About

 General Information: 

I’m Shane Avenius, a Materials Engineering student at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute passionate about applying additive manufacturing and materials science to solve real engineering challenges. I’ve built and optimized a fully customized 3D printer capable of printing nearly any thermoplastic on the market, and my designs have advanced to the finalist stage in NASA’s HUNCH Engineering Design Program.

My current research in RPI’s Ullal Nanoscale 3D Printing Lab focuses on developing polymer-based super-resolution lithography systems to achieve sub-diffraction-limit 3D printing. I’m also interested in exploring the role of quantum computing in materials science using RPI's IBM Quantum System One.

I’m driven by a fascination with materials at every scale, from atomic-level behavior to large-scale fabrication, and I aim to develop technologies that make advanced manufacturing faster, smaller, and smarter.

Skills Snapshot:

Additive Manufacturing
FDM, SLA, metal 3D printing (17-4 PH stainless steel), nanoscale polymer lithography

Design & Modeling
Fusion 360, NX, Onshape, CAD-based prototyping, mechanical design

Materials Expertise
Thermoplastics (PLA, PPS, PEEK, PC), polymer chemistry, composites, nanomaterials

Programming & Data
Java, Python (Qiskit) experimental design and automation

Research & Characterization
Optical system setup, polymer synthesis, materials benchmarking, property analysis

Other Tools & Platforms
IBM Quantum System One (Qiskit), Microsoft Office Suite