Long Beach State University Introduces 3D Printing Space
LONG BEACH, Calif. (Aug. 23, 2018) – A new collection of industrial-grade 3D printers at Long Beach State University will help students and faculty shape the futures of art, science and engineering.
“Now, you are part of the beginning of the fourth industrial revolution,” Christiane Beyer, associate professor in the Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, said during a Thursday gathering to celebrate the arrival of the new technology to the campus.
Digitally-connected devices that compose the Internet of Things, autonomous vehicles and 3D printers are among the technologies of the fourth industrial revolution, she said.
The Gerald M. Kline Innovation Space, funded by a donation from the Gerald M. Kline Family Foundation and Student Excellence Fees, is housed within the University Library. Available technology includes 3D printers capable of processing information contained within digital design files to form, layer by layer, objects composed of plastics, carbon fiber and other materials.
"This is the future," University Library Dean Roman Kochan said.
The Innovation Space also houses a laser-cutting system, and a 3D Printer capable of forming objects composed of metal is expected to arrive in the near future.
More than 200 people, including campus President Jane Close Conoley and other leaders, attended Thursday’s celebration.
“I am so delighted to see this as yet another example of our library continually reinventing itself to better serve our students and our faculty,” Conoley said.
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About the campus:Long Beach State University is a teaching-intensive, research-driven university committed to providing highly valued undergraduate and graduate degrees critical for success in the globally minded 21st century. Annually ranked among the best universities in the West and among the best values in the entire nation, the university’s eight colleges serve more than 37,500 students. The campus values and is recognized for rich educational opportunities provided by excellent faculty and staff, exceptional degree programs, diversity of its student body, fiduciary and administrative responsibility and the positive contributions faculty, staff, students and more than 300,000 alumni make on society.
