Fab8NZ - International Symposium On Digital Fabrication

Fab8NZ is the 2012 annual international Fab Lab event, which gathers field practitioners and laboratory researchers from the Fab Lab network and beyond or a week of hands-on workshops at The College of Creative Arts at Massey University and a one day public academic symposium on the principles and applications of digital fabrication held at the Michael Fowler Centre.

Fab8NZ will be hosted by The College of Creative Arts at Massey University, in conjunction with the Centre for Bits and Atoms at MIT, The Fab Lab Network and the Affect Research Centre, from 22–28 August in Wellington, New Zealand.

The one-day public symposium will be hosted by Professor Neil Gershenfeld, Director for the Centre for Bits and Atoms at MIT. He has been named one of Scientific American’s 50 leaders in science and technology, has been selected as a CNN/Time/Fortune Principal Voice, and by Prospect/FP as one of the top 100 public intellectuals.

The symposium will explore many different topics related to fab labs and digital fabrication, from 3d printing human organs to city-scale rapid prototyping. It will include a mix of live-video and in-person presentations by some of the worlds leading thinkers and practitioners in the field and is open to the public, who are encouraged to come along to this innovative event.

Speakers include:

Printing Functional Materials
Jennifer Lewis, University of Illinois (video)
Analisa Russo, University of Illinois

Bioprinting
Anthony Atala, Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine
(video)
Robin Levin, Levin Strategic Consulting

Living Foundries
Alicia Jackson, DARPA (video)

Fabricating Fabricators
Vik Olliver, Diamond Age Solutions
Suz Olliver, Diamond Age Solutions

Solar Sinter
Markus Kayser, MIT (video)

Rapid-Prototyping and Security
Michael Hopmeier, Unconventional Concepts Inc.
TBA

Share What You Make -- Under the hood at Instructables
Eric Wilhelm, Instructables (video)
Saul Griffith, Instructables (video)
Bridget McKendry, pixelbrid

Ponoko
David ten Have, Ponoko

Prototyping for Design and Construction
Andrew Maher, Arup
James Gardiner, Laing O'Rourke

Fabrication For and In Space
John Hines, NASA (video)
TBA, NASA

Blurring the Lines Between Physical and Fantastic
JP Lewis, Weta

Innovation: Good, Bad, and Ugly
John Kao, Institute for Large Scale Innovation (video)
TBA

Technology and Refugees
Christopher Earney, UNHCR Innovation (video)Scale Innovation

All attendees are welcome to attend the fab8nz open house and inauguration of Fab Lab Wgtn at Massey University following the symposium.

This one-day symposium is part of a larger seven-day event for members of the existing fab lab network and individuals or collectives who are considering starting a fab lab in their local community.
There are also hands-on fab camp workshops over the weekend, which include a limited amount of public spaces.

For more info and bookings please visit the official website.