Eric Versluys brings a broad range of experience in program management across aerospace, automation, and manufacturing to the TBGA team. He started his career developing custom robotic systems for nuclear decommissioning, and moved into the aerospace and defense sector at Lockheed Martin, working as a manufacturing engineer with cross functional and international teams to bring the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter to low-rate production. Eric then transitioned to Lockheed Martin’s Advanced Development Programs, Signature Management Directorate, where he led R&D programs and integration and test efforts across the entire aircraft lifecycle, from concept and proposals to manufacturing, and sustainment. In 2018, Eric led the team of designers and fabricators that built the X-72 Darkstar for Paramount’s Top Gun Maverick, completing the entire full-sized model in less than 3 months.

Eric served as the ADP Platform Integration Lead, responsible for design and integration of antenna systems on various Lockheed Martin aircraft systems, and was selected as an Associate Technical Fellow in Additive Manufacturing of RF structures. He pioneered the use of additive manufacturing for antenna systems and has taken AM parts through the qualification journey completing successful flight tests and subsequent program integration on multiple manned and unmanned programs.

Following his tenure at the Skunkworks, Eric served as the Director of Defense Programs at 3DFortify, a composite DLP AM company that has pioneered composite additive manufacturing for the RF/antenna markets, as well as industrial and ceramic applications. During his time at Fortify, Eric grew the defense sales pipeline to over $10m and led as the Principal Investigator for an SBIR developing directional lens-based antennas that demonstrated >90% efficiency improvements with >90% cost savings compared to conventional beam-steered systems.

Eric graduated with a bachelors in Mechanical Engineering from Colorado State University, and lives in Southern California with his wife and 7 children.

Dr. Kevin Slattery was the Chief Scientist for Additive Manufacturing at Boeing Research and Technology (BR&T). He was responsible for developing and integrating the technical roadmaps and development plans for metallics AM for the entire company, along with building and leading a multi-skilled team to execute and deliver the technology throughout the enterprise. Prior to that, he was the Chief Scientist for Metals, Ceramics, and Mechanical Systems at BR&T, responsible for portfolio development and coordination while executing the additive manufacturing portion. He served as the Division Chief Engineer for USN & USAF fighters and U.S. Army rotorcraft in Boeing’s Military Sustainment organization, including international operators. From 1997 to 2012, he was on the BR&T Metals Team as a researcher and senior manager, where he primarily developed advanced low-cost titanium processing technologies supporting all Boeing products. He was the technical and programmatic lead in implementing the first in aerospace metal additive manufactured structural aircraft components for both spares and production, along with five other first in the industry technology implementations. Kevin currently holds 34 U.S. patents, with another 15 applications pending. Kevin has B.S. and M.S. degrees in Metallurgical Engineering from the University of Missouri-Rolla (now Missouri S&T) and a DSc in Material Science and Engineering from Washington University.

For the last ten years, Dr. Kirk Rogers has used additive technologies to solve manufacturing, repair, and supply chain problems. He recently was the technical leader on the startup of a $40M Additive Manufacturing R&D center, culminating a nearly 20-year career at GE. Most of Kirk’s career has been in the medical device manufacturing realm, where he built manufacturing lines for and qualified numerous products. Kirk has 25 years of experience in materials processing and business strategy, including metal powder production, novel joining methods, metal additive manufacturing, novel refractory alloys, sustainable manufacturing, carbon composite materials, powder metallurgy, technology portfolio management, identification, and application of new process methodologies. Additionally, he is experienced in the development of patent and technology strategy. A technical innovator, and adept thinker, Kirk has obtained 3 U.S. patents and has filed more than 20 trade secrets and patent applications. Kirk obtained his B.S. Materials Engineering from Case Western Reserve University, and Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from Purdue University. He completed postdoctoral work at The Ohio State University and is a certified Six Sigma Blackbelt.

Cynthia is one of the leading experts in Communications and Digital Engagement for the Additive Manufacturing industry, making connections and producing relevant and impactful content for various AM organizations for several years. She has been instrumental in building the online profile for several small to medium-sized AM companies, engaging a receptive audience, and analyzing the pulse of the industry through a variety of platforms and interactions. With her background in advertising and video production, Cynthia has been highly successful in telling the story of the industry, producing hundreds of informative videos for several AM clients. A native of Canada, Cynthia was a top ad agency producer with international agencies, winning the prestigious Gold Bessie for Top Commercial of the Year and produced high profile campaigns for clients such as Air Canada, Molson Breweries, and McDonald’s. Cynthia has a Bachelor of Arts in Radio and Television Communications from Ryerson University (now known as Toronto Metropolitan University). She is a regional ambassador for Women in 3D Printing and was named an America Makes Ambassador in 2023, recognizing her contributions to the additive manufacturing industry over the last 10 years.

Arun brings a 15+ year career in strategy and technical program management of advanced aerospace structures spanning new product development, advanced manufacturing, sustainability, digital product lifecycle, translating global market trends to product strategy and technology roadmaps, and implementing business process transformations using advanced data analytics. As the Additive Manufacturing (AM) Leader for the Advanced Structures business at Collins Aerospace, Arun spearheaded the business and IP strategy, technology and manufacturing readiness, life cycle assessments, and customer and regulatory acceptance of several business-critical metal and polymer AM technologies. Outside AM, Arun was deeply involved in the business financial planning, and helped craft sustainability, and digital product life cycle business strategies. He held the roles of Chief Engineer and Technical Product Manager for engineered equipment and nacelle thrust reverser system components on commercial airplane programs and helped establish engineering centers of excellence in India and Mexico. Arun holds an MBA in Entrepreneurship from the University of California, an MS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign, and a Professional Certificate in Life Cycle Assessment from MIT.

Lexie brings a wealth of experience to her role, demonstrating a proven track record in event management and market research. She excels in managing every aspect of the event lifecycle, from initial brainstorming sessions to post-event evaluations. Prior to her current position, Lexie served as the Global Events Coordinator at Nikon SLM Solutions, where she successfully managed and executed an extensive calendar of 50+ global events annually. Her journey into the world of advanced manufacturing began during her college years, where she supported projects highlighting America Makes and Neighborhood 91 initiatives. Lexie developed organization and leadership skills while a student at Youngstown State University, serving in several leadership roles at different capacities. She graduated from Youngstown State with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing.

Dr. Wayne King is an internationally recognized leader in metal additive manufacturing, having worked in the field since 2011. He has over 30 years of experience ranging from fundamental materials research and applied science to research management. Most recently, Wayne served as project leader of the Accelerated Certification of Additively Manufactured Metals Project at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. This project focuses on developing physics-based models relating microstructure, properties, and process to the performance of materials and includes predictive models for the laser powder bed fusion process. The project also uses integrated in-process sensing, monitoring, and control technologies to accelerate part qualification. Wayne has developed a deep understanding of the additive manufacturing process through this work. Past work includes radiation effects, high-temperature oxidation, atomic structure of interfaces, and grain boundary engineering. Wayne is the author or co-author of over 100 peer-reviewed publications and has delivered numerous keynote lectures on the topic of metal additive manufacturing both nationally and internationally. Wayne received his B.A. degree from Thiel College in Physics and Mathematics and his Ph.D. from Northwestern University in Materials Science and Engineering.

Dr. Richard Grylls is an internationally-recognized expert in metal additive manufacturing (AM), having worked in the industry for over 25 years, with experience across machine OEMs, end-users, suppliers, start-ups, and Fortune 500 companies. Richard has worked in a variety of engineering, applications, commercial, and market roles, with the common thread being a passion to drive industrialization of metal AM as a mainstream production process. Richard began his AM career in 1996 and was the first user of Optomec’s newly commercialized LENS technology in 1998. At GE Aerospace, Richard served as an SME for Ni-base superalloys, including alloy development, casting and welding process development, and materials qualification. He then became a world leader in DED technology upon joining Optomec, managing the applications-development lab for over ten years, and introducing two additional DED machines to the market. He was the lead author for ASTM’s Standard Guide for DED, published in 2016. Richard then gained broader experience in metal AM processes as Technical Director at SLM Solutions N.A., and as a Commercial Director at Carpenter Additive, adding skills in L-PBF process and equipment development, powder manufacture, service bureau part sales, and part qualification. Most recently, Richard served as Chief Engineer for Additive Technology at Beehive Industries, where he was responsible for developing novel metal AM processes to support Beehive’s products, and qualification of those products within critical industries. Richard currently holds 23 U.S. patents, with another 2 applications pending, and has published twenty-five technical papers. Richard earned a bachelor’s degree in Metallurgy and Science of Materials from The University of Oxford, and a Ph.D. in Metallurgy from The University of Birmingham.

Chelsea began her engineering career at Honeywell Aerospace, gaining experience in various roles, including additive manufacturing. Her AM experience focused on developing metal parts built on powder bed machines for aerospace applications. Her experience qualifying production parts for AM with the FAA at Honeywell led her to a role in new product engineering at Arconic (formerly Alcoa) where she successfully qualified additively manufactured parts for aerospace production for a major aircraft manufacturer. Her work with various manufacturers for flight and space has honed her AM design skills for diverse applications. Lean certified by her alma mater, Arizona State University, and Honeywell, she cultivates streamlined AM designs, production, and applications.

Nikki has 15 years of business and accounting experience, with an emphasis on small business. She has spent a portion of her business career in management and played important roles in process implementation and improvements. Nikki holds a Bachelor of Science in Accountancy degree from Southern Illinois University of Edwardsville. Nikki is located within Illinois, in the Great St. Louis region, where she is also self-employed as a Residential Real Estate Appraiser. Outside of work, she and her family enjoy time spent outdoors with family, friends, and animals.

Tierney has 20 years of experience in various roles in Business Management. The majority of her career was spent at The Coca-Cola Company, where she managed projects in IT systems implementations, database development, and process improvement. Tierney was responsible for marketing procurement initiatives which included forecasting, developing, and executing purchasing strategies and global contract negotiation. While living in Australia with her family, Tierney worked as an Operations Consultant for GNC Group Consulting in Melbourne. She holds a BA in Marketing from Southern Methodist University and an MBA from Georgia State University in Marketing and Decision Science.

Chris started his career at Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works, focusing initially on additive manufacturing technology development, characterization, and implementation for composite tooling and flight hardware. While at LM, Chris was responsible for optimizing AM process parameters, developing an initial database of design allowables, and producing the first internal design for additive manufacturing (DfAM) guidelines. He managed additive manufacturing research and development activities at Arconic (formerly Alcoa) Titanium & Engineered Products facility in Austin, Texas. While at Arconic, Chris was involved in all aspects of AM process development, machine operation (EOS, SLM, Renishaw, and Arcam), facility build-out, and production qualification of additively manufactured flight hardware. Chris supports customer projects involving any aspect of the AM design process (DfAM, topology optimization, build file preparation, process simulation, inspection) or AM production implementation for laser/electron beam powder bed fusion (process specifications, powder management, machine, and process management). Chris obtained his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering with High Honors from the University of Texas at Austin.