The Additive Manufacturing Users Group (AMUG) announced Carl Deckard, inventor of Selective Laser Sintering (SLS), as the recipient of its esteemed Innovators Award. The award will be presented at the 2017 AMUG Conference, to be held in Chicago, Illinois, after Mr. Deckard’s onstage appearance during the user group conference’s Innovators Showcase.

The Innovators Award is bestowed on those 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.

Mr. Deckard, who is Structured Polymers’ co-founder and chief technology officer, conceived and developed the Selective Laser Sintering technology while at the University of Texas at Austin. The concept of Selective Laser Sintering took shape when he was an undergrad. Mr. Deckard then pursued it for his master’s degree and Ph.D work. Carl then co-founded Nova Automation, which was 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, Mr. 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. Mr. Deckard has also served as assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Clemson University.

Steve Deak, AMUG president, said, “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.” He continued, “In the early days, the three core technologies were Selective Laser Sintering, Stereolithography and Fused Deposition Modeling. The inventors of the latter two have already received the award. It was time to recognize the innovative mind behind SLS.”

On Wednesday, March 22, 2017, Mr. Deckard will take the stage for a casual, relaxed interview during the 29^th annual AMUG Education and Training Conference. 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 commercialization.

Steve Deak said, “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.” Deak noted that the Innovators Showcase is unique in that it is structured to be an intimate conversation between two friends that just happens to be witnessed by over 1,000 AMUG Conference attendees.

Designed for both novice and experienced additive manufacturing users, the AMUG Conference agenda topics range from technology basics to advanced applications to business considerations. Although the agenda is still in development, AMUG anticipates having nearly 200 presentations, workshops and hands-on training sessions. The AMUG Conference will also feature its annual Technical Competition with awards for exemplary applications of additive manufacturing and superior part finishing. The competition provides a forum for users of additive manufacturing technologies to display their prowess with the technology.

The 29^th annual AMUG Conference will be held March 19 – 23, 2017, at the Hilton Chicago in Chicago, Illinois. Conference details and registration are available at www.additivemanufacturingusersgroup.com.