Breaking Barriers from Ghana to YSU: How Additive Manufacturing Shaped a Student’s Future
By Dave Tach, Freelance Writer
The Youngstown Innovation Hub for Aerospace & Defense, managed by the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM), is working with Youngstown State University (YSU) to advance manufacturing and defense innovation while creating new opportunities for students. Through Hub funding, graduate students are participating in applied advanced manufacturing research, gaining hands-on experience, building industry connections, and contributing to projects that address real-world challenges. These opportunities also enable faculty to engage students in meaningful research that supports both academic and industry needs.
The impact of these efforts is already evident in students like Stephen Kabore, who successfully earned his Master of Science in Industrial and Systems Engineering from YSU in May.
Kabore’s unique story begins in his home country of Ghana, where he worked as a mechanical engineer. A U.S.-based friend approached him about bringing additive manufacturing (AM) technology to Ghana, and their successful collaboration deepened Kabore’s interest in AM. Inspired by the technology’s possibilities, Kabore discovered the perfect fit in YSU’s Youngstown Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Center (YAMIC).
“When I was looking for schools in the United States, I realized that YSU has a center for innovation in additive manufacturing, and I was very much inclined to that,” Kabore said. “So, I decided to actually come here and be part of it.”
Stephen Kabore
Dr. Bharat Yelamanchi
During his time at YSU, Kabore worked on multiple research initiatives focused on new material and technology developments, according to Dr. Bharat Yelamanchi, Director of YAMIC and Assistant Professor at YSU’s Rayen School of Engineering. His experience highlights a defining feature of YAMIC’s mission to bridge academia and the national AM industry. Students from across the university partner with regional and national organizations and manufacturers, gaining multidisciplinary skills like communication, project management, teamwork, and technology. Each of these has a positive impact on students’ future careers, reflects the interdisciplinary nature of modern manufacturing, accelerates innovation, and prepares the Northeast Ohio region for the needs of a highly skilled workforce. Students not only learn. They create a tangible impact in the process.
Dr. Yelamanchi connected Kabore with a project involving resin-based systems that use stainless steel powder. Kabore’s work shows the deliberate crossover between academic and real-world industry work enabled by the partnership between the Innovation Hub and YSU. He successfully defended his master’s thesis, “Experimental Study of Effect of Sintering Conditions on the Quality of Resin-Based 3D Printed SS316L Components,” which explored the underutilized potential of digital light processing (DLP) in additive manufacturing for producing metal components. DLP-based approaches can offer relatively lower equipment and material costs, improved workplace safety by eliminating loose metal powders, and greater accessibility for research institutions and small manufacturers compared to laser-based alternatives currently in use. These advantages could help broaden the adoption of metal AM while supporting the production of complex, high-performance components for aerospace and defense applications.
Kabore said his experience at YSU changed the way he viewed manufacturing, moving him beyond the role of a machine operator and giving him the technical expertise to contribute to research and technology development. In addition to gaining hands-on skills, he built relationships with faculty, researchers, and industry partners through YSU and the region’s advanced manufacturing network. These connections can help open doors as he pursues the next step in his career. Now that he has graduated, Kabore hopes to find a position in the AM sector or continue his education through a Ph.D. program in materials science and engineering.
Dr. Yelamanchi said Kabore’s story is an example of the program working as designed. The collaboration among the Innovation Hub, YSU, and the AM ecosystem is a recipe for attracting world-class talent to the Northeast Ohio region.
“I’m proud to say that YAMIC is a student-forward unit,” Dr. Yelamanchi said. “This means that the center actively engages with the industry, gets projects, and actually hires students to work on those projects. We maintain an active, collaborative environment where industry partners are always welcome to visit and engage with the students driving their projects. While we love showcasing our student innovation through scheduled tours, we strictly uphold data confidentiality and protect the proprietary information of all our ongoing research and projects.”
Kabore’s success reflects the Youngstown Innovation Hub’s broader mission to strengthen the region’s advanced manufacturing ecosystem by investing in people, technology, and innovation. By partnering with institutions like YSU, the Hub is developing the next generation of engineers, researchers, and manufacturing leaders while advancing cutting-edge research with real-world aerospace and defense applications. Supporting talent growth, boosting technology, and aiding commercialization, the Hub strengthens Northeast Ohio’s pipeline of skilled professionals, positioning it as a national leader in advanced manufacturing.
