E-RISE: Nebraska Center for 3D Innovation (NE3D)

The Nebraska Center for 3D Innovation (NE3D) is a multidisciplinary initiative designed to advance biomedical research, education, and workforce development by expanding fundamental knowledge in biomimetic design, additive manufacturing, and digital modeling. Through three core research goals—biomimetic prosthetic systems and actuation, antimicrobial materials for additive manufacturing, and AI-driven anatomical modeling—NE3D seeks to explore novel structure-function relationships in soft robotics, materials chemistry, and volumetric visualization. By leveraging Nebraska’s existing expertise in biomechanics, materials science, and clinical simulation, the project aims to establish a robust research ecosystem that fosters innovation and collaboration across academic, clinical, and industry sectors. NE3D is a collaboration among the University of Nebraska at Omaha, the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC), the University of Nebraska–Lincoln (UNL), SHABRI LLC, and Lancaster County School District 145. NE3D integrates research with education and workforce development, creating pathways for students and faculty to engage in cutting-edge STEM fields. NE3D also prioritizes education and workforce development, engaging students from high school through graduate levels in immersive STEM learning and industry-aligned training programs. The initiative will generate new knowledge in soft robotics, biointerface science, and AI-enhanced modeling, while building sustainable research capacity and positioning Nebraska as a leader in translational biomedical research and advanced manufacturing. Through its focus on discovery, collaboration, and training, NE3D will drive scientific advancement and contribute to the development of scalable technologies with broad societal and industrial impact. The research aim for the Nebraska Center for 3D Innovation (NE3D) is to understand how biomimetic design variations in 3D-printed prosthetics, materials, and anatomical models affect their structure-function relationships and how those relationships can be optimized to develop cost-effective personalized medical devices. NE3D will address this overarching aim by achieving the following three goals: (1) explore the integration of soft robotics and functional biomechanics for the development of biomimetic printed prosthetic devices; (2) combine material chemistry and biointerface science to develop antimicrobial materials for additive manufacturing; and (3) to develop artificial intelligence (AI)-enhanced, biomimetic anatomical models for patient-specific surgical planning. Industry partner SHABRI LLC will support technology licensing and commercialization and prototype development, as well as student training. The education and outreach efforts will be supported by Lancaster County School District 145. By integrating advanced research with modular training, shared facilities, and industry collaboration, NE3D will build lasting capacity in bioinspired design, translational materials science, and digital health technologies. The initiative will foster inter-institutional research productivity, and position Nebraska as a national leader in patient-specific, 3D-printed medical innovations. This project is supported by the EPSCoR Research Infrastructure Improvement Program: EPSCoR Research Incubators for STEM Excellence (E-RISE). E-RISE supports the development of sustainable research infrastructure and capacity in EPSCoR jurisdictions through collaborative, hypothesis-driven, or problem-driven research and workforce development to improve competitiveness in selected STEM fields. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.