Holistic Innovation in Additive Manufacturing
June 22-23, 2026 | Banff, AB, Canada
About the HI-AM Conference
HI-AM 2026
Location: Banff, AB, Canada
Venue: Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity - Kinnear Centre
Dates: June 22-23, 2026
Important Dates
| Abstract Submission Opens | September 1, 2025 |
| Abstract Submission Deadline | February 2, 2026 |
| Abstract Acceptance Notice | March 2, 2026 |
| Manuscript Submission Opens | March 2, 2026 |
| Manuscript Deadline | June 1, 2026 |
| Registration Deadline (Presenting Authors) | May 1, 2026 |
| Registration Deadline | To be announced |
| Proceedings Published | November 2026 |
Keynote Speakers
Sharon Nai
Sharon Nai
Presentation Title
Abstract
Over the years, Singapore has emerged as one of the global leaders in additive manufacturing (AM), transforming manufacturing through a coordinated national strategy that integrates research excellence, industry partnerships and talent development. This keynote will showcase Singapore’s AM ecosystem, highlighting NAMIC and A*STAR’s pivotal roles in advancing technologies from R&D to industrial scale deployment. It will explore trends shaping Singapore’s AM landscape including advanced materials, micro to large format printing, multi material 3D/4D printing and digitalization, illustrated through examples of cutting edge research translated into high value manufacturing solutions.
Biography
Dr. Sharon Nai is a Senior Principal Scientist at the A*STAR Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology (A*STAR SIMTech). She is also the Director of the Additive Innovation Centre (AIC) at A*STAR, a key translational hub supported by the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Cluster (NAMIC). Dr. Nai holds a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the National University of Singapore. With expertise in additive and advanced manufacturing, Dr. Nai has led numerous collaborative R&D projects with both local and international industry partners, translating research into industrial applications and establishing joint labs with the industry. Dr. Nai has published over 150 peer-reviewed journal papers and filed two patents. Her contributions to the field have earned recognition, including the SG100 Women in Tech Award in 2021, the A*STAR Fellow in 2023 and the NUS Distinguished Alumni Award in 2025.
Bernhard Müller
Bernhard Müller
Presentation Title
Abstract
Information will be provided soon.
Biography
Bernhard Mueller obtained his »Dr.-Ing.« (PhD) degree from TU Dresden (Germany), Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in 2001. He worked in German light metal foundry and automotive supply industry for 12 years, focussing on R&D as well as on management responsibilities, serving as a plant manager in his latest position, before joining Fraunhofer to establish »Additive Manufacturing Technologies« as a new field of research at Fraunhofer IWU in Dresden, Germany. In his education and previous positions, Bernhard has recurrently worked with additive manufacturing / 3D printing technologies for more than 30 years, working with very early AM systems at TU Dresden and BMW Munich (stereolithography and laser sintering) as well as SFM Dresden, California State University Long Beach and Helisys, Torrance, CA (laminated object manufacturing), focussing later on laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) technology for metals. Since 2014, Bernhard has been acting as the spokesperson for the »Fraunhofer Competence Field Additive Manufacturing«, which pools Fraunhofer’s competence in AM from 19 member institutes. He had also managed the German industrial »Beam Melting Network« for 15 years. He has been member of the board of directors at AGENT-3D e. V., Germany’s largest consortium for research, innovation and growth in 3D printing. He has been member in several technical committees, including »GPL FB1 FA105.2/.4 Additive Manufacturing« of the Association of German Engineers VDI and »FA13 Additive Manufacturing« of the German Research Association on Welding and Allied Processes of the DVS (German Welding Society). He has also been on the Advisory Council of rapid.tech 3D International Trade Show & Conference for Additive Manufacturing in Erfurt (Germany) as well as on the advisory board of the Springer Nature journal »Progress in Additive Manufacturing« (PIAM). Since 2016, Bernhard has been the conference chairman for the Fraunhofer Direct Digital Manufacturing Conference DDMC, one of the world’s most reputed international AM conferences for academia and industry, held bi-annually in Berlin, Germany. Bernhard has authored 140+ technical and scientific publications and presented 90+ technical papers at national and international conferences, symposia and workshops.
Martin Petrak
Martin Petrak
Presentation Title
Abstract
As global supply chains continue to evolve and foundational Industry 4.0 technologies mature, the transition toward AI-driven Industry 5.0 is accelerating the need for agile, intelligent, and resilient manufacturing platforms. Additive Manufacturing (AM) is a core enabler of this shift—supporting rapid innovation, compressing development timelines, and enabling scalable production for applications with increasingly demanding performance and certification requirements. Precision ADM, based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, has become one of Canada’s most highly certified additive manufacturing SMEs, achieving ISO 13485, AS9100, ISO 9001, US FDA Registration, and Controlled Goods certification. The company has established itself as a trusted supplier of advanced Medical, Aerospace, Defense, and Energy components, demonstrating how Canadian SMEs can drive global competitiveness by adopting AM technologies strategically. This presentation explores modern applications and materials across the medical, aerospace, and energy sectors, highlighting examples ranging from bespoke patient-specific solutions to validated serial production programs. In the medical device industry, Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) combined with Design for Additive Manufacturing (DfAM) enables next-generation metal orthopedic implants with enhanced biocompatibility, osseointegration, and patient-specific customization. Advances in Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) and Stereolithography (SLA) polymers further support flexible pathways to produce custom implant trials and surgical instrumentation to large-volume production of medical devices such as the nasopharyngeal swabs widely deployed during the COVID-19 pandemic. In aerospace and energy, modern nickel-based superalloy powders with excellent material properties are unlocking efficient LPBF production of high-value components that are increasingly costly and difficult to source. These materials enable rapid, economical, low-volume builds that support maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) requirements across turbine and power-generation platforms. Above all, the critical role of DfAM and material science across all applications remains central to unlocking the full potential of AM and shaping the future landscape of advanced manufacturing in Canada.
Biography
Martin Petrak, M.Sc., P. Eng. Martin J. Petrak is a recognized Canadian leader in medical innovation and advanced manufacturing, with more than 22 years of experience in engineering, biotechnology, and high-performance additive manufacturing (AM) systems. Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, he is a first-generation Canadian and holds two undergraduate degrees and a graduate degree in Engineering from the University of Manitoba. He also completed international studies at Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic. In 2015, Martin co-founded Precision ADM in Winnipeg, where he currently serves as President. Under his leadership, Precision ADM has become one of Canada’s most highly certified additive manufacturing companies—achieving ISO 13485, AS9100, ISO 9001, US FDA Registration, and Controlled Goods certification—and a trusted supplier of advanced Medical, Aerospace, Defense, and Energy components. Leveraging his biomedical engineering background, Martin helped develop both custom and serial manufacturing capabilities for complex medical implants, and he led the team that produced the world’s highest-volume 3D-printed nasopharyngeal swabs during the COVID-19 pandemic, manufacturing more than six million units. Prior to Precision ADM, Martin served as CEO of the Orthopaedic Innovation Centre in Winnipeg, where he championed translational biomedical engineering and commercialization. Today, he continues to expand Precision ADM’s capabilities in laser powder bed fusion AM of high-performance superalloys and extreme-environment components for aerospace, defense, and energy applications. Martin volunteers extensively in the Canadian advanced manufacturing ecosystem. He serves as a Director with the Manitoba Aerospace Association and its Economic Development Subcommittee, Canada Makes (Canada’s national additive manufacturing network), and volunteers with the Technology Access Centre for Aerospace, Manufacturing & Defence at Red River Polytechnique. He is currently advancing new additive manufacturing technologies to support Canada’s clean energy and next-generation power-generation initiatives.
Christian Leinenbach
Christian Leinenbach
Presentation Title
Abstract
Fe-Mn-Si–based shape memory alloys (SMAs) have emerged as an attractive low-cost alternative to conventional NiTi systems, particularly for large-scale civil and structural engineering applications. Their good machinability, weldability and corrosion resistance, together with the ability to generate high recovery stresses, make them promising candidates for novel prestressing and actuation concepts. Over the past years, significant progress has been made in tailoring the composition and thermomechanical processing of these alloys, enabling their successful use in structural engineering. Recent advances in additive manufacturing now offer further opportunities to tune both the functional behaviour and the mechanical performance of Fe-Mn-Si SMAs. In this keynote, we discuss how laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) can be used to deliberately modify microstructure and phase stability, thereby influencing the shape memory response. By adjusting process parameters and scanning strategies, local variations in chemical composition can be achieved, which can be exploited to produce graded microstructures with different phase fractions and varying mechanical and shape memory properties. These developments illustrate the strong potential of additive manufacturing as a tool for designing next-generation Fe-Mn-Si-based SMAs with improved functional properties. The presentation will highlight selected results that illustrate the links between processing, phase formation and functional behaviour, and outline where we see the most promising directions for future SMA design and application.
Biography
Dr. Christian Leinenbach earned his MSc in Materials Science and Engineering from the Universities of Saarbrücken (Germany) and Luleå (Sweden) in 2000, and a PhD from the University of Kaiserslautern (Germany) in 2004. Since 2005, he has been at Empa, the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, where he is currently Head of the Advanced Processing and Additive Manufacturing of Metals Group Dübendorf/Zürich and Thun, Switzerland. He also serves as adjunct faculty in the Institute of Materials at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), teaching courses on advanced metallurgy, metal processing, and additive manufacturing. His research focuses on the development and characterization of high-performance structural alloys and metal-matrix (nano-)composites, with particular emphasis on additive manufacturing and laser processing. Recent work addresses Ni, Al, refractory high-entropy alloys, and oxide-dispersion-strengthened (ODS) alloys, as well as shape-memory alloys and TRIP steels. His approach combines computational materials design (high-throughput and machine-learning-assisted thermodynamic simulations, FEM/CFD) with advanced in situ and ex situ characterization, including synchrotron and neutron diffraction and imaging. He has authored over 200 peer-reviewed publications and is active in several national and international professional societies. He is regular keynote speaker at international conferences and is also co-initiator of the Alloys for Additive Manufacturing Symposium (AAMS), an annual international conference series dedicated to the materials science of metal additive manufacturing, which he co-organized in 2017 and again in 2025.
