Episode 4: Roadmaps for 3D printing in education

The fourth episode of Talking Additives examines the adoption of 3D printing in education. We speak with Tim Pula from Spark!Lab at the Smithsonian, Melodie Yashar from SEAarch+, and Glenn Walters from UNC Chapel Hill. 

 Tim is the interpretive exhibits inventor at Spark!lab, which is housed in the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. He shares how 3D printing has enabled visitors to the museum to enter an inventor’s mindset. He also reveals how 3D printing at the museum has allowed him to solve problems related to tough, heavy-usage exhibits. 

Melodie is an architect, researcher, and technologist at SEArch+, who has spent much of the last decade inventing approaches to Mars habitats. She speaks about the process of researching and performing technical tests on Earth to indicate promising directions for more challenging conditions. She also explains how using 3D printed tools can allow students and researchers to tackle challenges from different angles. 

Glenn is teaching faculty at UNC Chapel Hill, and director of UNC’s BeAM Design Center. He has played a key role in introducing 3D printing to the campus’ staff, students, and researchers, building makerspaces around an ethos of inclusion and accessibility.