AMUG Hands Out DINO Awards to 10 Members

The Additive Manufacturing Users Group (AMUG) presented its DINO (Distinguished INnovator Operator) Award for additive manufacturing expertise and service to 10 individuals. These new DINOs received their awards at the 35th annual AMUG Conference during a ceremony that commemorated the 25th anniversary of the DINO Award.

AMUG representatives presented the DINO Awards in recognition of tenure in the additive manufacturing industry, years of service, contributions to the industry and active support of the users group.

“This award recognizes not only experience but also character and passion,” says Gary Rabinovitz, DINO selection committee chair and director at Large. “Following a lengthy nomination and review process, the committee selected ten deserving individuals from over 1,800 attendees of the AMUG Conference.” 

The newly named DINOs are:

• Tim Bell, MELD Manufacturing Corporation
• Bogdan Filipkowski, Custom Prototypes Inc.
• Rob Hassold, Cimquest, Inc.
• Danny Levy, Influit Energy
• Matthew Mitchell, Yazaki North America
• Heather Natal, GoEngineer
• Roger Nielsen, In’Tech Industries
• Dave Rittmeyer, Mathews International
• Colton Rooney, EMI Corp.
• Alex Roschli, Oak Ridge National Laboratory

The new DINOs’ efforts have played varied roles in making the AMUG Conference a positive experience for those seeking insights, information and connections, according to AMUG. Over many years, they have supported AMUG by being team members on the AMUG Board and AMUG committees (Bell, Levy, Mitchell, Natal, Rooney, and Roschli), by supporting education through scholarships (Hassold and Nielson), and by demonstrating how to achieve results through additive manufacturing (Filipkowski and Rittmeyer).

Receiving a DINO is intended to be a milestone in years-long support of the community, according to AMUG officials. 

“This was the 25th anniversary of the DINO Award, and we had representation at AMUG 2023 for DINO classes back to 1998, with 40 percent of all DINOs attending the conference,” says Rabinovitz. Rabinovitz also noted that many DINOs in attendance continue to be active in the AMUG community through volunteer roles on the board and committees. 

Over its 35-year history, AMUG has awarded a total of 187 DINOs. Nominations for 2024 DINO candidates will be accepted beginning October 1, 2023.

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.