Jakub (Kuba) Preis

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Academic & Research Appointments


Assistant Professor
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Cal Poly SLO • San Luis Obispo, CA
August 2026 - Present
  • Responsible for teaching design courses and conducting research in metal additive manufacturing.

Industry R&D Experience


Research and Development Engineer
Valcun • Ghent, Belgium
October 2024 - July 2026
  • Part of a team of 5 engineers developing a novel aluminum additive manufacturing technology.
  • Responsible engineer for design, development, and testing of hardware and PLC programming (i.e. system control and modeling).
Additive Manufacturing Engineer
Divergent Technologies Inc. • Lübeck, Germany
June 2020 - December 2020
  • Responsible for build preparation, machine operation, and testing of parts printed using a prototype 12 laser laser powder bed fusion machine.
  • Submitted recommendations to laser powder bed fusion machine designers with the goal of improving end user experience.
Additive Manufacturing Engineer
Divergent Technologies Inc. • Los Angeles, CA
August 2019 - June 2020
  • Developed a statistical laser powder bed fusion machine health model using C++ database software.
  • Prepared parts for additive manufacturing using Materialise Magics (build orientation and support addition).
  • Conducted R&D experiments to quantify additive manufacturing design constraints and document results.
Test and Validation Engineering Intern
Divergent Technologies Inc. • Los Angeles, California
June 2018 - September 2018
  • Worked on testing 3D prined aluminum suspension components.
Manufacturing Process Improvement Engineering Intern
Plastikon Industries Inc. • Hayward, CA
June 2017 - September 2017
  • Worked on the recently released Tesla Model 3 HVAC unit and center console manufacturing lines.

Education


Doctor of Philosophy in Mechanical Engineering
Oregon State University
January 2021 - August 2024
  • Main Project: Developing metallurgical pathways for the defect free fabrication of Inconel - Cu alloy multi-metal components via additive manufacturing.
  • Advisor: Dr. Somayeh Pasebani
Bachelor of Science in Manufacturing Engineering
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
September 2015 - June 2019
  • Main Project: Redesign, validation, and printing of a 1U cubesat frame using laser powder bed fusion.
  • Advisor: Dr. Xuan Wang

Publications


Preis, J., Lawson, S.B., Wannenmacher, N., Pasebani, S., 2025, Joining Inconel 718 and GRCop42: A framework for developing transition compositions to avoid cracking and brittle phase formation. Materials & Design, 252, p.113733.

Preis, J., Lawson, S.B., Lee, I., Kawasaki, M., Bay, B.K., Manoharan, S., Paul, B.K. and Pasebani, S., 2024. Influence of travel speed on microstructure and mechanical behavior of Inconel 625 fabricated using wire fed laser directed energy deposition. Journal of Materials Processing Technology, p.118464.

Preis, J., Wang, Z., Howard, J., Lu, Y., Wannenmacher, N., Shen, S., Paul, B.K. and Pasebani, S., 2024. Effect of laser power and deposition sequence on microstructure of GRCop42-Inconel 625 joints fabricated using laser directed energy deposition. Materials & Design, 241, p.112944.

Preis, J., Xu, D., Paul, B.K., Eschbach, P.A. and Pasebani, S., 2024. Effect of Liquid Miscibility Gap on Defects in Inconel 625–GRCop42 Joints through Analysis of Gradient Composition Microstructure. Journal of Manufacturing and Materials Processing, 8(1), p.42.

Zardoshtian, A., Rezaei, A., Esmaeilizadeh, R., Preis, J., Minasyan, T., Keshavarz, M., Pasebani, S., Jahed, H., Toyserkani, E. Insights into Microstructural Evolution in Functionally Graded Additive Manufacturing of IN625–CuCrZr Alloys: A CALPHAD-Based Thermodynamic Analysis and Experimental Study on the Role of Metastable Miscibility Gap. Journal of Materials Research and Technology, 39, p.1612.

Zardoshtian, A., Keshavarz M., Rezaei, A., Preis, J., Minasyan, T., Pasebani, S., Jahed, H., Toyserkani, E. Liquid-state miscibility gap enabled crack suppression in functionally graded additively manufactured Ni-Cu alloy systems. Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 1050, p.185705.

Teaching Experience


Teaching Assistant and Laboratory Instructor
Oregon State University • Corvallis, OR
January 2023 - March 2023
  • Led laboratory sections for MFGE 337 (Materials and Manufacturing Processes) to provide a hands-on counterpart to the lecture.
  • Responsible for developing course material, rubrics, and grading student lab reports.
Guest Lecturer
Oregon State University • Corvallis, OR
January 2021 - June 2024
  • Developed content and conducted lectures for the following classes:
    • MFGE 337 (Materials and Manufacturing Processes)
    • MFGE 551 (Additive Manufacturing)
Workshop Instructor
Academic Skills Center, California Polytechnic State University, SLO • San Luis Obispo, California
September 2016 - June 2019
  • Taught a 1 unit, bi-weekly workshop in mathematics to supplement lecture course, class size ranging from 10 - 30 students.
  • Instructed the following workshops:
    • MATH 128 (Precalculus Algebra Workshop)
    • MATH 151 (Calculus 1 Workshop)
    • MATH 192 (Calculus for Architecture and Construction Management Workshop)

Research Mentoring


Jurre Lefever
February 2026 - June 2026
  • Project: Design and fabrication of automated nozzle cleaning solution for aluminum 3D printing.
Wolf Debaene
February 2026 - June 2026
  • Project: Design and fabrication of automated nozzle resurfacing solution for aluminum 3D printing.
Fran Van Limberghen
February 2025 - June 2025
  • Project: Integration of polymer extrusion into existing molten-aluminum additive manufacturing machine.
Tyler Finch
September 2023 - June 2024
  • Project: Characterization of Inconel 718 - GRCop42 mixtures
Mithrandir Eichner
September 2023 - June 2024
  • Project: Characterization of 4043 Al fabricated via Molten Metal Deposition
Vaishnavee Selvarajoo
September 2020 - June 2022
  • Project: Characterizing Cu-Inconel bimetallic joints via Laser Powder Bed Fusion
Adam Moar
September 2020 - June 2021
  • Project: Fabricating Cu-Inconel bimetallic joints via Laser Powder Bed Fusion

Book


Preis, J., Core Engineering Concepts and Derivations, Manuscript in Preparation.

Description: This book takes a pyramid approach by presenting axioms in the mathematics, applied statistics, physics, and chemistry chapters, and using these to derive fundamental equations within classical mechanics, materials engineering, solid mechanics, thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, heat transfer, and electrical engineering. Work in progress.

Service


  • Academic journal reviewer for Nature Advanced Manufacturing and Additive Manufacturing • September 2023 - Present
  • Academic tutor working with foster youth and unhoused populations, San Luis Obispo, CA • September 2016 - June 2019

Conferences


  • AMPM 2019, Phoenix, Arizona (Presenter)
  • Westec 2019, Long Beach, California (Attendee)
  • Formnext 2019, Frankfurt, Germany (Attendee)
  • TMS 2023, San Diego, California (Presenter)
  • ICAM 2023, Washington DC, California (Presenter)
  • Formnext 2023, Frankfrut, Germany (Presenter)
  • Formnext 2024, Frankfurt, Germany (Attendee)
  • SFF 2025, Austin, Texas (Presenter)

Other


Languages
  • English (Native)
  • Polish (Native)
  • Spanish (professional working proficiency)
  • German (professional working proficiency)
  • Dutch / Flemish (intermediate)
Hobbies

backpacking, running, biking, traveling