Three. That's the Magic Number

I didn’t set out to work in 3D printing. In fact, when I applied to do a PhD with Conan Fee and Simone Dimartino at Canterbury University, New Zealand, it was on a completely different topic. But in the eight months it took for me to receive my New Zealand visa, Conan and Simone had an idea about the capillary-polymer phase fiber columns they were working on: why not just 3D print the fibers exactly where they are needed? In fact, why stop at fibers? Why not just print perfectly ordered particles and open up all manner of possibilities for liquid chromatography? When I finally made it to New Zealand, I was given a choice: either work on the original topic that I applied for – or take on this new area of 3D printing. I was so struck by the potential of the 3D printing approach that I immediately decided to pursue it, despite knowing virtually nothing about 3D printing... or liquid chromatography!