AMUG awards ten new DINOs.
While COVID-19 may have prevented the annual Additive Manufacturing Users Group (AMUG) Conference from taking place in 2020, it hasn't stopped the organisers from awarding this year's Distinguished INnovator Operator (DINO) recipients.
The ten new DINOs were awarded yesterday in an online ceremony celebrating their service and contributions to the additive manufacturing (AM) and 3D printing industry.
The prestigious awards, which are usually dished out each year during AMUG's secret off-site event in front of around 2,000 members, are presented to individuals who have done significant work in raising global awareness around AM technologies. The recipients join a renowned list of 158 DINOs, which have been presented since the award was established in 1998.
The 2020 winners are:
- Jeff DeGrange, Impossible Objects Inc
- Bob Diaz, College of Southern Nevada
- Leslie Frost, GE Additive
- Youping Gao, Castheon
- Ed Graham, ProtoCAM
- Paul Hojan, Christie Digital
- Evan Kirby, Materialise
- Ulf Lindhe, Oqton, Inc.
- Dana McCallum, Carbon, Inc.
- Bob Wood, ExOne
This year's AMUG DINO Award recipients.
"Thinking back I remember the emotion, pride, and the shock when I received my DINO back in 2007," said MET-L-FLO's Carl Dekker, and AMUG President, opening the online presentation. "We hope this virtual presentation doesn’t detract too much from the feeling that our new DINOs experience. I’d like to take a second to thank the entire DINO committee for all of their efforts, all of the hard work they’ve put in identifying these extraordinary members of our community and being able to take the time to get everything set to help put together this presentation."
The video also shows reactions from this year's recipients after unboxing their unmistakable and highly coveted dinosaur-shaped trophies. Reebok's Gary Rabinovitz and Chair of the DINO selection committee, shared more details on the DINO nomination process:
"The DINO award initially recognised those with mastery of rapid prototyping technology and for their years of experience within the industry. Today, the scope is a bit broader but the heart of the award continues to be about those that share their experience and insights with others. The name has also been adjusted, instead of DINO reflecting years in the industry, it is now the Distinguished INnovator Operator or DINO for short. This reflects the recognition of contributions beyond machine operation."
You can watch the full presentation here. All 2020 winners will be honoured at AMUG's next event in Chicago, which was postponed from April this year until March 14-18, 2021.
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