Salman Khoshnevis

Pioneered 3D printing construction technology to revolutionize affordable housing

Salman Khoshnevis (born 1952) is a Iranian-American engineer and professor at the University of Southern California best known for inventing Contour Crafting, a groundbreaking 3D printing technology for construction. His work has transformed the potential for affordable housing solutions worldwide. Khoshnevis' innovation allows entire houses to be printed in less than 24 hours using concrete, addressing critical global housing shortages. This technology has been tested in disaster relief scenarios and could revolutionize urban development in developing nations. His research group at USC's Center for Rapid Automated Fabrication Technologies (CRAFT) continues advancing this technology, aiming to reduce construction waste by 90% and labor costs by 80%. Key partnerships include collaborations with NASA for lunar habitat construction and the California Department of Transportation for infrastructure projects. Khoshnevis' work has been featured in Popular Science and Wired, and his TEDx talk '3D Printing the Sky is the Limit' has over 1.2 million views. His contributions have inspired global competitions like the U.S. Department of Energy's Solar Decathlon, where teams use his technology to build sustainable homes.