A PHYSICS professor of the University of San Carlos was chosen as one of the visiting researchers and will join a six-month training at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, USA.

Dr. Rommel Bacabac, who leads the Medical Biophysics group, was among the four candidates who will receive a grant from the Department of Science and Technology for the “Training in Additive Manufacturing with Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence.”

Bacabac said that combining AI with the current technologies used in tissue engineering and soft matter physics applications “can be groundbreaking.”

“The use of appropriate AI methods will allow us to design products more efficiently through the tons of experimental data we will generate ourselves supplemented by data mined from various other sources,” Bacabac said.

The training will be supervised by a group of researchers of UT-ORNL Governor’s Chair of Advanced and Nanostructured Materials Professor Rigoberto Advincula.

Bacabac will learn advanced computational techniques and specialized knowledge on the power of machine learning and artificial intelligence, which he can use in his 3D printing and soft matter research projects.

Additive manufacturing is the industrial production name for 3D printing, an emerging discipline in manufacturing while artificial intelligence is more focused on informational applications.

Combining additive manufacturing and artificial intelligence gives rise to modern and future AI-AM applications, which opens the possibility and reality of creating highly advanced 3D models with the help of AI.

“This latest development holds a promising future for the University of San Carlos’ research centers, particularly the Medical Biophysics Group,” the school said.

“Hence, Dr. Bacabac’s participation in the additive manufacturing training is crucial in the development of USC’s current research efforts in 3D printing especially if artificial intelligence will come into play,” it added.