AMUG Announces Keynote Speakers for 2025 Conference

The Additive Manufacturing Users Group (AMUG) has announced its keynote speakers for the 2025 AMUG Conference, which will take place in Chicago, March 30-April 3, 2025. Ryan Watkins, research engineer with NASA Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL), will take the stage on Tuesday, April 1. Joe Scarbo, president of Scarbo Performance Corp., will engage the audience on Thursday, April 3.

Watkins' and Scarbo's work traverses from the Baja Desert to Aspen mountain to Pikes Peak and out into the solar system. From the stage, they will highlight vehicle designs and space exploration experiences. Their recounts of past and present projects will convey how pragmatic decision-making coupled with innovation demonstrate what is possible with additive manufacturing, AMUG organizers report.

Ryan Watkins' keynote presentation is themed 'linking design with additive manufacturing' in the context of developing 3D printed, crushable structures for high-speed impact attenuation applications. He will discuss the context that required NASA to develop this class of crushable structures, along with the manufacturing and design barriers that were overcome. Watkins will share about technology infusion in the conservative field of aerospace engineering, highlighting his successes and failures along the way.

Joe Scarbo will take the stage to convey how, when, and why his company used additive manufacturing in its most recent performance vehicles. Under the Scarbo Vintage (SV) brand, his team has created the SV RSR, which raced in the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb as Ken Block's Hoonipigasus, and the SV Rover, which ran in the Baja 1000. After the Baja race, the SV Rover transitioned into a street-legal Hypertruck, powered by a 1,100-horsepower supercharged V8 or a 1,000-horsepower electric drive.

Both SV vehicles contain numerous additively manufactured parts. Throughout his keynote presentation, Scarbo will present his thoughts on why additive manufacturing was—or was not—the right process; thoughts that are grounded in his mechanical engineering, welding, machining, and racing pedigrees.

Ryan Watkins’s Background

Ryan Watkins joined NASA's JPL 9 years ago after earning a Ph.D. in aerospace engineering. He has worked on flight projects as a structural analyst and cognizant engineer, leading the design, build, test, and integration of launch restraint hardware for NASA's Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) and NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) missions.

Perseverance Rover taking a 'selfie' while trekking across Mars to collect rock samples. Image courtesy of AMUG.

In his current role as a research engineer in the Materials Development & Additive Manufacturing group, Watkins focuses on the integration of advanced materials with computational design, such as topology optimization, to enable and support future NASA missions. This work includes generalizing topology optimization to complex material systems, additively manufacturing and modeling lattice structures, and 3D printing shape memory alloy systems. He also works to develop and foster JPL's topology optimization capabilities and integrate the requisite workflows into flight project practices.

Joe Scarbo’s Background

Joe Scarbo, a 'gearhead' and racer for his entire life, founded Scarbo Performance in 2008 as an engineering consultancy specializing in performance vehicles. In 2013, the company shifted to low-volume manufacturing of motorsport products and complete vehicles. Now, Scarbo Performance Corp includes four businesses that offer design (for automotive and non-automotive products), performance aftermarket components, and vehicle manufacturing. Scarbo Performance has built more than 30 vehicles for other companies.

Scarbo's love for racing and cars started when he was 6 years old. That passion led him to earn a B.S. in mechanical engineering and take a job in college, designing and machining components for the Arciero Racing family. After college, Scarbo worked as an in-house mechanical design engineer for the Volkswagen Motorsport off-road race program—Baja racing with the Toureg TDI.

Attracted to uses for additive manufacturing, Scarbo assumed a role at an Orange County, CA, firm that leverages the technology in design and prototyping work. That experience led to Scarbo becoming director of mechanical design for a consumer electronics company, where he leveraged additive manufacturing for design and testing. Scarbo's passion for motorsports then led him to rededicate his time to Scarbo Performance.

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.