{"680848":{"#nid":"680848","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Leading the Charge in Additive Manufacturing: Team Convexity","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EOn April 21 at 5 p.m. in the Marcus Nanotechnology Building Atrium, dozens of teams will present prototypes at the Spring 2025 Idea to Prototype (I2P) Showcase. They will be vying for a chance to get a golden ticket in CREATE-X\u2019s Startup Launch program, which gives participants $5,000 in optional seed funding and $150,000 in in-kind services like accounting and legal services, mentorship, and entrepreneurial education, among other benefits.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe I2P course, where these students develop their prototypes, offers research credit for undergraduate students up to $500 in reimbursement for physical material expenses and faculty mentorship. It\u2019s open three times a year, in the spring, summer, and fall. Both undergraduate and graduate students can take the course, and students can take it up two times.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EConvexity Electronics finished in second place at the Fall 2024 I2P Showcase. The company delivers smaller, faster, and more cost-effective circuit boards compared to traditional lithography-based methods. We delved into the team\u2019s journey, challenges, and aspirations in this exclusive Q\u0026amp;A with one of its founders, Calla Scotch.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EQ\u0026amp;A with Team Convexity\u0027s Calla Scotch\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETeam Members:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECalla Scotch, Sophomore, Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAtharva Lele, Sophomore,\u0026nbsp;Engineering\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAnuj Pandey, Junior, Mechanical Engineering\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhy did you pursue your startup?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt\u2019s so complex. There are so many routes, and it\u0027s so new in terms of how many people are working on it. One day I woke up and couldn\u0027t stop thinking about it, then I couldn\u0027t sleep about it, and then I couldn\u0027t stop working on it. It was one of those things where I couldn\u0027t stop.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETraditionally, circuit boards \u2014 the stuff that\u0027s in your phones, computers, cameras, cars, everything \u2014 are made entirely subtractively. You have your block of material and cut away the stuff you don\u0027t want. It\u0027s a well-thought-out manufacturing process, but it\u0027s mostly very expensive and very slow. The materials and electronics manufacturing industry hasn\u0027t changed in about 30 years because it\u0027s been optimized as much as it can be.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat is your goal with Convexity?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo take that subtractive process and, instead of doing that, build the same circuits additively. I\u0027m working on 3D printing the insulative base material, then 3D printing the conductive material, then using an electrical process to take those conductive materials and convert them into copper. And then doing layer after layer after layer to make the same circuits that someone in a subtractive process would do.\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EIf you have traditional manufacturing, it takes about two weeks to ship from China, and it takes about a week to make a lab. My goal would be to make them in about five hours and then courier them over the same day. You don\u0027t need a big serial manufacturing facility if someone needs 6,000 boards. You don\u0027t have 6,000 printers in one room; all your printers are connected to the cloud. You could even go from 2D electronics to three-dimensional electronics. We just want to make more, smaller, faster, and cheaper than traditional manufacturing.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat surprised you about I2P?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EHow much time it took out of my day and how much I didn\u0027t want to do as much homework anymore. It made me want to focus all of my time on this and on how many different avenues there were to do what I wanted to do. I probably went through 30 different iterations of completely different scientific topics. I think because of how many options there were and how crazy scientifically advanced each of them was, it is what keeps me going.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat was your favorite part about I2P?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EI did I2P for two semesters, and the best thing about it is getting to work on your own project and your own research for class credit.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat was challenging about building your prototype over the semester?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESifting through all the research and development that has gone into this field. Electronics manufacturing has been around for a long time, and there\u0027s a lot of research and patents to work through and build on. I feel like I spent half my time coming up with ideas and the other half building the physical printer.\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat would you say to students who are interested in entrepreneurship?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EI can\u0027t tell you how much I\u0027ve learned just by doing. Outside of that, talk to people. Just go out and talk to people. Ask people questions. Have your problem and get their input and insight on it, because how we make smart decisions and make startups that people want is by asking people what they want.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECheer on Convexity as they pitch their prototype at the final round of\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/inventureprize.gatech.edu\/competition\/2025\u0022\u003Ethe\u0026nbsp;\u003Cstrong\u003EInVenture Prize\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E, on March 12, at 7:30p.m., in the Ferst Theater of Arts.\u003C\/strong\u003E During this competition, the largest of its kind in the nation, a panel of celebrity judges and experts in science, technology, and venture capital will judge undergraduate teams competing for $35,000, including $5,000 for the People\u2019s Choice award. Through audience voting, you get to advance the projects you support.\u003Cstrong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/inventureprize.gatech.edu\/form\/inventure-prize-ticket-request-f\u0022\u003ERequest your free InVenture Prize tickets\u003C\/a\u003E today.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWant to be part of the next wave of technological advancements?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.eventbrite.com\/e\/spring-2025-i2p-showcase-tickets-1255033682529?aff=article\u0022\u003ERegister for the Spring 2025 I2P Showcase\u003C\/a\u003E to see our latest cohort of I2P inventors and their prototypes. Consider joining I2P for Summer or Fall 2025. For more information, visit the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/create-x.gatech.edu\/make\/idea-to-prototype\u0022\u003EI2P program website\u003C\/a\u003E.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EConvexity Electronics, founded by Georgia Tech students Calla Scotch, Atharva Lele, and Anuj Pandey, aims to revolutionize circuit board manufacturing by using additive processes instead of traditional subtractive methods. Their approach involves 3D printing insulative and conductive materials to create faster, smaller, and more cost-effective circuit boards. The team has faced challenges in research and development but remains driven by their passion for innovation. Convexity finished second in the Fall 2024 I2P Showcase and will compete in the InVenture Prize for a chance to win $35,000.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Convexity finished second in the Fall 2024 I2P Showcase and will now compete in the InVenture Prize for a chance to win $35,000."}],"uid":"36436","created_gmt":"2025-03-03 17:58:33","changed_gmt":"2025-03-08 00:37:21","author":"bdurham31","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2025-03-03T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2025-03-03T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"676438":{"id":"676438","type":"image","title":"Calla Scotch (Team Convexity)","body":"\u003Cp\u003ECalla Scotch, Sophomore, Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering, speaks about their win with Team Convexity at the Fall 2024 I2P Showcase.\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1741023560","gmt_created":"2025-03-03 17:39:20","changed":"1741023730","gmt_changed":"2025-03-03 17:42:10","alt":"Calla Scotch, Sophomore, Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering, speaks about their win with Team Convexity at the Fall 2024 I2P Showcase.","file":{"fid":"260229","name":"Calla-Scotch.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/03\/03\/Calla-Scotch.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/03\/03\/Calla-Scotch.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":13047675,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2025\/03\/03\/Calla-Scotch.jpg?itok=SLYP3Gy_"}}},"media_ids":["676438"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.eventbrite.com\/e\/spring-2025-i2p-showcase-tickets-1255033682529?aff=article","title":"Register for the Spring I2P Showcase"},{"url":"https:\/\/create-x.gatech.edu\/launch\/startup-launch","title":"Apply for Startup Launch "}],"groups":[{"id":"655285","name":"GT Commercialization"}],"categories":[{"id":"139","name":"Business"},{"id":"153","name":"Computer Science\/Information Technology and Security"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"},{"id":"193158","name":"Student Competition Winners (academic, innovation, and research)"}],"keywords":[{"id":"194180","name":"I2P Showcase"},{"id":"137161","name":"CREATE-X"},{"id":"166971","name":"startup launch"},{"id":"122961","name":"prototypes"},{"id":"194095","name":"entrepreneurial education"},{"id":"194362","name":"research credit"},{"id":"194185","name":"Convexity Electronics"},{"id":"7764","name":"InVenture Prize"},{"id":"341","name":"innovation"},{"id":"166973","name":"startup"},{"id":"2029","name":"Competition"},{"id":"3472","name":"entrepreneurship"},{"id":"194363","name":"prototype development"},{"id":"192255","name":"go-commercializationnews"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"193658","name":"Commercialization"},{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBreanna Durham\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMarketing Strategist\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["breanna.durham@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}