Participant Support for 2022 Gordon Research Conference on Additive Manufacturing of Soft Materials; Ventura, California; 7-12 August 2022

This award will provide registration aids to selected students and post-doctoral scholars to attend a Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on Additive Manufacturing of Soft Materials at Ventura, California, 7-12 August 2022. The meeting will include speakers from a variety of backgrounds in design, engineering, and chemistry who carry out research related to additive manufacturing of such materials as synthetic and natural polymers, biomacromolecules, hydrogels and composites, etc.

This GRC meeting will provide unique opportunities for researchers with expertise in digital design, multiscale simulations, manufacturing methods, materials synthesis, and performance engineering to exchange scientific results and foster interdisciplinary discussions and collaborations. The conference will incorporate established GRC programs such as the Power Hour, which is a discussion hosted by speakers at the meeting from underrepresented groups, aimed at helping students and post-doctoral scholars of similar backgrounds learn how to cope with challenges in their careers, and for all attendees to discuss ways to create a more inclusive environment for scientific researchers.

The goal of this GRC meeting is to enable collaborations between scientists and engineers who study different fundamental areas in additive manufacturing of soft materials, fostering not only the development of new materials that are compatible with additive manufacturing, but also the establishment of comprehensive structure-property-processing relationships. The conference will attract a broad and diverse audience of attendees to highlight the importance of curiosity-driven research in the creation of new additive manufacturing technologies and materials.

The project will prioritize the support to graduate students and post-doctoral scholars from underrepresented groups to attend this GRC meeting and help build the additive manufacturing community by enabling these attendees to network with potential employers or research advisors that will further their academic or industrial careers. Supported participants will have an opportunity to present posters in dedicated sessions where there are no other competing events, giving them a chance to discuss their research with all other attendees.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.