Mr. Charles W. Hull

Co-Founder & Chief Technology Officer - 3D Systems

Charles W. Hull is the Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of 3D Systems. Chuck is the inventor of the solid imaging process known as Stereolithography, the first commercial 3D printing technology. With the founding of 3D Systems in 1986, he initiated the 3D printing industry and continues to lead it today with cutting edge innovations ranging from state-of-the-art production 3D printers that have changed the game in manufacturing to precision healthcare and medical 3D printing solutions, on-demand parts manufacturing services and digital design tools. He is a named inventor on 85 United States patents, plus numerous other patents around the world in the fields of ion optics and 3D printing.

In 2014, Chuck was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame at the United States Patent and Trademark Office for his globally impactful and transformative work inventing and pioneering 3D printing. The same year, Chuck was the recipient of the European Patent Office’s prestigious European Inventor Award in the non-European countries category for his contributions to technological progress and the advancement of society, as well as the General Pierre Nicolau Award from the International Academy for Production Engineering (CIRP).

In 2016 he received the Manufacturing Leadership Lifetime Achievement Award from Frost & Sullivan's Manufacturing Leadership Council, and The American Society of Mechanical Engineers, ASME, honored Chuck and named the SLA-1, the first commercial 3D printer, a Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark. He also received The Economist’s prestigious 2013 Innovation Award, recognizing significant contributions across the fields of science and technology.

Prior to founding 3D Systems, Chuck served six years as vice president of engineering at UVP, Inc. in San Gabriel, California, a systems manufacturing company. Before that, he spent 10 years as an engineering manager at DuPont’s Photo Products Division, concentrating on the development of analytical equipment for chemists, including mass spectrometer and GC/MS systems. Earlier in his career he was a senior engineer at Bell & Howell. Chuck received a BS in engineering physics from the University of Colorado in 1961, an honorary Doctorate in Engineering from Loughborough University in the U.K. in 2005, and an honorary Doctorate in Science from the University of Colorado in 2016.