Structured Polymers’ co-founder and Chief Technology Officer, conceived and developed Selective Laser Sintering technology while at the University of Texas at Austin. The concept of Selective Laser Sintering formed his master’s degree and Ph.D work. Deckard co-founded Nova Automation, later renamed DTM Corp and ultimately acquired by 3D Systems Corp.

With the launch of the Sinterstation 2000 in 1993, Selective Laser Sintering moved from the research labs into industry. In 2012, Deckard teamed with Jim Mikulak and Vikram Devarajan to found Structured Polymers, a material company focused on improved materials for Selective Laser Sintering and other powder bed fusion Additive Manufacturing processes. Deckard has also served as assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Clemson University.

Steve Deak, AMUG President, stated, “With over 30 years of technology innovation in the Additive Manufacturing industry, the candidate pool for the Innovators Award is quite deep. This made the selection process very difficult. But in the end, we made the best choice, the right choice, when we named Carl Deckard as the recipient.”

“In the early days, the three core technologies were Selective Laser Sintering, Stereolithography and Fused Deposition Modelling. The inventors of the latter two have already received the award. It was time to recognise the innovative mind behind SLS,” added Deak.

During the 29th annual AMUG Education and Training Conference Deckard will take the stage for a casual, relaxed interview. In this Innovators Showcase, he will respond to questions asked by the host and conference attendees with the intent of getting to know the man behind the technology and gaining guidance from his experience in shepherding a technology from concept to commercialisation.

“The Innovators Showcase has been a highlight of the past two conferences. Our attendees really enjoy hearing the stories of progress, challenges and triumphs as well as seeing the personal side of industry titans. Carl Deckard has great stories to share so I am confident that his appearance will be very well received,” stated Deak.

www.additivemanufacturingusersgroup.com