Maryland 3D Manufacturing Center Executive Director, Jan Baum, Briefs BWCC Board

Everyone is looking for the “next big thing” in business.  Jan Baum is an evangelist for what she believes—along with many others—will be the next big thing, transforming the way we make everything from human body parts to custom clothing designs—both here and around the world.

Baum, on leave from the ObjectLab she developed at Towson University to run Maryland’s 3D Manufacturing Center located in Howard County, brought several boxes of items made from a variety of materials.  Her presentation, complete with a fascinating segment from a PBS production, highlights the transforming nature of this technology, and how it will impact nearly every industry.  Imagine designing jewelry, athletic shoes, custom lamps and more, right from your home computer, pressing a button and having it manufactured and returned to you—within hours.

She told the board how Johns Hopkins Medical School surgeons are using the technology to create cranium replicas to practice surgical procedures before the actual surgery, and making joints and bone segments from CT scans.   Caterers can use the technology to create custom hors d’oeuvres  or create custom ice carvings for high-end dinner parties.  Auto designers are using the technology to develop “what if” designs that are cheaply and quickly made to test their capabilities. Similar design prototypes are developed by the unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAV, industry.

Maryland wants to position itself as a leader in this technology.  With Baum at the helm, that is a near certainty.

For another glimpse at this technology, view this article from Forbes Magazine, or this TedTalk video.  Stay tuned for more developments in the Baltimore Washington Corridor…