America Makes Names 2024 Ambassador Award Winners

America Makes, the national additive manufacturing (AM) innovation institute, announced the recipients of its 2024 Ambassador Awards and Distinguished Collaborator Award at its annual Members Meeting and Exchange (MMX) event held August 6-7 in Youngstown, Ohio.

The Ambassador Award Program, launched in 2017, recognizes individuals who have continually demonstrated outstanding dedication to advancing America Makes and its mission. The 2024 class represents a cross section of the industry whose work has helped further advance additive technology and demonstrated the resilience of the AM community.

These champions also represent the progress made in AM technology, ecosystem expansion and workforce development. 

America Makes’ 2024 Ambassadors:

• Rachael Andrulonis, director of Advanced Materials Research, National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR)
• Cheryl Bowman, chief, High Temperature& Smart Alloys Branch, NASA Glenn Research Center
• Robert Carter, deputy chief, Materials & Structures Division, NASA Glenn Research Center
• Sarah Jordan, CEO, Skuld LLC
• Mark LaViolette, managing director, Deloitte Consulting
• Thierry Marchione, laser engineering specialist, Caterpillar (CAT)
• Kay Matin, president, AlphaSTAR Corp.
• Travis Mayberry, additive manufacturing lead, RTX Corp.
• Frank Medina, associate professor/director of Technology & Engagement, University of Texas at El Paso
• Marlee Rust, business development manager, General Electric Global Research

Also, during the event, Mark D. Benedict, Ph.D., a senior scientist in Convergent Manufacturing with the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory, was presented with the 2024 Distinguished Collaborator Award. Established in 2014, recipients of this award are celebrated for cultivating effective collaborative relationships with academia, government and industry. Serving as the chief technology advisor at America Makes for nearly six years, the organization says that Benedict has played a pivotal role in the Institute’s strategic planning and defining project requirements as well as the selection and execution of its technical portfolio. He was recognized for his leadership and unwavering dedication to advancing the technologies, practices and innovation in the AM industry and his contributions to the Institute.

“The Institute has been pivotal in forming a Joint Services community focused on additive manufacturing and connecting that community with the companies and universities looking for problems to solve,” Benedict says. “There has always been such positive energy in this ecosystem. I am fortunate to have played a small part in connecting Department of Defense stakeholders with enthusiastic technical teams working to mature this technology. It is an honor to be recognized by the Institute for helping to make progress in this important technology.”

America Makes is the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute. As the national accelerator for AM, America Makes is the nation’s leading and collaborative partner in AM and 3DP technology research, discovery, creation and innovation. Structured as a public-private partnership with member organizations from industry, academia, government and nongovernment agencies as well as workforce and economic development resources, the group is working together to innovate and accelerate AM to increase the nation’s global manufacturing competitiveness. Based in Youngstown, Ohio, America Makes is the first Institute within the Manufacturing USA infrastructure and is driven by the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM).