YSU Wins Top Awards at Additive Manufacturing Conference

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Three representatives of Youngstown State University – a faculty member, student and alumnae – took home the top awards at the Ohio Additive Manufacturing Cluster’s annual conference.

Brett Conner, director of the Advanced Manufacturing Research Center and associate professor of Manufacturing Engineering at YSU, received the association’s Leadership Award. He has more than 20 years of experience in additive manufacturing, leading research and development projects in government, industry and academia.

Taking home the Student Award was mechanical engineering major Matthew Heffinger. As an undergraduate lab assistant, he’s worked in the Center of Innovation in Additive Manufacturing Lab at YSU and has dealt with all seven forms of additive manufacturing.

And Emily Hawthorn, a 2018 graduate of YSU, received the Ohio Additive Manufacturing Cluster’s Young Professional Award. After graduating with a baccalaureate in chemical engineering, Hawthorn is now lead additive manufacturing project engineer for BDI Additive, a division of Bearing Distributors Inc. There, she educates the company’s sales team so they can offer 3D printing to clients. She also operates BDI’s printer and manages daily operations at the firm’s office in the Youngstown Business Incubator’s Tech Block Building No. 5.

The ceremony was the second time recently that YSU has been recognized for its leadership in the field. The National Institute for Standards and Technology screened a new video, “Rethinking Manufacturing,” that featured two YSU graduates and a professor. It can be watched here.

Pictured: YSU alumnae Emily Hawthorn, professor Brett Conner and student Matthew Heffinger took home awards at the Ohio Additive Manufacturing Cluster’s annual conference.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.