WORKSHOP: Solid Freeform Fabrication (SFF) Symposium; August 5-7, 2002, Austin, TX

固体自由成形制造（SFF）领域在过去的15年里得到了显著的发展。快速制造零件而对几何形状的模仿最少的能力已经在运输，医学，军事，微电子等领域产生了应用。 随着这种增长，研究人员需要开会讨论SFF的基本和发展问题。 一年一度的SFF研讨会于1990年首次举行，为SFF的各个方面提供技术交流的论坛：材料，工艺开发，物理和计算建模以及应用。 这是该地区历史最悠久的连续会议，被誉为世界顶级研究会议之一。从一开始，SFF研讨会组委会的学生参与理念对会议和该领域的成功至关重要。 通过提供约为正常比率三分之一的学生注册率来鼓励学生参与，事实上，过去几年的注册率低于人均收支平衡成本。 这项补贴在吸引学生方面卓有成效。 2001年，整个会议的大约32%是学生。 与会者代表38所大学（13所国际大学）。 与该领域的科学领导者的互动对这些年轻科学家有利，代表了对美国科学基础设施未来的投资。

The field of Solid Freeform Fabrication (SFF) has developed significantly over the fast 15 years. The ability to make a part quickly with minimal imitations on geometric shape has spawned applications in the fields of transportation, medicine, the military, microelectronics, and others. With this growth has developed the need for researchers to meet to discuss fundamental and developmental issues of SFF. The annual SFF Symposium was first held in 1990 to provide a forum for technical exchange of all aspects of SFF: materials, process development, physical and computational modeling, and applications. It is the oldest continuous meeting in the area and is reputed to be one of the top research meetings in the world.From the beginning, the philosophy of the SFF Symposium Organizing Committee of student involvement has been crucial to the success of the meeting and the field. Student involvement is encouraged by offering a student registration rate that is approximately one-third of the regular rate and which for the last several years have in fact been below the per capita break-even cost. This subsidy has been effective in attracting students. In 2001, approximately 32% of the entire meeting was students. Participants represented 38 universities (13 international universities). The interaction with the scientific leaders of the field is beneficial to these young scientists and represents an investment in the future of the US scientific infrastructure.