The horrors in the news that come to us from around the globe each day challenge us to remember the many things for which the USA is thankful. We do not live in a perfect place but Americans strive to create a better world on many fronts.
Technology is an area in which we excel as an innovative country with successes ranging from electric cars to 3D Printing facial implants to space exploration. In our own work, Potomac agrees with Neil Gershenfeld at MIT: “The power of digital fabrication is social, not technical.”
Potomac is thankful to work in a field that has strong social impact. Our most powerful stories of helping people through micro digital fabrication have been in the biotech and medical device industries. Whether working with researchers on new microfluidic devices for non-invasive testing or helping build drug delivery systems that target treatment sites in order to eliminate damage to the rest of the patient’s body, Potomac has seen the power of digital fabrication technology for both saving lives and improving quality of life.
Our work has also taken medical technology to under-served communities like Africa where testing that we take for granted in the USA is not available. Closer to home we’ve been able to use QR Codes to tell the stories of Americans who over the course of history have worked to better our people and utilized laser marking to create memories for generations to come.
Customers have given Potomac much for which we are thankful. In the early years, we built an in-depth technology expertise in laser micromachining, partnering with early adopters of a new process that people used to say was a solution in search of a problem. Our customers still work with us to push the envelope of new manufacturing processes that extend beyond lasers to micro-CNC machining, 3D Printing and micro-hot embossing.
And at the end of the day it is really all about the people. Potomac is thankful for the dedicated, creative, culturally diverse team that brings our technology to life. We are especially lucky to have strong collaborations with Baltimore County, local Baltimore colleges and labs that give us the opportunity to work with interns and help build the workforce of the future.
So when the news is filled with so much sadness, we will try this Thanksgiving to remember all for which we are so thankful every day that we come to work at Potomac!
