Nicholas Meisel
Associate Professor of Engineering Design
The Pennsylvania State University

Monday, January 26
12 – 1 p.m.
Location: Callaway/GTMI bldg.,
Room 114

Lunch provided for in-person attendees on a first come first serve basis.

If you can’t join us in-person, just us virtually via Zoom.

Whether you are joining us virtually or in person, please register here prior to attending.

Abstract: Additive manufacturing (AM) has long promised a design revolution: freedom from traditional constraints, unprecedented complexity, and new paradigms for engineering creativity. Yet, for those working in design for AM (DfAM), that future often feels perpetually “almost here.” In this talk, I reflect on my DfAM journey at Penn State, exploring how the anticipation of AM’s full design potential has shaped my research, teaching, and practice. Realizing that potential requires not only tools capable of enabling design complexity, but also better strategies for creatively applying DfAM principles in real-world contexts. Through examples from my career, I’ll examine why progress toward true design freedom remains slow, what barriers persist, and how we can move beyond waiting to actively create the future we’ve been promised.

Bio: Dr. Nicholas (Nick) Meisel is an Associate Professor in the School of Engineering Design and Innovation at Penn State and an affiliate faculty in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. He graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2010 with his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and received his Ph.D. from Virginia Tech in Mechanical Engineering in 2015. He joined the faculty at Penn State in Fall 2015. Nick has the privilege of directing the Made By Design Lab, which conducts research in design for additive manufacturing (AM), including investigation into design concepts that drive innovation, limits on the manufacturability of designs, and the impact of AM on student design and manufacturing learning.  Nick has received several awards for his work in the realm of design for AM, including the NSF CAREER Award in 2021 and the International Outstanding Young Researcher in Freeform and Additive Manufacturing Award in 2023.