Eric Duoss

Lawrence Livermore has been at the forefront of developing revolutionary new methods to make materials and parts faster, cheaper, lighter, and with entirely new properties. This field is called additive manufacturing or 3D printing. Using additive manufacturing a designer can often produce a prototype part in a few hours, immediately assess its viability, and if necessary, easily change the design for improved performance.

One Lawrence Livermore scientist deeply involved in additive manufacturing is materials engineer Eric Duoss. After obtaining his PhD from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign in 2009, Eric had multiple job offers. He chose a postdoctoral research position at Livermore “because of the people.” He had previously collaborated with Livermore scientists and engineers while a graduate student and was already impressed with both the research program and the staff. “People at Livermore are highly skilled and excited about science and engineering, which is contagious.”

In 2016 Eric was the recipient of a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). It is the highest honor the U.S. government gives to scientists and engineers for innovative research and community service while in the early stages of their careers. Eric says the award is a recognition that Livermore’s research environment encourages early-career scientists and engineers to do creative and exciting things. “It’s a testament to the extraordinary work I’ve been privileged to be part of and the team members I’ve been fortunate to work with.”

In addition to his programmatic work, Eric is dedicated to educating the younger generation of scientists and engineers about science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) pathways. He speaks at local schools about the manufacturing revolution 3D printing has produced. Eric also notes, “It’s never too early to do an internship at Lawrence Livermore.” He points to the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship (SULI) program, in which students perform research under the guidance of staff scientists and engineers.