2020-2023 Editorial Advisory Board: Meet New Board Member Davide Masato Ph.D.

The next member of our new editorial advisory board is Davide Masato, Ph.D. Dr. Masato brings a young, academic and international perspective to the board. He was born and educated in Italy and is now working as an assistant professor in plastics engineering at the University of Massachusetts Lowell (UMass Lowell). He has more than five years of academic experience in plastics processing technologies with a particular focus on injection mold design and manufacturing.

Through his academic experiences, Dr. Masato has been working with several manufacturers developing solutions for micro- and nano-structured plastics surfaces, rapid heat cycle molding, vacuum venting, mold coatings, mold characterization and process monitoring.

His current research interests focus on the design and characterization of innovative surface properties for injection molds, micro injection molding, mold design, process development and characterization, process simulation, and model calibration. At UMass Lowell, he is currently teaching mold engineering and computer-aided engineering (CAE) classes.

Dr. Masato is also a member of the Society of Plastics Engineers (Board member for the SPE Eastern New England Chapter, Faculty Advisor for the SPE student chapter at UMass Lowell), the Polymer Processing Society (PPS), and the Italian Manufacturing Technology Association (AITEM).

A number of his areas of expertise include program management, mold design research, CAE, plastic part design, design for manufacturing, mold surface engineering, digital manufacturing, additive manufacturing, sustainable manufacturing, and microinjection molding, tooling and micromachining. He is also committed to educating and promoting mold technologies to young engineers and sharing his international background and European mold shop and manufacturer connections to foster collaboration.

Dr. Masato has achieved several honors and awards, including Best Paper Award for SPE’s Injection Molding Division at ANTEC 2018, Start Cup Veneto (Italia) Innovation Award in 2018, and a 2017 Honorable Mention Paper Award at the World Congress on Micro and Nano Manufacturing in Taiwan. Dr. Masato is also one of the co-founders of SmartMold srl., a start-up company based in Italy that designs and engineers mold surface treatments for injection molds.

Dr. Masato hopes his position on the board helps him to better promote new technologies in the field of mold design and engineering, better educate young plastics engineers in mold design, connect with industry people across North America to promote international collaborations, and remain updated on new mold technologies. During his term as an EAB member, he will contribute insight on topics related to software, culture, equipment, mold materials/mold components and advanced technologies.

On a personal note, Dr. Masato moved from Italy to the Greater Boston Area in 2018 with his wife, both of whom love to cook, eat and travel. He is also passionate about sports, mainly soccer and basketball.