Representatives of institutions of higher education visited SUNY New Paltz on August 17 for a discussion and tour of the College’s 3D printing initiative, including the MakerBot Innovation Center (MIC) and the Hudson Valley Advanced Manufacturing Center (HVAMC).
Daniel Freedman, dean of the School of Science & Engineering and director of the HVAMC, was joined by MakerBot’s Wallace Patterson and Allison Vicenzi in leading the group through the various 3D printing facilities on campus and answering questions about setting up labs and digital design and fabrication programs.
Among the attendees was Amber Melvin, professor of animation at SUNY Sullivan, which recently received some MakerBot printers as the result of a partnership with New Paltz.
“We’re here to listen and learn about the different things that MakerBot can do, and how best to integrate 3D printing into what we’re already doing,” Melvin said. “It’s a pretty new technology and we feel like the best way to move forward is to learn from the people who have been using it successfully already.”
Nassau County Community College and Medgar Evers College of the City University of New York (CUNY) also sent representatives to the event.
“Medgar Evers is looking into the possibility of becoming a MakerBot Innovation Center, so we’re up here to see what that would entail and how that could benefit the college across the board,” said Jennifer James, director of government and external affairs at Medgar Evers College.
Medgar Evers is one of a number of schools and colleges in Brooklyn looking into forging partnerships to take advantage of the proximity of MakerBot’s industrial facilities there, and to that end, Josh Levin, director of business development in the office of Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams, also took the time to tour New Paltz’s 3D facilities.
“The Borough President took a keen interest in 3D printing as part of k-12 and college STEM curriculum to further boost Brooklyn’s public education system,” Levin said. “With MakerBot in our backyard, we figured that was a partnership that needed to be fostered.”
About New Paltz’s 3D Printing Initiative
Since launching the HVAMC in spring 2013, the College’s effort to fuse learning and manufacturing, science and the arts has continued to gain momentum. In February 2014, the College partnered with Brooklyn, N.Y. – based MakerBot, the leading manufacturer of desktop 3D printers, to open the nation’s first MakerBot Innovation Center at SUNY New Paltz. The 3D Printing Initiative received additional funding in fall 2014, including a $10 million NYSUNY 2020 Challenge Grant to help establish an Engineering Innovation Hub and$850,000 in capital funding for a new 3D printing laboratory. In December 2013, the Mid-Hudson Regional Economic Development Council and Governor Andrew Cuomo awarded the College $1M in state economic development funds. Currently, the HVAMC is providing digital design and fabrication expertise to about 60 businesses and entrepreneurs throughout the region. The Center also engages the local community and educates the public about the possibilities of 3D printing. Workshops and courses for K-12 educators, including through the Governor’s New York State Master Teachers Program, have attracted a wide variety of teachers, from art to science, who have an interest in digital design and fabrication and are utilizing these new technologies in their classrooms.
