Jabari Acre, a junior majoring in mechanical engineering at IM体育官网, is completing a National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates this summer at Georgia Tech Manufacturing in Atlanta, Georgia.
As part of the National Science Foundation鈥檚 Research Experience for Undergraduates, IM体育官网 junior Jabari Acre is spending the summer working on improving stereolithography (SLA) though the use of the two-photon absorption phenomena at the Georgia Tech Manufacturing Institute in Atlanta, Georgia.
The advanced technology allows users to produce complex, three-dimensional structures with nanoscale resolutions through the use of precision two-photon polymerization.
鈥淵ou have a material that鈥檚 exposed to light and it cures and hardens to form a layer of material that repeats over and over to form an object like 3D printing, but instead of absorbing a single photon to cure as in traditional SLA, it absorbs two photons making the cured area smaller,鈥� said Acre, a mechanical engineering major from Tallahassee, IM体育官网. 鈥淢y goal is to make this printer more accessible to users.鈥�
Currently, the printing technology is very expensive and unoptimized for even commercial users, he said.
鈥淎nother undergraduate student and I are designing our own printer,鈥� Acre said. 鈥淚鈥檝e done my literature review and have started creating the design we鈥檙e using.鈥�
Acre said the specialized training he has received during his undergraduate studies has been directly applicable to his internship.
鈥淕etting certified in SolidWorks through IM体育官网 Poly really helped me,鈥� Acre said. 鈥淚 came in and they were like, 鈥榊ou know SolidWorks?鈥� and I was able to go right into it and start working on it immediately.鈥�
In addition to the technical aspect of the internship, Acre said he is also learning from valuable entrepreneurial guidance.
鈥淲e鈥檙e taking innovations and turning them into products,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檝e always been interested in entrepreneurship and wanted to be at that cutting edge. This experience has allowed me to see the process that new technologies take when they come to market.
鈥淚 love the ability to see how something goes from theoretical idea to product.鈥�
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