MakerLab Enables Faculty Research

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Jeff LEDLED Professor Jeff Lowenstein (from the Organizational Behavior Group of the Department of Business Administration) recently used the MakerLab to fabricate a prototype of a LED lightbulb for use in class experiments this semester.

In the words of Professor Lowenstein: "The sudden insight, like turning on a light, depends on prior efforts to seek out the switch. In new research, we are examining a challenging but critical area of business insight, which is negotiating valuable agreements. Negotiators benefit for working together to solve problems, and yet negotiators often focus only on their own problems and consider few options. In seeking ways to advance creative problem solving, in our research we are considering the experience of being hands-on with the problem. The MakerLab is allowing us to to do that as we explore negotiating over, of course, lightbulbs!"

We look forward to more faculty using the Lab to enhance their research efforts!

MakerLab goes to Chicago

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Chicago-area marketing faculty captivated by 3D printing. On March 1, MakerLab Executive Director, Aric Rindfleisch demonstrated 3D printing (by printing a bottle opener) to a group of marketing faculty from a number of Chicago-area universities, including DePaul, Northwestern, and UIC. This was their first experience with 3D printing and many expressed great interest in the potential of this new technology for both teaching and research. For more information, see: http://chicagoconsumerculture.com/Current.html

Meet the Maker : Fish Yu

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Meet Fish Yu, an architecture student, who is passionate about creating complex structures, using his favorite software, Rhino. He recently created a beautiful structure, shown below. Fish YuModel under development

According to Fish,  "the UI MakerLab is such a great resource for not only business and engineering students on campus, but also just anyone who has an interest in creating 3D objects. I'm really excited that the MakerLab made it possible, and I'm looking forward to share my experience and knowledge with others from different colleges! There are so many more opportunities with these 3D printers, and hopefully we can soon start working with students with different backgrounds and come up with something exciting! "

We will be featuring other Makers as well, so come by and make something.

The President discusses 3D printing in the State of the Union address

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The President discussed the role of 3D printing in resurrecting manufacturing in the US and discussed the investments made in the sector in the State of the Union Address today.

Quote "Last year, we created our first manufacturing innovation institute in Youngstown, Ohio. A once-shuttered warehouse is now a state-of-the art lab where new workers are mastering the 3D printing that has the potential to revolutionize the way we make almost everything."

(President Obama talks about 3D printing, starting at 14:54).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7doAXkmGJw

The President is referring to the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute NAMII as the pilot institute under the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation (NNMI) initiative. More details on the initiative at http://namii.org/about/background/

We hope the new MakerLab will be an important contributor to this cause.