Past Meetings in Review:

Boston SAMPE Young Professionals Night - Lightforce Orthodontics

Our recent Boston SAMPE Young Professionals Night brought together over 40 young professionals and members of local college chapters for a site visit and factory tour at Lightforce Orthodontics. Attendees represented a diverse mix of materials scientists, engineers, and students at various career stages. The event provided a unique environment where emerging professionals could engage directly with industry experts and built meaningful peer connections.

The evening began with an insightful presentation from Mike Andrecyk, who introduced LightForce’s approach to manufacturing fully customized orthodontic brace brackets tailored to each patient’s unique tooth geometry. Dr. Celestino Nobrega followed, highlighting the clinical advantages of fully customized systems over traditional "off the shelf" solutions demonstrating treatment time reductions of nearly 40%.

Attendees then toured the facility, gaining a firsthand look at advanced manufacturing processes, including ceramic 3D printing, industrial cleaning systems, high-temperature furnaces, and hot isostatic pressing used to achieve 99.9% dense transparent ceramics. The scale of production was equally impressive, with approximately 1.5 million custom parts produced annually.

Beyond the technical program, the event fostered strong engagement among attendees. Conversations flowed naturally between students, early-career engineers, and experienced professionals, with discussions ranging from career paths and technical challenges to emerging trends in advanced manufacturing. The night was marked by active networking, idea sharing, and the formation of new professional relationships, hallmarks of another successful SAMPE Boston Young Professionals event.