One area where 3D printing has already shown significant potential is in the material sciences. In the article, “How AI and 3D Printing are Revolutionizing Materials Design” MIT contributor Andrea LePain outlines how artificial intelligence is now making it possible for scientists to design thousands of new materials extremely quickly, opening the door for the creation of new classes of materials that are stronger, lighter, more flexible, and less expensive to manufacture. A research collaboration from the University of California Santa Cruz and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory are using 3D printing to improve supercapacitor electrodes as outlined in our article, “3D Printed Graphene Aerogel Enhances Supercapacitor Ability.” Supercapacitors are used as energy storage devices because they can charge very rapidly-from seconds to minutes. Looking further into the future, 3D printing may someday revolutionize medicine, potentially giving us the ability to “Print” tissue and possibly even organs for use inside the human body. A team of engineers from the University of Colorado Boulder have created a new method to 3D print while maintaining localized control of an object’s firmness, with the ultimate goal of 3D printing artificial arteries and organ tissue. The environmental impact of 3D printing is also being in considered by researchers. In the article, “Researchers Investigate Unsafe Emissions From 3D Printers” we featured the work of researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology who are hoping to shed light on what is being emitted into the nearby atmosphere when 3D printers are fired up.

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