Christoph Hauck has won the 2022 Big Five Award for Additive Manufacturing. The honour, which has been awarded each year by the Institute for Toolless Fabrication (IWF) and FH Aachen ‒ University of Applied Sciences since 2017, was presented to the Toolcraft manager at the opening of Rapid.Tech 3D 2023. The jurors recognised Christoph Hauck’s long-term and innovative contributions to metal 3D printing in industry. Christoph's flair for identifying revolutionary technologies and developments means he is often one step ahead of the competition. As well as the Big Five Award, his talent for matching innovations with industry needs has earned him a place at the top of the industry, says the panel.

The aim of the awarding institutions is to celebrate significant long-term contributions to additive manufacturing – the kind that are often only apparent after a number of years and cannot usually be assessed in advance on the basis of just a couple of publications. The Big Five Award was named after the five big game species—lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant and water buffalo—and in recognition of the first awards ceremony at the annual Plastics SA conference in South Africa in 2017. The dangers and difficulties involved with tracking the “Big Five” are representative of the uncertainties and risks involved with research; the name also reflects the foresight and sophistication the award-winners have had to display in the contributions they have made.

More information about Rapid.Tech 3D at: www.rapidtech-3d.com

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