The Additive Manufacturing Users Group (AMUG) has named six new recipients of its DINO (Distinguished INnovator Operator) Award, one of the industry’s most recognized honors for long-term contribution and community service. The announcements were made at the 37th annual AMUG Conference, held March 15–19, 2026, in Reno, Nevada.
The DINO Award is not given for a single accomplishment, it reflects years of sustained involvement, knowledge-sharing, and active support of AMUG’s mission. Selection criteria weigh tenure in the field, dedication to advancing additive manufacturing, and meaningful contributions to the AMUG community.
“This year’s DINO recipients come from a broad range of industries, government labs, equipment and material OEMs, and additive manufacturing service providers,” said Bruce LeMaster, DINO Selection Committee Chair and AMUG’s Director at Large. “Though their backgrounds are different, they each share a high regard for AMUG and the overall AM industry, and they are willing to share their knowledge with others.”
The 2026 Class: Six Voices from Across the Industry
This year’s honorees span research institutions, startups, software firms, and manufacturing service providers, a reflection of how broadly the AM community has grown.
The newly named AMUG DINOs are: Olga Ivanova, Director of Applications & Technology, Mechnano; Daniel Landgraf, Director of Global Sales & Business Development, 3D Spark; Brian Post, Group Leader, Oak Ridge National Laboratory; Chris Prue, Materials Strategy Manager, IperionX; John Thiell, Sales Manager, Beehive Industries; and Annie Wang, President, Senvol.
Olga Ivanova, Ph.D., of Mechnano, built her career across the University of Louisville and Virginia Tech and has become a fixture at AMUG Conferences, known for drawing attendees into substantive technical discussions. She co-chaired the Scholarship Committee for the past two years.
Daniel Landgraf of 3D Spark has served on both the AMUG Board and the International Committee, and will step into the role of Vice President going forward. Described as someone who never meets a stranger, he brings a consistent enthusiasm for connecting people across the industry.
Brian Post of Oak Ridge National Laboratory is recognized as a strong advocate for both additive manufacturing and AMUG itself, frequently guiding peers toward answers or relevant subject matter experts when technical questions arise.
Chris Prue of IperionX has been a reliable volunteer presence at AMUG Conferences for years and is known for actively encouraging newcomers and industry contacts to engage with the organization.
John Thiell of Beehive Industries holds a particularly long history with AMUG, he served as President in 1996, when the organization was still known as 3DSNASUG. After a period away due to professional commitments, he returned to serve on multiple committees and continue championing AMUG’s core principle.
Finally, Annie Wang of Senvol rounds out the class as someone colleagues describe as a natural connector, skilled at matching AMUG members with experienced professionals who can address their specific challenges.
A Milestone, Not a Finish Line
Over its 38-year history, AMUG has presented the DINO Award to only 205 individuals, a figure that underscores its selectivity. At AMUG 2026, 59 past recipients were in attendance, representing nearly a third of everyone ever honored. Eight current AMUG Board Members are themselves DINOs, reinforcing how deeply the award ties into ongoing leadership within the organization. Nominations for the 2027 class will open on October 1, 2026.
AMUG 2026
The DINO Awards are an expression of what the AMUG Conference has always been built around: practitioners rewarding practitioners. Rather than operating as a product marketing exhibition, the conference gathers engineers and manufacturing specialists responsible for running additive production systems, where discussions frequently address qualification workflows, supply chain reliability, and the interoperability challenges encountered during industrial deployment.
The 2026 edition, brought that dynamic into sharp focus. The AMUG keynote program reflected the same practitioner logic. Steve Fournier of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems and Scott Sawyer of Divergent Technologies described how a connection made at the 2022 AMUG Conference, sparked by a keynote from Divergent founder Kevin Czinger, grew into a cross-industry collaboration bridging aerospace and automotive manufacturing.
On the consumer side, Ronen Hadar of The LEGO Group detailed the company’s multi-year development program to adapt additive manufacturing for mass production, a breakthrough he described as comparable in significance to LEGO’s adoption of injection moulding in the late 1940s.
Beyond keynotes, the 2026 AMUG conference awarded its Guy E. Bourdeau and Randy Stevens Scholarships to Abby Stamper of Boise State University and Dr. Li Yang of the University of Louisville.
Together with the DINO Awards, these recognitions map the full range of contribution AMUG values, from emerging researchers to long-tenured operators, reinforcing a community where the standard for recognition is not visibility, but enduring commitment.
3D Printing Industry is inviting speakers for its 2026 Additive Manufacturing Applications (AMA) series, covering Energy, Healthcare, Automotive and Mobility, Aerospace, Space and Defense, and Software. Each online event focuses on real production deployments, qualification, and supply chain integration. Practitioners interested in contributing can complete the call for speakers form here.
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Featured image shows AMUG presented its prestigious DINO (Distinguished INnovator Operator) Award to six individuals. Photo via AMUG.
