(DETROIT, April 10, 2025) – SME, the nonprofit committed to accelerating widespread adoption of advanced technologies and building North America’s talent and capabilities, announced the winners of the 2025 Additive Manufacturing (AM) Awards and the AM Pitchfest at RAPID + TCT throughout the week in Detroit. The awards recognize outstanding accomplishments of individuals, teams, and companies that have had a significant impact on commercializing AM. 

Digital Manufacturing Challenge Awardees

The Digital Manufacturing Challenge recognizes the innovative work of high school, undergraduate, and graduate student teams who design, create, and utilize infrastructure-level systems that deploy manufacturing solutions in sustainability, renewable energy, and advanced manufacturing. 

• High School Winner: DuPont Manual High School 
  Submission: Sustainable and Effective Composite Repairs Using Novel 3D Printed Patch Designs 
  Team Member: Vallabh Ramesh 
  Advisor: Dr. Kunal Kate 

• Undergraduate Winner: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute & Cornell University 
  Submission: Micro Solar-based Steam-Powered Desalination Plant 
  Team Members: Ammar Barbee, Grace Oyama, Julian Stoller, Grace Yu 
  Advisor: Sam Chiappone 

• Graduate Winner: University of Georgia 
  Submission: Fabrication of Wind Turbine Blade Solid Wastes for High-Performance Composite Fibers 
  Team Members: Varunkumar Thippanna, Martin Taylor Sobczak 
  Advisor: Dr. Kenan Song 

Aubin AM Case Study Awardee

The Aubin AM Case Study Award recognizes innovative use cases of AM technologies. 

• Winner: Dimensional Energy & Oak Ridge National Laboratory 
  Submission: Binder Jet Additive Manufacturing of Silicon Carbide Reactor Assemblies 
  Contributors: Dr. Bhargavi Mummareddy, Dr. Trevor Aguirre, and others 

• Runner-Up: Norsk Titanium & The Boeing Company 
  Submission: RPD® By The Numbers 
  Contributor: Karl Fossum 

AM Startup Technology Awardees

The AM Startup Award recognizes young companies that have developed a new AM technology or application that solves an existing problem or utilizes a unique approach. 

• Winner: 3D Architech 
  Submission: High-resolution Metal Manufacturing for Energy Efficiency 
  Team Members: Kai Narita, Akira Kudo, Keita Abe 

• Runner-Up: AMIS 
  Submission: AMIS Pro - Industrial Build Prep 
  Team Members: Kris Binon, Jonathan Wilson 

• Runner-Up: Snowbird Technologies 
  Submission: Snowbird Additive Mobile Manufacturing Technology 
  Team Members: Scott Morse, Caroline Brown, Jeremy Heerdlink 

AM Pitchfest Winner

The AM Pitchfest showcases the latest in AM technology and innovation to a panel of industry leaders, media, and the AM community. The competition is open to entrepreneurs, startups, and academic spinoffs bringing emerging technology, products, and applications to the market. The winner will be given the opportunity to exhibit at RAPID + TCT 2026 in a fully equipped booth.  

• Solideon: Build Hardware at the Speed of Software 

AM Industry Achievement Awardee

The AM Industry Achievement Award recognizes an individual or team for outstanding accomplishments implemented or deployed in a commercial/industrial environment that significantly impact the application of AM in any industry. 

• John E. Barnes, founder and president of The Barnes Global Advisors, and co-founder and CEO of Metal Powder Works 

About SME 

Established in 1932 as a nonprofit organization, SME represents the entire North American manufacturing industry, including manufacturers, academia, professionals, students, and the communities in which they operate. We believe manufacturing holds the key to economic growth and prosperity, and champion the industry's potential as a diverse, thriving, and valued ecosystem. SME accelerates new technology adoption and builds North America’s talent and capabilities to advance manufacturing and drive competitiveness, resiliency, and national security. SME designs new ways to understand and solve problems, and our solutions advance the next wave of growth in manufacturing. Learn more at SME.org.