For our 111th episode, we had the pleasure of sitting down with Professor Nima Shamsaei. Nima is both the founding director of the National Center for Additive Manufacturing Excellence and the current Philpott-WestPoint Stevens Distinguished Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Auburn University. He talks heavily about his time in both academia and industry, highlighting the necessary traits that Auburn instills into its students before sending them into the workforce. He also describes his time early on in industry and how everyone viewed additive manufacturing during its early stages and how it can be incorporated with fatigue analysis. A very insightful discussion from an insightful guest.
Episode Summary
0:00 - Introduction 2:18 - Nima's early years 7:46 - Inclination for engineering and manufacturing 10:22 - Moving from industry to academia 12:18 - Exposure to additive manufacturing 13:38 - Early projections of additive manufacturing 15:20 - Challenges in fatigue analysis and additive 17:08 - Auburn's National Center for Additive Manufacturing Excellence 21:50 - Hardware NCAME uses 22:20 - Nima's method and overview of training students for additive 25:37 - How should companies partner with universities? 27:43 - Lessons from academia and industry 32:03 - Skills Nima looks for in recruits 35:53 - Excitement for 2023 37:45 - Nima's recommended reads