The Additive Manufacturing Users Group (AMUG) has announced the winners of its prestigious 2026 scholarships. Abby Stamper, a mechanical engineering student, and Dr. Li Yang, an associate professor, have been recognized for their projects that apply 3D printing in the medical and materials fields. Their works, focused on improving human mobility and creating complex and lightweight structures, will be presented at the AMUG conference in Reno in March 2026, highlighting the key role of academia in industrial innovation.
From theory to practice: medical and materials applications 🧪
Abby Stamper, winner of the Guy E. Bourdeau Scholarship, is researching how digital manufacturing can revolutionize human mobility. Her goal is to develop more efficient, personalized, and accessible prosthetic and orthopedic systems, leveraging the advantages of 3D printing. On the other hand, Dr. Li Yang, recipient of the Randy Stevens Scholarship, focuses on the design and production of lightweight structures through additive manufacturing. His research seeks to bridge the gap between optimized theoretical design and its practical physical realization, a crucial advancement for sectors that demand strong and low-weight components.
The future of 3D medical personalization 🩺
These awards exemplify the direction toward more personalized and accessible medicine. The combination of Stamper's work on assistive devices and Yang's on materials and structures points to a clear path: additive manufacturing enables custom solutions that were previously unfeasible. The discussion now must focus on how to integrate these developments into healthcare systems, reduce final costs, and ensure that technological innovation translates into tangible and widespread social impact.
How are the AMUG 2026 scholarships accelerating innovation in personalized 3D prostheses and ultralightweight orthopedic structures?
(P.S.: 3D prostheses are so personalized that they even have fingerprints.)