Dyndrite Launches $10,000 Student Competition Focused on LPBF Research

Dyndrite has launched a global student grant competition offering $10,000 in funding for Laser Powder Bed Fusion research, pairing the announcement with a Leader Level sponsorship of ASTM's International Conference on Advanced Manufacturing (ICAM 2026), scheduled for September 28 through October 2 in Orlando, Florida.

The competition targets university students in North America, Europe, Japan, Korea, and Singapore, asking them to use Dyndrite's LPBF Pro software platform to explore algorithmic toolpaths, software-defined workflows, and new design freedoms in metal AM. The framing is pointed: Dyndrite wants entrants thinking beyond legacy workflows, specifically around unlocking performance, scalability, and qualification efficiency. Students working in materials science, mechanical engineering, manufacturing, and computational design are the intended audience.

Prize structure carries a small ambiguity worth noting. Dyndrite's own March 2 press release headline uses the blunt figure of $10,000. Trade press coverage frames it as "a total of $10,000 in grant funding awarded to winning teams or individuals," while other Dyndrite social posts phrase it as "up to $10,000" per winner. Whether that's a pooled prize or a per-winner cap hasn't been clarified publicly. Dyndrite will administer the competition, select the winners, and announce them at ICAM 2026, where winners will also present their results live as part of the conference's technical program.

Harshil Goel, Dyndrite's founder and CEO, framed the ICAM sponsorship in terms of where the company wants to plant its flag. "ICAM brings together the people and organizations that are truly pushing the boundaries of metal additive manufacturing, from industry leaders across multiple sectors to the researchers and young minds shaping what comes next," Goel said. "We support ICAM because it sits at the intersection of industrial reality and future innovation. That combination is critical to advancing metal AM from a promising technology to scalable, trusted production."

This is Dyndrite's second consecutive year sponsoring ICAM at the Leader Level, according to both the company's press release and 3DPrint coverage. At the conference, Dyndrite plans to showcase its LPBF software platform and deliver technical presentations alongside the student competition announcements.

The competition news fits a broader pattern of Dyndrite pushing LPBF Pro into the hands of engineers at every level. In February, the company announced a 2026 World Tour focused on giving AM engineers hands-on experience with LPBF Pro and what it calls an Agile Materials and Process Development Framework. Case studies on its site span customers including Elementum 3D, Equispheres, and Renishaw, covering use cases from improved surface finish to multi-optic toolpath development.

Key details that Dyndrite has not yet published publicly include submission deadlines, judging criteria, exact prize disbursement structure, and whether the company will provide LPBF Pro access to entrants who don't already have institutional licenses. Those gaps matter for anyone seriously considering entering, and are worth confirming directly with Dyndrite before the application window opens.