With over 13 years of experience at the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), Dr. Jennifer Fielding has performed hands-on research and program management in diverse fields such as polymer matrix composites, nanomaterials, multi-functional materials and additive manufacturing.
Dr. Fielding is currently the Technical Advisor for the Structures, Propulsion and Manufacturing Enterprise Branch, Manufacturing and Industrial Technologies Division, Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory, at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, in Dayton, Ohio. Dr. Fielding launched and managed America Makes, the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute, the first institute within the Manufacturing USA network on behalf of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Manufacturing and Industrial Base Policy (OSD/MIBP) using a $120M cooperative agreement.
She also served for five years as the Deputy Program Manager for the Defense-wide Manufacturing Science and Technology Program, a portfolio of emerging manufacturing technologies with a total value of $350M (2010 – 2015). Dr. Fielding currently is the program manager of several America Makes programs and advises on the direction of approximately $35M of programs in additive manufacturing and other technical fields such as polymer matrix composites and robotics in the manufacturing environment.
Dr. Fielding holds a PhD and MS in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Cincinnati and a BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of Florida. Dr. Fielding has been the recipient of numerous awards including the Secretary of Defense Award for Excellence, the Materials and Manufacturing Directorate Program Management Award and has been named a Dayton Business Journal “40 Under Forty”.
Nora Toure: Jennifer, could you let us know about your background and what brought you into 3D printing in the first place?
Jennifer Fielding: As a child I loved science and math and craved being able to understand and try to solve complex real world problems. I have worked for the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) for 13 years as a civilian Materials Research Engineer and I was introduced to 3D printing about seven years ago when I took on a new role managing two polymeric 3D printing projects.
When I first started my career at AFRL, I performed research and development on composite materials and nanomaterials. These materials exhibit similar challenges as 3D printed materials because the properties of the resulting parts are very dependent on the processing conditions. These types of complex materials and processes are really interesting to work with.
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