ROCK HILL, South Carolina (June 17, 2014) – 3D Systems announced that Chuck Hull received the 2014 European Inventor Award in the non-European countries category in recognition of his invention of the three-dimensional (3-D) printing technology, Stereolithography (SLA). Presented annually by the European Patent Office (EPO), the award honors inventors who have made significant contributions to technological progress and the advancement of society.
Since his development of the SLA printing method, 3-D printers have been embraced by a diverse range of industries from aerospace to automotive, healthcare and jewelry manufacturing. The ongoing success of this technology continues to impact everyone from students and teachers to makers and innovators in a revolutionary way.
"I was thinking about how this came to be, and I'd really like to thank the hundreds and hundreds of 3DS employees and the scientists and engineers who have helped bring 3-D printing to the world as we know it today," said Chuck Hull, Founder and Chief Technology Officer, 3DS.
"When I started 30 years ago, I didn't envision the many ways 3-D printing would change the way we design, create and make, and the impact it has on our lives."
3D Systems provides 3-D printing centric design-to-manufacturing solutions including 3-D printers, print materials and cloud sourced on-demand custom parts for professionals and consumers in materials including plastics, metals, ceramics and edibles.