Levi Kirby

“I enjoy the hands-on aspect of my work in the lab. All printers and many devices are created in our own lab which gives us the ability to use our imaginations to devise and fabricate items needed.”

Hometown: Carthage, Ill.

Year: Second-year PhD student (third year in graduate program)

Program: Industrial and Systems Engineering

Mission Area: Advanced Manufacturing and Materials

Lab: Additive Manufacturing-Integrated Product Realization Lab

Advisor: Xuan Song, assistant professor of industrial and systems engineering

What do you do at the University of Iowa?

I am a research assistant at the Additive Manufacturing-Integrated Product Realization Lab (AMPRL). I am also a teaching assistant for the Design for Manufacturing lab, and I assist in training other teaching assistants to use the technology in the lab. Last semester, I was a founding member of the Engineering Graduate Student Council.

What do you work on and what do you enjoy most about your work?

My focus area is additive manufacturing. Current research includes investigation into stress gradients within selectively variant consolidation regions of hydrothermal-assisted powder bed fusion prints. Additionally, the AMPRL is beginning work on porosity control within polymer bonded energetic additives.

What are your goals for the future? What do you hope to be doing professionally in 10 years?

I am pursuing a doctorate degree to be a professor in the future. A role in an academic setting would allow me a work-life balance to establish a family, which is another goal I have. I hope to promote and possibly spark the passions I have in the next generation. Innovation and exploration are two things I am passionate about, and University of Iowa faculty members provide the opportunity to continually pursue those interests.