3D Printing the Future: Turning Materials Innovation into Real-World Prototypes [webinar]
This interactive workshop explores how advanced materials design and additive manufacturing can be translated into functional research prototypes. Moving beyond fundamental concepts, the session will discuss practical considerations in 3D printing techniques (FDM, SLA, DLP etc.), resin formulation, material selection, and prototype validation, with examples drawn from soft robotics and biofabrication. Participants will gain insight into how to position materials innovation for interdisciplinary collaboration and translational impact. The workshop is suitable for HDR candidates and ECRs seeking to bridge fundamental materials research with real-world applications.
Presenter
Dr Ruirui Qiao is an Associate Professor at the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN), The University of Queensland. She is an NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow and ARC Future Fellow, leading a multidisciplinary research program focused on nano/polymer hybrid materials, droplet-engineered microgels, advanced manufacturing, and soft robotic systems. Her work integrates materials chemistry, 3D/4D printing, and translational bioengineering. Dr Qiao has extensive experience mentoring HDRs and ECRs and is committed to providing practical, accessible training that bridges fundamental materials science with innovation-driven research outcomes.
About Entrepreneurship
We are now entering a new era where there is demand for commercial returns of publicly funded research: research that is transformational, innovative and solution-focused. It is important for any researcher to understand the possibilities and processes that connect research outcomes to the generation of commercial intellectual property and the varied strategies for turning this commercial IP into new products, processes and services. The Graduate School works actively in the entrepreneurship space with UQ Ventures and UQ's commercialisation arm, Uniquest.
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