$10 million project to help 3D printing start-ups

  • Hon Chris Hipkins
Education

A world-leading entrepreneurial researcher will be joining the University of Auckland to help foster potential start-ups in the 3D printing industry, Education Minister Chris Hipkins said.

The Government and the University of Auckland are investing $10 million as part of the Entrepreneurial Universities programme. The project sees multi-award winning Professor Olaf Diegel start with the Faculty of Engineering in early 2019, following a successful tenure at Sweden’s prestigious Lund University.

 “We are fortunate to have secured Professor Diegel, a world leader in creating new products that provide innovative solutions to engineering problems,” Chris Hipkins said.

“Professor Diegel’s work aims to establish New Zealand as a global leader in Additive Manufacturing (AM), a technique used to build 3D printing technology. It’s  already been used by Kiwi start-up Rocket Lab to build its ground-breaking rocket motor that cleverly used parts made by 3D printers.

“This project however, will fast-track New Zealand’s ability to develop more commercial products using AM.

“Professor Diegel has dedicated much of his career to developing entrepreneurship. He has been involved in seven university start-ups and was a board member of Lund University’s VentureLab ─ helping students turn their ideas into start-ups," Chris Hipkins said.

Having founded AM labs at Auckland University of Technology, Massey University and Lund University, Professor Diegel has developed more than 100 commercialised products, including patenting a portable device and method for regulating the temperature of a substance, successfully commercialised as an insulin cooler by Medactive.

Notes to editors –

Biography of Professor Olaf Diegel

Recognised as one of the most accomplished multi-disciplinary Additive Manufacturing (AM, 3D-Printing) product development researchers in the world, Professor Olaf Diegel will join the University of Auckland’s Faculty of Engineering in early 2019 to lead their new Creative Design and Additive Manufacturing Laboratory.

Professor Diegel has extensive commercialisation experience having developed over 100 commercialised products with a number of companies in New Zealand and overseas. This includes products for Selecon NZ (which was acquired by Philips), Theatrelight NZ, Micron, Cruzpro, Medactiv, Lifeina, Microlife, Wohlers Associates and Spengler ─ helping to make these companies internationally competitive.

Since 2014, Professor Olaf Diegel has been based in Sweden at Lund University’s School of Engineering, leading the Product Development Department. He is also a Board member of the University’s VentureLab, helping students turn their ideas into start-ups.

Prior to that he worked for a number of New Zealand universities leading their product development, mechatronics and robotics research. He is also an associate consultant at Wohlers Associates, participating in a number of AM-related research projects and a principal author of the annual Wohlers Report.

Here is more information about Entrepreneurial Universities.