Stormy Faw with one of his Wolfpack-themed chess pieces.
A STRATEGIC MOVE: NC STATE’S OWN CUSTOM-PRINTED CHESS SET Stormy Faw is the first in his family to earn a college degree. Two, in fact: NC State undergraduate (2011) and graduate (2013) degrees in aerospace engineering. And he is planning to enter the Ph.D. program in electrical engineering in Fall 2015 to translate his passion for all things related to space into further expertise in next-generation guidance and control systems. In what passes for downtime in his life, he wanted to take on a project that showed his pride in his alma mater—and to explore a new craft and stimulate his own creativity. Chess is another passion, and 3D printing—which the space industry is already using both for rapid prototyping and for printing parts used in actual vehicles—was a great next step. So now NC State has its first custom 3D printed chess set, a blend of Faw’s longtime love of woodworking in the beautiful board itself and the 3D printing skills he mastered in the Hunt Library Makerspace, and the 3D computer aideddesign software available on special computers in the library. Each piece for the set honors some part of what Faw calls “the spirit of NC State”: the rocket “rook” a nod to his own aerospace training; the farmer “knight” a tribute to our roots in agricultural leadership; the Belltower “queen” a salute to the College of Design; and the Mr. Wuf “king” leading a long line of Tuffy “pawns” to celebrate the student body, embodied in the Tamaskan dog who has served as the live NC State mascot at athletic events. “It’s great to have the Makerspace as a resource less than 500 meters from the Engineering buildings,” concludes Faw. “Personally for me it gives a real boost to my creativity, letting me invest time in personal projects that develop the culture of exploration. The Makerspace is a great blend of course work and knowledge—and being creative on a personal basis.“ The Wolfpack chess set will be on display in the Apple Technology Showcase at the Hunt Library in early 2015.
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3-D printing on the MakerBot is one of many technologies available at the Hunt Library Makerspace.